Ok so let me start off by saying I’m a total jersey nerd. I have to believe that one of the big reasons I got into hockey as a little two year old lad was the awesome, bright, crazy unis of the 1990’s. That love has followed me into adulthood, and I have built up a mighty fine collection over the years of some beautiful jerseys (and some pretty ugly ones too).

One of my biggest gripes with the current state of the game today is how many teams have absolutely shocking uniform designs and decisions. I would assume these franchises are paying for top-quality business consultation and design people, yet we continue to see insane decisions like the Flames and Capitals just made recently when Adidas took over, to ditch the beautiful retro looks they had, and go with plain, pipe-y, pyjama-looking trash, while 99.9% our jaws dropped at how such a decision could be made. Is there some ugly-jersey conspiracy that we’re all totally oblivious to?

But alas, we don’t have any say in which jerseys our teams will don. But it won’t stop us from dreaming! So I decided to do a series on the best jerseys that each franchise has worn. You may agree with some, you may think I’m crazy. Either way, let me know by tweeting me at @BLTJay!

This week we’ve done the Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames, so today is the Carolina Hurricanes!

Red Hurricane Flag Jersey (1998-2007)

Unfortunately this list does not account for previous cities/teams, so the awesome Hartford Whaler look is disqualified. The Hurricanes have never really had great uniforms, and they haven’t changed too much over time. But I like the uniform that they broke into the league with. The logo is pretty sweet (or at least 8 year old Jay thought so, and that has stuck with me), and you have to get bonus points for making the Cup Finals twice and winning your only championship in them.

I really like aspects of jerseys that make a team unique: like the Ducks colour scheme and template in the 90’s, the Aztec Kachina look from the Coyotes, and in this instance, the hurricane warning flag pattern on the waist of the jersey (which was at one point removed, and has been added back more faintly to the home jerseys). That shit is cool! If you have the ability to have a look that no one else can mimic, and it actually looks good, why not do it!?

Like I mentioned, the first RBK ruined the jerseys by adding an unnecessary piping yoke on the shoulder, which was dumb. Then the Hurricanes went full Team Canada in 2013, which was just totally meh. Why take away the hurricane warning flag pattern that made your jerseys somewhat bearable?

In between all of this there has been a few attempts at a black third jersey, which is basically never a good idea (although these technically aren’t THAT bad). And most recently this weird boring black and charcoal jersey with a shoulder logo as the main logo. No thanks.

So what do you think? Which Hurricanes jersey is best? Do you like the old “retro” look, or are you a fan of the changes they have made over the years. Let me know in the comments!

Check out the best jerseys of each franchise so far here:

Anaheim Ducks

Arizona Coyotes

Boston Bruins

Buffalo Sabres

Calgary Flames

Looking to get your summer hockey fix? Check out Eppie 4 of our new NHL podcast: Post and Out.