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Over the years, as the NHL fan base ebbs and flows, the jerseys designs and styles for each franchise change. Why do they change so often? Its simple: Keep it fresh, keep fans watching, and keep people buying. The NHL is notorious for trying different stunts each year to get hockey into the lives of more people, the jerseys are just one of their chosen instruments.
Without much further adieu, here are hockeyjerseyguide.com’s top five picks for best all time hockey jersey designs. Let us know what you think:
 5: Vancouver Canucks (2000 – 2001):
The Canucks have seen a wide variety of color schemes and logos over the years but their latest iteration is their best yet. An homage to native Canadian history the icon is the likeness of a whale in the shape of a C. The blue, green, and white color scheme is much easier on the eyes than their older orange, black, and white scheme. The Canucks jerseys made it into the top five because the jersey they came up with in 2000 far exceeds any of their earlier designs.
 4: The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993 – 1994):
The Mighty Ducks have been trying to ruffle their feathers a little bit lately and toughen up their image but when the team was first introduced in 1993 they were straight out of a family film. This franchise, and the jersey design with it, represents one of the cheapest money grabs in the history of sport. Disney purchased the team and built their stadium in Anaheim, only a short drive from their California park. The jersey was based on the children’s hockey film The Mighty Ducks and an exact replica of it would be used in the sequel D2: The Mighty Ducks. This one makes the top five due to the contradiction between blatant Disney self-advertisement and team talent and skill. These guys weren’t pansies, they were good.
 3. Detroit Red Wings (1932 – 1933):
The Red Wings have been part of the NHL from the beginning but they weren’t always symbolized by the winged wheel. Before 1932 the team was known as the Detroit Falcons and wore a jersey with nothing but red and white stripes and text. The team changed its image for the 1932 season and hasn’t changed it since. The winged wheel has become one of the most iconic NHL symbols and the city of Detroit is lovingly known as hockey town.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (1927 – 1928):
 Like the Red Wings, the Maple Leafs were part of the original six. They too were not the same team we know and love today. The team went through a few different changes between 1910 and 1927. They couldn’t seem to make up their minds . . . → Read More: Best Vintage Hockey Jerseys
Is your closet brimming with official jerseys of the NHL? Do you own almost every team’s home and away? Keep it up if you do, get to it if you don’t! I have a few jerseys of my own and when I started collecting them I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to take care of them properly.
Hockey jerseys are unique, they aren’t like every day shirts like basketball jerseys and they’ve got different kinds of patch work and material all over the place. They also aren’t like other memorabilia because jerseys are both valuable and wearable. We want to be able to take them out and wear them to our favorite games or while we play in our bands.
There are a few basic things to keep in mind when trying to maintain the integrity of your jerseys:
1. Don’t play hockey in them:
I know, I know. It kind of defeats the purpose of owning a hockey jersey if you can’t wear it to actually play hockey but if you have a really expensive authentic retro jersey you don’t want to get sweat all over it. Boards, ice, blood, sweat and tears are risks of playing hockey and in order to keep the sweaters as pristine as possible its best to avoid skating in them. You wouldn’t want them to get sliced open the next time some jerk hooks you.  2. Hang to dry:
Take care when washing your hockey jerseys if they do manage to get dirty. There is a specific method to it so that you don’t lose any of the bright colors or damage any of the patch work.
You’ll want to wash them in cold water on a gentle cycle. Tumble dry them on the lowest or air-dry setting for no more than 20-30 minutes. That will get the wrinkles out of them so you can then hang them up on a clothes line or towel wrack to finish off the drying.
Never bleach, iron, or dry-clean your jerseys. You run the risk of discoloring, burning, or shredding your precious keepsake. Just don’t do it.
3. Store them properly:
Yeah its cool to put them up in a picture frame over your bed or in your sports den but if you’re looking to keep these things forever and where them now and then, that won’t cut it. Store them in a dry closet space with some plastic on sturdy hangers.
Don’t ever stop collecting those jerseys because the NHL is never going to stop creating new ones. Teams seem to come out with a new pattern almost every season. Take care of your hockey jerseys and they will take care of . . . → Read More: College Hockey Jerseys
So you want to collect hockey jerseys, eh? Well, I can’t blame you. Hockey is possibly the greatest sport out there, who wouldn’t want to gather up all of the different teams and keep them in their homes?
The great thing about collecting jerseys is that you don’t have to keep them locked away and hidden from the world. Whenever you go to your favorite team’s game, or whenever you lace up your own skates, you can break out your favorite jerseys and feel like you’re one of the stars. That’s something you can’t necessarily do if you’re collecting hockey sticks or pucks.
Question is, where do you get all this fantastic sports memorabilia? Well, this article will hopefully shed some light on that.
Where to buy them:
 There are a few options out there for purchasing jerseys. Now, do keep in mind that these things can get pretty expensive. A well made authentic jersey can easily run over $100-200. These aren’t shirts to take lightly.
The first option is to go to your neighborhood hockey shop. Most stores that sell hockey equipment will also have a section devoted to the sale of hockey memorabilia. In that section you’ll find a variety of jerseys but you’ll never be able to find every team or every different style. You’ll probably be able to find your local NHL team and a few others from your conference and normally they have one or two from the original six.
You’re next option would be to go to a hockey game. The stadium gift shops are full of NHL jerseys. You’ll be able to select from a spectrum of styles, authentic or not, and you’ll take it home feeling good that you’ll remember that particular game forever through your keepsake apparel. However, most stadiums only carry their own team’s jerseys. You might get lucky and find one or two jerseys of opposing teams but you won’t find many and they probably won’t be very nice. That means if you want to buy all the teams, you have to visit all the stadiums. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to do that much work.
Probably the best method is to just jump online and order some jerseys. There are a ton of online stores out there that supply authentic jerseys of every team in every pattern and design. You’ll probably even find jerseys only dating back all the way to the 1920’s if you tried hard enough.
 Wayne Gretzky Black Reebok Heroes of Hockey Los Angeles Kings Jersey Amazon Price: $129.99  Wayne Gretzky White Reebok Heroes of Hockey Edmonton Oilers Jersey Amazon Price: $199.95  Gretzky #99 Blue NHL Edmonton Oilers Hockey Jersey Amazon Price: $59.50
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The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, was by far one of the most talented influential players in NHL history. He was so beloved and revered by his fans and fellow players that when he retired from the league his number went with him. No player in the NHL after Gretzky’s signature number 99.
He’s played for a hand full of teams over the years and now that his skating days are over he’s running the Phoenix Coyotes out in Arizona. This article is a look into one of the greatest NHL careers in history from the perspective of the sweater. Here are all the hockey jerseys Wayne Gretzky wore throughout his time in the NHL.
 Indianapolis Racers (WHA) 1978
The World Hockey Association was the first league to grab hold of the potential in Gretzky. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Racers in 1978 at the ripe old age of 17. He was signed to a seven-year personal services contract worth over $1.75 million U.S.D. Not bad for a budding teenager’s first job, eh? Sadly, the Racers were quickly going broke and had to trade Gretzky. He played only eight games with them before moving on to the Edmonton Oilers which at the time were another WHA team.
 Edmonton Oilers (WHA and NHL) 1979 – 1988
The Oilers originally were founded as a WHA team but when that league collapsed they moved over to the NHL and brought Canada’s golden boy along with them. In Edmonton Gretzky quickly became a hit. In his initial season with the Oilers Gretzky managed to take home the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player. Then, for seven more seasons in a row, he continued to bring it home. Edmonton loved Gretzky, he was home there, and that’s why controversy erupted when in 1988 (just two hours after they won the Stanley Cup) the team decided to trade him to Los Angeles of all places.
 Los Angeles Kings (NHL) 1988 – 1996
The L.A. Kings acquired Gretzky in 1988 and went on to have a rather lucrative season. The team never managed to win the Stanley Cup itself but having Gretzky on the ice earned the new franchise some needed respect. Attendance shot up and general fan interest in the city rose as in Gretzky’s first season his new team went against the Oilers in the playoffs and won.
 St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1996
Gretzky had a brief stint with the St. Louis Blues in . . . → Read More: Wayne Gretzky Jerseys
The hockey jersey has not always been what it is today. As the player’s equipment (gloves, pads, helmet, what have you) fluctuated over the years so too did the jersey. The style of the jerseys and the names on the back may change every year but the function has always remained: provide the player the most comfortable experience on the ice and provide the fans the best visual experience in the seats.
 In the beginning the hockey jersey was actually called a hockey sweater. The name developed because it was made out of a similar thick sweater-like wool cloth and was generally plainly decorated. The player’s numbers and last names have always sat squarely on the back of the sweaters and the team logos, icons, and player rank (Captain denoted with a C or Assistant denoted with an A) on the front. As the sport grew out from four teams and into the lives of people across the nation, the equipment evolved. The padding would sometimes thicken to provide extra protection and sometimes it would thin out for weight. The engineers behind hockey equipment have been constantly thriving to provide players with the lightest, coolest, and most protective gear and this is a trend we see in hockey jerseys as well.
Today, hockey jerseys are light and porous. Reebok developed the latest style to fit tightly against the player’s body, reducing wind resistance, and stop short just above the hip. The jerseys are made from a polyester that is both light weight and breezy. There is a trend now in the NHL for teams to have special games where they wear “retro” jerseys. These jerseys are designed after an earlier incarnation of the team. For example, this season (2009) the Montreal Canadiens wore the team’s 1914 striped style to a few of their home games.
The necklines of the jerseys are one of the more significant hockey fashion trends. In the early days of the sport the sweaters were laced at the neckline to give the player the option of tying the jersey tight to his chest or leave room for it to hang loose against his pads. The style went out of fashion for many seasons but has recently, along with the retro jerseys, made a come back.
Sports equipment is constantly evolving to meet the needs of each generation of players and fans. New technology has allowed the team designs to become more elaborate and each team has about four jerseys to choose from: Home, Away, Alternate, and Retro. Each team changes around the colors and images displayed on the jersey and over time the style will continue to improve.
What’s your favorite hockey jersey style? Do you prefer the old ways or the new? . . . → Read More: Practice Hockey Jerseys
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