All 14 new Adidas hockey jerseys, ranked

Adidas and the NHL unveiled their new jerseys tonight in Las Vegas, showing off the AdiZero “Form the Future” line that all 31 teams will wear starting next season.

14 teams, including the Bruins, had “changes” made to these new AdiZero jerseys. This is similar to what happened when the league switched to the RBK Edge jerseys about a decade ago, when everyone added colored piping.

It’s possible that more than 14 ended up making changes, but according to a variety of different sources, a baker’s dozen made enough changes to count as “new.”

The 14 “new” teams: Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators and, of course, the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

For the sake of keeping everyone sane, we’ll focus on those 14.

And here we go, from worst (#13) to best (#1):

13. Columbus Blue Jackets

“Meh” was a good description for many of these jerseys, but Columbus has the “meh-est” of them all. These just aren’t that interesting, and kind of look like a t-shirt.

Sky’s Editorial Note: No argument here. Their new socks are kinda neat but nothing has changed. That said, okay identities that don’t get worse just stay okay. Wouldn’t have them this low.

12. New Jersey Devils

New jerseys for New Jersey! The Devils added wider stripes to the arms and removed the white/black combo from the bottom. It also looks like they might have changed to a brighter shade of red.

Why? Really, I’m not sure. These changes were supposedly made in a nod to history. However, they don’t really go far enough to make it super different but are enough to make it kind of weird. They should have left well enough alone.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: The choice was made in a supposed nod to their history. The Newark Bulldogs had something like six waist stripes. This was a conscious decision to put NJ in a template so they didn’t have to make new ones for later. It would end up towards the bottom of my list for being a pointless change.

11. Ottawa Senators

Borrrrrrring. Not much different here, and I’m still bitter about the playoffs.

Sky’s Editorial Note: THE ONE THING WE WANTED OUT OF THIS DULL-ASS TEAM AND YOU BLEW IT. This template sucks and should’ve been tossed out.

10. Nashville Predators

I don’t know what it is about these, but I don’t like them. They lost the piping, which for some reason gave the old jersey some depth. The sleeve blocks look a little shorter too. Again, very t-shirt like.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: Should’ve had a shoulder yoke of blue to even things out. Otherwise it’s just super yellow and dull.

9. Calgary Flames

The sleeves are OK and the font looks a little different, but other than that, there’s not a ton here. I liked the old orange and red combo much better.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: This template also should’ve gone the way of the dodo. Bring back the 2004-5 look if you’re so dedicated to having black be part of the set. Bad, boring look.

8. Boston Bruins

Not really a fan of what Adidas did with the Bruins. I get going with a new look to the letters, and it’s pretty unoffensive. However, I can’t help but get a bit of a cartoon-like feel from it.

Sky’s Editorial Note: The big problem I end up picking up from most of these sweaters is that a number of them are using this WCOH style collar and it doesn’t always mesh with the laces. Boston’s one of the very few where it makes sense. Didn’t reinvent the wheel, didn’t have to. Thumbs up.

7. Dallas Stars

I’m not entirely sure that anything changed here, to be honest. I like Dallas’ green though, as it’s a very unique color, so “pretty much the same” is OK with me.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: Just kind of there. You see what I mean about the collar, though? Kinda distracting. Other than that, just fine.

6. Buffalo Sabres

Simple and clean, but this is Buffalo’s best look. They’ve done well moving on from the Buffa-slug days.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: Should’ve come back with Royal Blue but as far as I’m concerned this is one of the best sweaters they’re ever gonna get.

5. Minnesota Wild

These are sharp-looking jerseys. I love the forest green, and the stripe across the chest is a nice touch. I’m sure they’ll get some flack for being very Christmas-y, but I like them.

Sky’s Editorial Slander: Your Florida Wild! Uses a template to an inferior effect. Boring and unoriginal.

4. Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers are going orange, and appear to be sticking with the navy blue over the brighter blue. The stripes are a little odd, but I do like the orange and dark blue contract.

The white around the blue numbers and letters really helps make them pop, and I like the shoulders. I preferred the blue and orange jerseys from last season, but these are a pretty good modern take.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: I just want you to imagine how painful watching Oilers home games will be from here to the end of time. That said, just garish and not offensive. Can’t get too mad at them.

3. Florida Panthers

Like many others, I’m not sure what the changes are. These are polarizing jerseys to be sure, but I think Florida’s red set is among the best in sports. I love the crest, the state flag and the additional panther on the shoulders.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: Your Minnesota Panthers, except better! Not much changed but their logos, stripes, and secondary patches are among one of the low-key stronger looks in the league.

2. Las Vegas Golden Knights

Ah, the one most were waiting for. I actually like it. I’m not sure what the point of the red stripe on the arms is, unless it’s part of a “HOORAY BEER!” sponsorship. The logo is a little cartoonish, sure. But it’s also kind of sharp, and will look great on a black hat or t-shirt.

Best part of this set? The white gloves. BEAUTIFUL. The shoulder patches are great too. I can see these selling well in Vegas, both to hockey fans and tourists looking for a souvenir on their way out of town.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: The Golden Knights will be wearing a template ripped from the Arizona Coyotes, and that’s fine for right now. It’s simple, not going out of it’s way to be different, but doing enough right that fans will look at this one fondly. The elbow stripes with their intricate flowery detailing is great. Probably a much better look than one could’ve expected.

Oh, and those white gloves are absolutely fantastic.

1. Colorado Avalanche

YES. You either love these or you hate them, and I’m all love. The Avs appear to be one of the only teams that decided to go retro with their “new” look. Bruins fans should have a little nostalgia for this look. The Avs are probably going to be bad for a while, but at least they’ll look good being bad.

Sky’s Editorial Notes: Hands down the best redesign. No complaints whatsoever.

1a: Carolina Hurricanes

Reintroduces Black to a uniform that badly needed it, re-shaped the logo a bit so it fits better, and the reintroduction of the warning flags in a subtler way, using a darker red. This is the best news anyone who has even slightly positive thoughts about the ‘Canes could ask for. Well done, Adidas! - SkyonAir

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What do you think? Which of these is your favorite? Which additional tweak that we may have missed did you like?