Ranking All 18 NHL Third Jerseys
By Mike Majeski
No. 18 – Buffalo Sabres
Dec 13, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing Brian Gionta (12) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during the third period at First Niagara Center. Sabres beat the Panthers 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
"If it doesn’t sell, it won’t really mean anything to our bottom line. It’s a third jersey. If it’s a turd burger I’ll have to put it on a bun and eat it. It’s the way it is -Buffalo Sabres President, Ted Black"
When your alternate jersey is given the nickname “turd burger”, you know it’s pretty terrible. Years have passed since third jersey mistakes like the Mooterus, Wild Wing, and Burger King jerseys – but the Sabres proved last season that even present day teams are able to turn out a uniform monstrosity.
The only thing more surprising than the pure existence of this uniform is that it survived more than one season.
No. 17 – Tampa Bay Lightning
Dec 27, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Alex Killorn (17) celebrates with right wing Ryan Callahan (24) after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period at Amalie Arena. The Lightning won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Lightning debuted a new third jersey this season and thankfully went back to black as the predominant color on the jersey. However, beyond that this was really a missed opportunity. Already drawing criticism for giving us a Leafs / Red Wings hybrid for their home and away jerseys, the Lightning decided to copy the template of the Los Angeles Kings for the third. Then they brought back the worst part of their most recent third jersey – the BOLTS nickname logo.
You know you missed the mark when the fake prank “palm tree” third jersey actually looks better.
The Lightning had the right idea in bringing black back, but the nickname logo is just terrible.
No. 16 – San Jose Sharks
Feb 15, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) returns to the bench during the third period of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at SAP Center at San Jose. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
The San Jose Sharks have worn the same third jersey since 2008 – a simple black jersey devoid of hem striping. It was different enough from their home and away uniforms to actually be a nice change of pace. But then two things happened to bring this jersey down – the Sharks insisted upon wearing it in the playoffs (despite never finding success in them) and basing their redesign of their home and away jerseys off the simplified aspects of it.
Now we are left with incomplete looking home and away jerseys that lack hem stripes, all because of this third jersey and the perceived notion that the lighter design somehow helps the Sharks. This third jersey really seemed to work its magic when they held a three game lead over the Kings. The Sharks are a team that started out with a great identity and have slowly diluted it over the years with small uniform changes.
Next: Numbers 15-13