NHL jerseys have long been iconic, and as time has gone on, teams have created a plethora of alternate and anniversary jerseys. Some look great while others are a disaster. Today, we grade all the new alternate and anniversary jerseys worn this season.
The NHL is the most visually appealing league in the world.
With a lengthy history to draw from and a variety of colours – that Rangers-Red Wings matchup where both teams wore their centennial jerseys was pure eye candy – there is no shortage of sweaters to claim as the league’s best.
With all of the new sweaters for the 2025-26 season already announced, and the upcoming Winter Classic showcasing the newest for the Rangers and Panthers, it’s time to take stock of the best and worst of the new jerseys this season.
Only the new alternates and anniversary jerseys will be considered. Vintage throwbacks, such as the Avs’ Nordiques, the Canes’ Whalers or the Wild’s inaugural throwbacks, do not qualify as new jerseys, and neither does the Blackhawks’ centennial jersey, where they simply added a gold trim to the numbers.
Dallas Stars – The ‘99
The Stars brought back their Cup-winning design from 1999 with a giant star design overlaying the entire jersey. This time recoloured with their current victory green, black and silver palette. Its unique design moves away from the traditional stripes hockey jerseys are known for, and it’s one of those bold, experimental ‘90s designs that stands out in an era where logos have become far too simplified.
As a testament to how popular this jersey was upon its release, ‘The '99’ broke the NHL record for single-day merchandise sales. (No word if any were sold to Buffalo residents). A minor quibble would be to swap the black and green so the jersey would be predominantly green, but the black is reminiscent of the Stars’ earliest days in Dallas.
Grade: A+
Detroit Red Wings Centennial
The look isn’t complete without the vintage orange-brown gloves, though I wish the pants had the faux leather look as well. With the Red Wings, simplicity is key – their look has remained largely unchanged since the 1930s – and they’ve crafted a beautiful logo with a vintage feel that incorporates chain stitching and asymmetrical elements on the wing part of the logo, giving it the appearance of an original hand-drawn design.
The stripes are a nice homage to the old Detroit Cougars/Falcons, and a leather patch to mark the captain’s C and A is a really nice touch, though I maintain it’s still on the wrong side of the jersey.
Grade: A
St. Louis Blues
It’s more of a reintroduction than a brand-new design, but the Blues’ current set is a minor tweak from their 2017 Winter Classic/inaugural uniforms. The new lighter shade of blue looks sharp– their on-ice performance notwithstanding – but the name and numbers would be well-served with a colored trim. It immediately ranks as one of the best home/road sets in the league.
Grade: A-
Florida Panthers Winter Classic
There are some really great elements on this jersey, but perhaps the biggest miss is the main crest. It’s supposed to look vintage, but it feels oddly disjointed, from its tiny hind legs to the lack of details on the front paws that are present everywhere else. Bringing back the leaping panther was a great first step, but the final execution evokes more curiosity and bewilderment, rather than fear and awe like the original.
The four stripes on the sleeves make it look busy, but the stripes and the shoulder logo with the vintage sun are really neat callbacks to the uniforms worn by the Miami Clippers in the 1930s. If you look closely, there’s a rat motif on the hem of the jersey as a nod to the Panthers’ rat-throwing tradition, and you wish it could be a tad bigger.
Grade: B+
NHL Unveils Rangers And Panthers' Winter Classic Uniforms
The Panthers' first outdoor game uniform features the leaping panther, while the Rangers will wear a Centennial jersey-inspired look.
New York Rangers Centennial
The lighter shade of blue is a welcome addition to the Rangers' color palette. The cream-colored collar is a little thick, but overall it’s a nice, simple jersey that doesn’t need bold designs or stripes to stand out. It errs a little on the boring side, but it's still a loyal update of their original 1926 uniforms. Grade: B
New York Rangers Winter Classic
The Winter Classic is essentially a palette swap of their centennial jersey, but far less exciting when the predominant color is cream, not blue. It’s also a little irksome that the striping pattern on the sleeves doesn’t match the one on the waist. The bonus is the shoulder logo with ‘NYR’ on a big red apple, which I’m willing to bet will be a pretty popular alternate logo for merchandising.
Grade: C+
Pittsburgh Penguins Yellow Alternate
In the annals of the Penguins’ history of jerseys, I’m not sure there’s anything more disliked than a yellow jersey. They’ve yet to come up with one that really works. This one is a much simpler version of their current design without any white and a new number and font. It doesn’t stand out enough from their previous yellow alternate worn from 2018-21 or their 2017 Stadium Series, and they all sort of just meld together.
Grade: C
Boston Bruins Stadium Series
Several teams like to correct and say they wear black and gold rather than black and yellow, but there’s no denying this Bruins jersey is yellow. Like, a really bright yellow. To be fair, the Bruins are one of the few teams that can pull off a yellow jersey, but it feels weird to have such a bright shade and the spoked ‘B’ absent on the jersey.
The main crest might look good as an alternate. Although the bear is a little small when the Stadium Series has often featured bigger, more pronounced logos, so they’re more visible from the nosebleeds in the bigger football/baseball stadiums. The bear claw scratch on the pants and helmet is a neat touch, but it’s like the Bruins can’t decide on doing something more recognizable and vintage or something more new-age and daring.
Grade: C
Ottawa Senators Red Alternate
The Sens were overdue for a red alternate, but rather than doing a simple color palette swap, they opted to add a gold trim and an unnecessary black shoulder yoke. The red jersey has never been a particularly good look for them – the Daniel Alfredsson era 3D senator was cartoonishly amusing with an inexplicable black swoop across the body – and the black numbers are nearly impossible to see.
Grade: C-
Los Angeles Kings Black Vintage Crown Alternate
The Kings debuted their new alternate with no previous marketing or fanfare, and it didn’t quite hit like it was supposed to. Rather than having the recolored vintage crown logo capture our attention, it raised questions: When did they come up with this? Why is there no white? Why the silver helmets?
The logo is fantastic, but the rest of the jersey is far too plain. On a list where bold designs, intricate elements and small callbacks to each team’s history were awarded more points, this new Kings alternate feels like it was workshopped to death – it’s literally a barebones design – and follows a disturbing trend where logos and designs have been oversimplified.
Grade: C-
Tampa Bay Lightning Stadium Series
How does a team with such a great identity and some really unique elements – the infamous storm jersey from the late ‘90s, victory stripes, the lightning bolt on the pants – misfire on their special jerseys all the time? Just when you thought they had learned their lesson not to use a nickname of their nickname – BOLTS still looks nuts, if you get the pun – they come back with an eye-rolling TBL.
There are indeed some great elements that prevent this from being a total disaster – the addition of baby blue, and the lightning print on the TBL and the numbers is a great touch – but it still lacks the lasting visual impact of the black and white looks from their inaugural season. The Lightning have either really plain-looking jerseys, some truly forgettable ones, such as the first Adidas-era black alternate, and some abominations, but never any big hits since the ‘90s.
Grade: C-
Lightning, Bruins To Play Blue On Gold At NHL Stadium Series
One team went with a pirate-themed jersey, while the other went for sun rays and vibrant gold. But the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins will wear colored uniforms in the NHL Stadium Series.
Edmonton Oilers Vintage White
The Oilers’ regular set is such a classic look, it’s hard to come up with an alternate jersey that can top it. It’s an improvement over their 2023 Heritage Classic, and the new font and number are a well-designed cross between their usual varsity-style lettering and the old Todd MacFarlane alternate from the 2000s.
As a whole, this new one feels uninspired with a simple striping pattern on the sleeves and waist, a square shoulder yoke, even though they’ve always gone with a more rounded design, and a baseball script-style logo that screams more amateur than pro.
Grade: C-
Seattle Kraken Black Alternate
It’s really funny that the glow-in-the-dark feature of the Kraken’s black alternate is only visible in the dark, which is coincidentally what it’s been like to watch them this season. It’s got some interesting ideas, but it’s practically impossible to read the numbers on the ice, and the gradient striping looks like it was ripped off from the Sharks’ gradient feature on their black alternate jerseys. For a team that had massive hits with the Reverse Retro 2.0 and 2024 Winter Classic, this one is by far their worst.
Grade: D
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