The NHL was the first of the big four North American sports leagues to popularize the use of the third, or alternate, jersey. Baseball never really had a formal policy governing jerseys (or at least not one that has been well documented) while the NBA and NFL saw third jerseys come into use after the NHL. Given the long(-ish) history of third jerseys in the NHL, it should come as no surprise that 23 teams have some form of alternate outfit. However, while all jerseys are created equally, some are more equal than others.

So here’s a look at the best and worst that the stars of the NHL will don on special occasions.

#1 St. Louis Blues
I’m shocking myself by not putting a retro design alternate jersey as the best overall. I love the dark blue that they use and the circular logo with the Gateway Arch is pure class. I’d hazard Blues fans crying “Blasphemy” by saying that I like this jersey more than the regular home jersey. Of course, both are still better than the red and blue jersey of the mid-Nineties.

#2 New York Islanders
To be brutally honest, I don’t know if this is here because it’s a good looking jersey or the irony of the jersey’s historical origins. This jersey is of the same design as the Islanders teams that won four straight Stanley Cups in the early 80s. Despite the best efforts of owner Charles Wang, the team is moving on up again so what better time to reintroduce a classic jersey.

#3 Buffalo Sabres
Back in the days before the smoking black, silver and red buffalo head and the blue and yellow Sabre slug was the leaping buffalo going over some swords. Given the universal hatred of the slug, we’re all glad that the Sabres brought this back. A couple of the teams below made their 2008-09 third jersey their home jersey this season. We can only hope that someone in Buffalo steals that idea for next season.

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins
Most folks would rank this jersey as the best of the third jerseys currently in circulation. I suppose that’s why what was originally a one-off jersey kept coming back. Sure, there’s the retro element of the powder blue colour scheme that traces back to the 1970s (though not using that logo). While I like the design, I just can’t get behind the powder blues. That’s a colour for baseball umpires, not hockey players.

#5 Philadelphia Flyers
Last season, the orange retro jerseys were the third jerseys but they’ve been switched to the home jerseys. The orange jerseys would have ranked higher than 5th which is where the black jerseys land Philly. Black is an appropriate colour for the rough and tumble Flyers. Hell, the hard hitting, take no prisoners style of all Philly sports makes black a perfect colour for them. I’m not a huge fan of black jerseys, but I’m giving Philly my blessing here.

#6 San Jose Sharks
The Sharks third jersey is a lot cleaner and simpler than their home and away jerseys. There’s no orange tossed in for the sake of being there. This is a very easy on the eyes black, teal, and white. Those are traditional San Jose Shark colours. The only thing that really needs changing is that “SJ” on the shoulders but it’s so out of the way that you can’t really take points off for that.

#7 Edmonton Oilers
Last year, the classic 80s jersey was the third jersey. It was so popular that they made it the permanent home jersey and made the previous home jersey the alternate. The jersey is pretty generic as far as home jerseys were concerned. However, it’s far better than some of the experimental designs that are used for third jerseys. That and I still love that dark blue that they use. It’s better on here than the dark blue they use on that weird oil drop third jersey.

#8 Calgary Flames
The Flames are celebrating their 30th anniversary with this retro jersey. This dates back to their only Stanley Cup Championship in 1989. They used the red jersey with white C as a dark jersey until 2000 and the red-coloured dark jersey with the black C took over in 2003. While I like the attempt at nostalgia, there’s a reason why they got rid of it in the first place.

#9 Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks third jersey is a holdover from their appearance in the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Last year, they used a predominately black jersey. This year, they’ve got the retro jersey. I’m not as big a fan of this jersey compared to the old one. I’m sure most people would go the other way. I just don’t think this jersey looks as good indoors as it did outdoors.

#10 Toronto Maple Leafs
I’m not really sure why I ranked this so high. It’s not a particularly great jersey and has been around as an alternate for about 10+ years. I would have rathered that they made this a blue jersey so we didn’t have to see those bland home jerseys as often. Of course, MLSE doesn’t really care about aesthetics just profits so no wonder why they have a third jersey at all.

#11 Vancouver Canucks
The Canuckleheads quite literally swap one logo for another with this jersey. They drop the C with whale exploding out the top for a rectangle with a white hockey stick that’s supposed to make something that looks like a C. Of course, the Canucks can’t really go retro because all of their old jerseys sort of really suck. Come to think of it, have they ever had a decent jersey?

#12 Los Angeles Kings
While I would have rathered they’d gone with the yellow and purple jerseys that the Kings originally used, I’ll take the Gretzky era black and silver jerseys. The crest does have the old school Kings crown from the Gretzky era but that’s the only real connection. They had a chance to do more with this one but at least it’s not an abomination like some of the jerseys below.

#13 Boston Bruins
To me, this one seems like their current home jersey with less yellow and a different logo. While I can’t figure out where they came up with this design, I can tell you that it’s better than the last third jersey. Anything would be an improvement over the yellow jersey with the bear head. Mind you, it’s not much more intimidating than the old one.

#14 Minnesota Wild
I love that Minnesota brought back the green jersey with their new third jersey. Why Minnesota decided to make that red, Christmas tree knock-off former third jersey their new home jersey is inexplicable. While I like the colour and the traditional design, that logo has to go. The scripted “Minnesota Wild” on the chest belongs on a baseball jersey, not a hockey sweater.

#15 Colorado Avalanche
The third jersey is predominately blue. I’m not sure if that’s a nod to the Nordiques or the Nuggets. I know they do use some blue in their jerseys but that much seems out of place. The black stripe on the sleeve also seems out of no where and clashes with the blue. (I think. I probably should never use “clashes” again.) Getting rid of that weird foot logo on the regular uniforms is an improvement, though.

#16 Nashville Predators
This jersey is very clean and the two checkered stripes are fairly unique but that’s about it. They used the same dark grey-blue that they use in their other jerseys. The use just seems unimaginative. And what does a checkered pattern have to do with Nashville? Yes, there’s a strong history of stock car racing there but they’re so busy trying to kill the history of racing in Nashville, the last place it needs a tribute is on the ice.

#17 Tampa Bay Lightning
I like the colour. It took far too long for the Lightning to make a blue jersey a regular fixture. They had a short-lived blue jersey in the pre-lockout days but that had lightning designs on it that looked awful. While this design is better, I have one small problem with it. BOLTS! The team is called the Lightning, not the Bolts. That’s an unbelievably bush league move.

#18 Ottawa Senators
Though the Senators aren’t much better. A generic looking black jersey with SENS plastered on the front is pretty bush league too. Going with the black earns a lower rank than the Lightning despite the fact that they’re fairly similar jerseys. Not much creativity among those early 90s expansion teams.

#19 Phoenix Coyotes
This is their practice jersey, right? No? It’s their actual third jersey? Well, then it sucks. The leaping Coyote looks like it came from a contest for six-year-olds to design their own Coyotes logo. I thought the howling Coyote head was bad but this is worse. I still beats the original logo which made no sense at all.

#20 Atlanta Thrashers
I’m not sure what the worst part of this jersey is. It could be the maroon that shows up in no other Atlanta jersey. It could be the tossed together design. It could be the bird head logo on the shoulders. But I think the worst part is the Thrashers word logo and numbers across the chest. That’s not a hockey jersey, it’s a basketball jersey. Just because the Hawks are more popular doesn’t mean you have to copy them.

#21 Carolina Hurricanes
Black jerseys were cool 15 years ago. Now, they’re just cliché. And when you add in bad logo decisions like the hurricane warning flag on a hockey stick, the jersey just gets corny. That’s pretty bad considering how unidentifiable their regular logo is. And what’s the deal with the black squares at the bottom? The red and black stylized storm flags work on the home and away jerseys so why not keep that here?

#22 Florida Panthers
Florida makes it down here on general hideousness. I realize that their current home jerseys (originally third jerseys) are mostly dark blue. I don’t see how powder blue works into this, though. I’ve always thought red was Florida’s colour, not blue. That and the circular logo looks like a house cat is the logo instead of a pouncing panther. I see these logos and think it’s Atlanta or St. Louis. Shows how unique they are.

#23 Dallas Stars
There’s not much to say about this jersey. It’s so plain and bland that it just sucks the life out of you. The city and number on the chest makes it look like a basketball jersey. There’s no real design to it, though. It’s Dallas and a number on white. That makes it sound more like a very boring sandwich than a jersey. The sad thing is that I prefer the white alternate jersey to its near identical twin home jersey which is black instead of white.