All-Time NHL Uniforms

Over the course of NHL history, few elements of the game have shown as much variety as the sweaters players wear on the ice. At its most basic, some aspects of the typical NHL uniform have become, well, uniform: a shoulder yoke, a crest across the chest, stripes around the elbows and waist. But from that basic template, nearly every team has diverged at least once over the past century with their unique take on the standard design.

Some of those uniforms have become classics, like the bleu, blanc et rouge of the Montreal Canadiens. Others, such as the red jerseys of the Cleveland Barons, have faded from memory. All of them, however, have their place in the rich history of NHL sweaters.
During the past 100 years, colors and design elements from across the spectrum have made their way onto NHL ice. These are some, but surely not all, of the most interesting or unusual uniforms seen by the League since 1917. If you don't see your favorite here, share it in the comments below.

1917-29 Ottawa Senators: The original Ottawa Senators wore horizontal red, black and white stripes, which later inspired the current franchise's alternate jerseys as well as Ottawa's uniform at the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic.

1920-21 Hamilton Tigers: Hamilton played in the NHL for five years, and its inaugural uniforms were certainly memorable; the Tigers took the ice that season with eye-catching yellow and black vertical stripes.

1925-26 New York Americans: After Hamilton was dissolved, its players' contracts were sold to the expansion Americans, who wore a patriotic ensemble of stars and stripes during their inagural season.
1926-27 Chicago Black Hawks: The colorful jerseys the Blackhawks wear are regularly considered among the best in professional sports, but Chicago wore black and white sweaters when it entered the NHL.

1974-76 California Golden Seals: Under the ownership of Charlie O. Finley, the Seals wore gold and green to match his other Bay-area team, MLB's Oakland A's. When Finley sold the hockey team in 1974, the Seals switched to these teal uniforms with an unusual shoulder striping pattern.

1979-84 Vancouver Canucks: No NHL team may have had as many wildly different looks as the Canucks, who broke convention by ditching their traditional blue and green for these uniforms with a giant V on the front.

1995-97 New York Islanders: The Islanders famously left the blue and orange uniforms of their glory years for what is now known as the "Fisherman" jersey. The Fisherman was gone within two seasons but was brought back for a warmup skate during the 2014-15 season in a nod to nostalgia.

1995-98 St. Louis Blues: The Blues traditionally wear blue and yellow, but red was an accent color throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s and became more prominent in 1995. These were the uniforms worn by Wayne Gretzky during his brief stint with St. Louis.

1995-2002 Pittsburgh Penguins: After winning consecutive Stanley Cup championships in the early 1990s, Pittsburgh switched from its skating penguin to a more fierce logo. In 1995, the Penguins introduced this alternate, with an unusual shoulder yoke and a stripe across the center of the jersey.

1997-2006 Dallas Stars: Dallas introduced this jersey in 1997 with its distinctive star shape draped over the top of the shoulders. The Stars wore these uniforms when they won their only Stanley Cup title, in 1999.

2003-11 Atlanta Thrashers: Over their final seven seasons in the NHL, the Thrashers wore these unconventional light blue jerseys featuring an asymmetical vertical stripe and the word "Atlanta" down the left sleeve.