Every season, the NHL asks its players a bunch of questions in a wide-ranging survey. Among them: who's the toughest goalie to beat, what's the league's best arena atmosphere and what team has the best uniforms. The goalie changes from year to year, but the Bell Centre and the iconic Montreal Canadiens' sweater win that straw poll just about every time. Here's what one site said about why that happens:
"The Canadiens’ red home sweater is perhaps the purest representation of hockey tradition. Introduced in its recognizable form more than a century ago, the jersey has barely changed, proving that great design never goes out of style. Its bold royal red, clean horizontal striping, and simple “C-H” crest reflect an elegant design philosophy unmatched in sports.
But its significance goes far beyond aesthetics. The Canadiens are the most successful franchise in NHL history, with 24 Stanley Cup wins. Every one of those championships was earned in variations of this jersey. From legends like Maurice Richard and Jean Béliveau to modern stars like Patrick Roy, this sweater has been tied to some of the greatest hockey players of all time. The Canadiens’ red jersey also resonates outside of Montreal. For collectors, it’s one of the most sought-after pieces of vintage hockey jersey styles. For designers, it’s a case study in how simplicity can achieve perfection. Few jerseys capture heritage and timelessness as effectively."
In the years in which the Canadiens have not topped the list of best sweaters, the Chicago Blackhawks' classic red home uniforms usually take the prize, including in a 2017 fan poll with millions of respondents.
"The Canadiens’ red home sweater is perhaps the purest representation of hockey tradition. Introduced in its recognizable form more than a century ago, the jersey has barely changed, proving that great design never goes out of style. Its bold royal red, clean horizontal striping, and simple “C-H” crest reflect an elegant design philosophy unmatched in sports.
But its significance goes far beyond aesthetics. The Canadiens are the most successful franchise in NHL history, with 24 Stanley Cup wins. Every one of those championships was earned in variations of this jersey. From legends like Maurice Richard and Jean Béliveau to modern stars like Patrick Roy, this sweater has been tied to some of the greatest hockey players of all time. The Canadiens’ red jersey also resonates outside of Montreal. For collectors, it’s one of the most sought-after pieces of vintage hockey jersey styles. For designers, it’s a case study in how simplicity can achieve perfection. Few jerseys capture heritage and timelessness as effectively."
In the years in which the Canadiens have not topped the list of best sweaters, the Chicago Blackhawks' classic red home uniforms usually take the prize, including in a 2017 fan poll with millions of respondents.
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This week the NHL has revealed its latest money-grab in the form of new "hometown remix" sweaters for every team. For the most part, they are revolting.
That iconic Blackhawks sweater...the one that makes the top-two in every best-jersey poll? They've turned it green. And it's not a nice grass green or a rich emerald green. It's the green of the paint they sell at Halloween to be used as demon blood.
As for the beautiful CH, the bleu, blanc et rouge is now the blanc et rouge. No blue to be seen, aside from a tiny stripe on the sleeve and the (is it getting bigger or is it just me?) RBC sponsor logo emblazoned on the front. In fact, the bank logo is more visible than the team's.
Not only are these sweaters ugly, they're also expensive. It costs between $200 and $250 to buy a new jersey with your favourite player's number on it. The cash-grab, mostly white version will set you back about $320. Back in the 2009-2010 centennial season, the team went all-in on specialty sweaters the fans eventually hated because when wearing them, the team lost a lot of games. That said, the barber pole stripes from back then are preferable to the new Casper the Canadiens Ghost remix disgrace.
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In a league with limited sources of revenue outside TV rights and gate receipts, merchandise sales are important to the NHL. When you watch a Canadiens game at the Bell Centre, the sea of red underlines that fact. It's also true that once a fan owns a jersey, he or she probably isn't going to plunk down a few hundred bucks for another one. So, these new sweaters reflect the hope that making them different from the traditional ones will entice more fans to dig deep. Some will, but most won't.
The problem is, these sweaters aren't offering people a sharp new look. Some of them are so far removed from the actual team uniforms they're not just a money maker. They're a gimmick.
That figures, in a league that'll do just about anything to attract American fans in non-hockey markets. They've fiddled with the All-Star game format, introducing street-hockey team selection and ridiculous "skills" competitions. They messed with tie games when they brought in 3-on-3 overtime and the shootout. They brought in dancing girls, in-game contests and mascots to appeal to the mildly interested.
For real fans, however, it's just insulting. Canadiens supporters have been behind their team for more than a hundred years, and the sweater they wear is as legendary as the team itself. They don't need a gimmick to prove their loyalty; people in Vegas or Seattle do. Habs fans pay the highest ticket prices in the league, and judging by game-night crowds, most have also laid down considerable cash for sweaters, hats and other gear. So anyone expecting them to spend even more to wear this bloodless pseudo-jersey is delusional, greedy or both.
The Canadiens sweater...La Sainte-Flanelle...is classic and iconic for a reason and the NHL should keep it that way. League brass will go pretty far to promote a gimmick, but this one should have been left in the designer's imagination.
That look on Cole Caufield's face at his first sight of the remix rag (above), even though he tried to be enthusiastic for the video cameras, says it all. It's telling us "Really? You've done what to our cool jerseys? And we have to wear them in public?"
We couldn't agree more.
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