NHL Power Rankings: Remembering the ugliest jerseys in history

2008-2011 – Atlanta Thrashers trying football

The Atlanta Thrashers were the NHL’s second adventure in the city, after the Flames flamed out and moved to Calgary. The team was named after the state bird, and their two logos looked like a cereal bowl with a spoon, and a capital Y. They came out with a very fascinating alternate uniform back in 2003, where they figured symmetry isn’t really a thing, and wrote Atlanta down the left sleeve. This design must’ve gone over well, because it was their home uniform for the remainder of their time in Atlanta.

When it came time to making another third jersey, it’s symmetry wasn’t called into question, but everything else was. Awkward sleeve patterns, the bird head logo as a shoulder accent, the weird piping at the bottom of the sides, and most prominently, the front number existing at all, let alone being huge. The text above the numbers is too similar a color to the jersey itself, and blends in, leaving it to look like a college football jersey.

We thought this lesson was learned in the 40’s and 50’s, that football-like jerseys in hockey are ugly and shouldn’t be used ever, and Atlanta, ever shamed at the fact, moved to Winnipeg before fixing this atrocity. Thus, the football jerseys were eradicated from the NHL…for about four months.