The NHL's third jersey program, which began in 1995-96, has allowed participating teams the chance to present a new and exciting style for their fans and players, while still holding on to their core identity as a franchise. Judging by several stylish new jerseys that will be unveiled in 2009-10, the third jersey program retains has a strong foothold in the League.

The teams that will debut new third jerseys this season are the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators. Several other squads will continue to don third jerseys unveiled in seasons past.

When third jerseys are modeled after designs used in previous seasons, they sometimes take on the name of throwback, retro or vintage jersey. In that regard, you can add the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins to swell the list of teams to 11 for this season.

"My design instincts have always been the same. I think there should be simplicity and clarity in the design," said Todd McFarlane, the creator of the Spawn comic book series and former part owner of the Edmonton Oilers who designed a popular third jersey for the team worn between 2001 and 2007, using silver to replace bronze and red with stripes on the sleeves and base. "This to me is a good sports jersey … You shouldn't have to like the sport to be able to wear the jersey. It should just be a cool enough jersey that someone will wake up anywhere in the country and go, 'Wow, that's cool. I'm going to wear that.' Why? Because the colors look good and the design looks cool."

Here's a rundown on the latest on-ice styles.

Boston -- The Bruins are hosting the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at venerable Fenway Park, and an outdoor game calls for stylish, retro uniforms. Boston will deliver just that with a jersey -- designed by Bruins great Cam Neely -- that is brown and gold, the original colors worn by the club from 1924 until 1934. The crest featured on the sweater is a variation on the club's "original" spoked-B logo that debuted as part of the organization's 25th anniversary season in 1949. The Winter Classic uniform also features other elements from historic Bruins eras, including gold socks first worn in the 1930s and laces on the jersey, worn during the glory days of the Big Bad Bruins of the 1970s.

Calgary -- To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Flames in Calgary, the team came up with a third jersey design that proves that what's old could be new again. For select home games, the Flames will don a vintage jersey identical to those worn when the franchise relocated to Calgary from Atlanta in 1980-81.

"I think the fans like it. It's something different and it's going to be colorful out there, with the red everywhere. But for a lot of us, it's something new," said center Craig Conroy, who modeled the jersey along with former player Jim Peplinski. "Fans were always saying, ‘When's the third jersey coming?' Now, they're going to get the retro, what it all started with. It's going to be a lot of fun."

The throwbacks were unveiled Sept. 2. The jersey is predominantly red with yellow and white trim. A 30th anniversary patch is on the left shoulder.

The vintage jerseys are being worn for five home games against Canadian opponents: Oct. 1 against Vancouver, Oct. 6 against Montreal, Jan. 2 against Toronto, Jan. 30 against Edmonton, and March 11 against Ottawa.

Chicago -- The Blackhawks once used a predominantly black third jersey, but have locked that away in the closet for another design they will wear at select home games. The jerseys were actually unveiled last season at the Bridgestone Winter Classic that was played against Detroit in historic Wrigley Field and were a huge hit with fans.

The vintage design, which harkens back to the 1936-37 season, will become the Blackhawks' third jersey in 2009-10. It is primarily black with red and beige horizontal body stripes, known as the "barber pole" effect. The crest features the classic version of the Blackhawks logo encircled by "Chicago Blackhawks" word mark.

"These retro jerseys only strengthen what is going to be a historic day for our organization, the NHL and the city of Chicago," Blackhawks Senior Vice President of Business Operations Jay Blunk said during the announcement of the 2009 Winter Classic.

Colorado -- The Avalanche will introduce a third jersey that will be worn for the first time in an unspecified mid-November game. A press conference will act as the grand unveiling a day or two before the game.

Florida -- The Panthers will debut a new third jersey design Nov. 23 in a home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Minnesota -- The Wild introduced their third jersey design Aug. 30 at a public event held at the Minnesota State Fair's FAN Central building. It was modeled by left wing and fan favorite Derek Boogaard.

Based in the Wild's forest green with wheat trim and a hint of iron range red, the jersey's classic sports look was the overwhelming favorite of Wild fans surveyed during the summer of 2008. The jersey crest features a script "Minnesota" with "Wild" emblazoned below. The script look, including the classic "M," harkens back to historic Minnesota teams of the past including Minneapolis and Saint Paul teams of the 1930s and 1940s. The familiar "north star" element, borrowed from the primary Wild logo, dots the "I" and adds a decorative detail to the stylized "M."

"We wanted to provide our fans with a new look and feel for our third uniform that is uniquely Minnesota and true to our brand – authentic, classic, contemporary and truly worthy of The State of Hockey," said John Maher, vice president of brand marketing.

Minnesota will debut the jerseys Oct. 21 against Colorado and wear them 15 times this season.

Montreal -- As part of their 100th anniversary celebration, the Canadiens will wear vintage jerseys from the seasons of 1909-10 and 1910-11 during select home games against Original Six opponents.

Nashville -- The Predators made the unveiling of their third jersey a grand event when country music star and team fan Taylor Swift wore the dark blue jersey during the encore of her concert at Nashville's Sommet Center on Sept. 12. A few days later, Predators fans got to see the new design close up when players modeled the jersey at Preds Fest, a three-day fan-appreciation event, also at the Sommet Center.

"Taylor Swift is a big fan and she's been a friend of the organization for the last few years," Predators spokesperson Tim Darling said. "We were trying to think of a good way to build up some buzz on the jersey. She was willing to do it, create a little buzz for the unveil coming up next week."

The dark blue jersey has stripes on the bottom portion of the sleeves, a dark checkerboard pattern along the base of the jersey, skill logos on the shoulders and an old-school lace-up collar.

New Jersey -- For one game only in 2009-10, the Devils will give fans at the Prudential Center a look at the jersey the team wore from 1982-83 through 1991-92. Affectionately known as their "Christmas" uniforms, New Jersey will do its original red, white and green design for a contest against Pittsburgh on March 17 -- St. Patrick's Day.

"The original red, green, and white jerseys are a part of our history here in New Jersey," said President/CEO/GM Lou Lamoriello. "We have always been an organization that takes great pride in its tradition. This is something we believe our fans will enjoy for that one special night."

Philadelphia -- The visitors in the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic will arrive in Boston wearing something special for the Jan. 1 occasion. The Flyers will wear a white sweater with the black team logo, a flying "P" encircling the orange puck. The jersey has a black nameplate, orange piping down the sleeves and an orange cummerbund band above the waist. The neck has orange-and-black trim and the sleeve cuffs are black. This design is very similar to the uniform that the Flyers wore from their inception in 1967-68 through 1981-82.

Pittsburgh -- In the first Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2008, the Penguins wore powder blue jerseys that recalled their era from 1968-69 through 1972-73. They were such a hit then and remain so that Pittsburgh announced they will return for 12 home games this season -- Oct. 17 (Tampa Bay), Oct. 30 (at Columbus), Nov. 16 (Anaheim), Nov. 27 (at NY Islanders), Dec. 3 (Florida), Dec. 12 (Colorado), Dec. 27 (Toronto), Jan. 5 (Atlanta), Jan. 28 (Ottawa), Feb. 1 (Buffalo), Feb. 14 (Nashville) and March 6 (Dallas).

Contact Rocky Bonanno at rbonanno@nhl.com