Hometown Remix Hockey Jersey Ranking List

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming with a special report. The NHL has finally released their Hometown Remix jersey designs. There are definite winners and losers in this competition. 

Earlier this month the NHL announced the release of 32 Hometown Remix jerseys. 

Your mileage may vary with this ranking. My favorite may be different from your favorite. Some of these were surprising for teams I don’t normally like, let alone root for, but good design is good design and even I can appreciate that. 

32 - Pittsburgh Penguins

I’m not sure how you make an uglier uniform for the Penguins, but they managed it. I find the way they’ve used the particular blue and yellow colors to be offputting and clashing.

31 - Los Angeles Kings

I would have preferred to see the crown logo the Kings’ have previously used in some of their jerseys. The purple color is excellent, but the Chevrolet logo in the middle continues to look bland. 

30 - Ottawa Senators

Yup. That's an Ottawa jersey. The color scheme of the jersey, while appropriate to a Roman aesthetic, just doesn’t look eye-catching. I find this jersey to just be a superficial palette swap and find it lacking in creativity.

29 - Chicago Blackhawks

Green? Really? St. Paddy’s day is once a year, but this is a boring color swap to a jersey I already find quite controversial.

28 - Detroit Red Wings

Did you know the Red Wings are from hockey town? Let me remind you for the 100th time that they are with this “new” jersey design. This isn’t even a color palette swap, it’s just the same repackaged jersey design with extremely slight tweaks.

27 - Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks enabled darkmode for their jerseys.

26 - Calgary Flames

The gold color and textures make the Flames uniform look a bit better than their normal flat bright yellow. Still can’t really save this color combination though, even if it’s a nice reference to the final year in their arena.

25 - Washington Capitals

While the color scheme is new and refreshing, with gold metallic sections, I would have preferred to see the return of the screaming eagle logo as the primary logo in the center of the jersey. There are other nice touches with the cherry blossoms and the numbering font on the back, but I personally think there are other iconic DMV related concepts or images that could have been referenced instead of the Capital building.

24 - Winnipeg Jets

When you said you were going to take inspiration from the Aurora Borealis, I expected more colors. A gradient shift on the normal Jets jersey just isn’t doing it. Numbers in the back look kinda cool though.

23 - New York Rangers

Diagonal font never goes out of style for this New York team. But it really should.

22 - St. Louis Blues

After the brand new light blue jersey, this black one seems so uninspired. They should have let any of their tertiary new revamp logos be the primary logo here. The fleur-de-lis, the STL treble clef or the trumpet logo would have stood out more.

21 - New Jersey Devils

Black and red jersey for the Devils. Daring today aren’t we? 

20 - Buffalo Sabres

Their normal jersey with their alternate logo. Not a lot of creativity here. 

19 - Utah Mammoth

Love the colors, the U tusk logo as the primary? Not so much.

18 - Edmonton Oilers

Oil is black. But this isn’t gold.

17 - Boston Bruins

The red brick Freedom Trail at the hem is a nice touch. However, not even that cool detail can save that plain brown everywhere.

16 - Carolina Hurricanes

Today I learned Raleigh is called the City of Oaks. The oak leaves debossed on the sleeves are a nice touch.

15 - Columbus Blue Jackets

While I do like the colors on paper and the fan favorite cannon, I think I like their alternate cannon jersey better than this layout. One of the most unforgivable flaws in this jersey is the fact that the primary color is Confederate gray instead of UNION blue. You’re named the Blue Jackets and having a historical theme to your team, and yet you miss the mark in this way? I think there are more creative ways to connect the Blue Jackets theme.

14 - San Jose Sharks

The Sharks HTR kit as a whole elevates this design. The Shark teeth and gums are a fun addition to the jersey in theory, but I personally think previous iterations of the team’s logo have been better. The Sharks have a large collection of interesting jerseys to pick from, but this one doesn’t quite hit as hard as the others.

13 - Dallas Stars

It's hard to mess up black, neon green, and white. While the jersey is nice, the Stars have a ton of other great jerseys, so I can’t say this is better than what they already have.

12 - New York Islanders

The Islanders finally perfected their iconic Fisherman’s jersey with proper coloring. I’m glad they kept the lighthouse logo for the shoulder patches, and I appreciate the wave design at the bottom.

11 - Tampa Bay Lightning

I’m surprised to have both of Florida’s jerseys rank so high in my HTR ranking list. I believe the logo for TB is what predominantly makes this jersey special. Evoking pirates pays homage to the city’s football team in addition to general nautical themes. The lightning bolts on either sleeve look nice, and the color scheme looks better and more inspired than their regular jersey. Where I find this jersey lacking, however, is the fact that it relies heavily on the circle style logo, evoking the idea that this is a practice jersey rather than a primary jersey. Still a creative, interesting jersey, just not top 10 worthy.

10 - Nashville Predators 

Controversial colors and names have hampered the Predators uniform and theming. I think they should fully move to this design as their Hometown Remix jersey has the best details while still using their core color palette. The filigree on both the front, back, and main logo really accentuate that country feel. The stars that are on the side of their pants really complete that western-wear design.

9 - Philadelphia Flyers 

I wanted to see that cracked liberty bell logo so badly, but the details they included on the sleeves with the thoughtful inscription are worth mentioning. The charcoal base and orange highlights also look great compared to the Flyers’ usual jersey. This jersey does a great job of encompassing the city of Philadelphia with all their details top to bottom.

8 - Minnesota Wild

While some would say the Minnesota Wild have only changed their color palette with their HTR jerseys, I think they pay homage to their North Star hockey roots through this design. If the color palette is meant to evoke their hockey siblings to the south, this jersey captures that idea while also playing into themes of the wilderness. The sleeves also feature the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations! The extra design on the numbers is especially nice and different from other jerseys in their rotation. Much like Montreal, however, I think the Wild have several good jerseys already competing for top contention.

7 - Montreal Canadiens

While Montreal’s HTR jersey isn’t my favorite, I have to give credit to the designers. The jersey has captured the city’s flag in its design, with the logos on the sleeve directly coming from the flag itself. The flag pays homage to French Canadian culture. With that said, I think Montreal’s primary jersey kit and its recent Heritage Classic jersey are better. 

6 - Florida Panthers

Like Vegas, people hate the Panthers (and rightfully so), but the people who designed this jersey understood the assignment for what a Hometown Remix jersey should be. Your mileage may vary on whether you think the primary color is pink or grapefruit or coral in color, you can’t deny the logo itself is clever and suitable for a team that plays hockey in a city known for being hot year around. This jersey evokes sunshine and “Miami Vice” aesthetics. I hate to admit that their accompanying HTR hat is one of the better options for those who would prefer to buy a hat instead of a jersey. 

I still won’t be buying one, however.

5 - Vegas Golden Knights

The house always wins, and you should always bet on Vegas to find a way to capture the vice and villainy of its city’s roots. For many hockey fans, this jersey captures what many hoped a hockey team in Vegas would have used as their primary aesthetic. The jersey still features its Golden Knights theme with its shoulder patches, but the focus is predominantly on gambling. There’s a moral argument to be made about promoting betting outright on a jersey, but you won’t find me making it. Sometimes it’s fine to let something be fun for the sake of being in theme. Even Vegas haters can’t deny that this jersey encompasses the aesthetic of the city and everything people imagine when they think of it.

4 - Toronto Maple Leafs

Harking back to the team’s original 6 roots, the jersey for Toronto has a retro look with a classic feel. The frayed leaf, cream and dark navy blue color palette, and minimalist design make this jersey look attractive, especially when paired with the team’s full kit. In my opinion, this jersey is better than Toronto’s current primary jersey.

3 - Colorado Avalanche

Evoking ice, snow, wintery feelings, the Rocky Mountains, and thin air, this is an excellent jersey for the Colorado Avalanche. While the Avs have had many alternate jerseys over the last few years, this one takes a different approach with a fresh color scheme. While some fans might miss the Yeti footprint, this jersey features silver accents, a blue-gray gradient on the logo, mountains on the sleeves and crest, and the Colorado C from the state flag. This embodies what a hometown jersey should be. 

2 - Anaheim Ducks

There’s no surprise with this team’s ranking. The Ducks are embracing their Disney origins in full, capturing the nostalgia and betting on your childhood love of the Mighty Ducks films. Fans of the team have been begging for a throwback to the films, and the Ducks have now provided. Anaheim and Disney are intertwined, and the Ducks as a franchise wouldn’t exist without their former parent company down the road.

1 - Seattle Kraken

Finally, the anchor, something Seattle fans have been teased with ever since the franchise first revealed the teams’ original logos. Seattle embraces the vintage nautical theming with a fresh color scheme and a unique naming/number font style. The Space Needle, Mount Rainier on the sleeves, and the original Kraken logo combine together to illustrate what makes Seattle special. Further, this jersey in my opinion shows that the Kraken organization actually hired a graphic designer with taste compared to many of the other teams which hardly tried with their HTR designs.

Ultimately, it’s always exciting for teams to inject new designs into their jersey rotations. Which jerseys are your favorite? Which ones have you already purchased to add to your collection? I look forward to seeing these jerseys in action on the ice!