In 72 days, the Columbus Blue Jackets will take part in their first outdoor game, hosting the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Stadium Series at the Horseshoe. Which means the Blue Jackets will be getting their first jerseys since the 2022-23 Reverse Retro, and their first fully new, from the ground-up design since unveiling their alternate jerseys back in 2010! While the game is still over two months away, knowing the production timelines of NHL jerseys, the uniforms likely have already been finalized for the big day.
But before we look to the future, let’s look to the past. The Detroit-Columbus game will be the 12th year and 16th game in the Stadium Series, and we have 29 jerseys to review! For those unaware, Stadium Series jerseys typically feature large graphic elements, simplified striping, and design styles that push the envelope of traditional jersey design. We’ll be looking for those, as well as how well the uniforms innovate on the team’s existing brand.
In case you missed it, this is Part 2, recapping the middle third of those 29 jerseys. For Part 1, click here! Let’s hop back into it with #19.
#19 – 2014 New York Rangers
These Rangers jerseys typically rank pretty low on the Stadium Series jersey rankings I see, and I get it. The side panels get rightfully panned, and the chromed effect does not look great on the “New York” diagonal. But deep inside, I really like these. Maybe not like. Appreciate. I think the arm striping reflecting the typical away’s shoulder yoke is a great touch, and I weirdly like using navy instead of royal. The color layout of the diagonal wordmark and numbers, aside from the chromifying, is really nice. It looks like a natural, modern adaptation of the Rangers’ jerseys. It has problems, yeah, but I don’t think these should be as hated as they are.
#18 – 2015 Los Angeles Kings
Okay, I’ll be honest, I’m a sucker for split jerseys. Take one jersey, but it has two base colors? That’s one more than normal! That’s twice as fun! If the Blue Jackets’ jerseys are split between, say, navy blue and the steel blue from the third jersey, I’ll be a happy, happy man. And the 2015 Stadium Series was the first one to do it. Unfortunately, other than that, these jerseys are pretty mid. They’re not really shown here, but these jerseys are paired with white pants, and the socks are flipped, so it’s a big white space from chest to shin. Plus the Kings logo is bad and the grey parts just look dirty. I personally like it, but from an objective design perspective, they’re not the best.
#17 – 2024 New Jersey Devils
Remember the Flyers jerseys from last time, with the dirty orange and black creating a muddled mess with no white? These Devils jerseys are diet versions of that. Not nearly as bad, since the red is brighter and actually looks nice, but contrast is still an issue. That, and they’re really not that original. If you’d asked me to remove all white from the Devils’ home jerseys, this would be my first attempt. Just not a ton of creativity for a once-a-decade outdoor game.
#16 – 2020 Colorado Avalanche
Another split jersey! This one infuriates me so much. It’s so, so close to being so, so good. The colors are fantastic, beautifully distinct but similar enough in brightness that it isn’t jarring. Colorado has the best color scheme in the NHL, and simplifying it so there isn’t any grey or black lets it shine to its full potential. But then, they do whatever they’re going for with that logo. Well, they’re going for a big A with mountains inside, but the execution is… bad. Having the “peak” go up to the collar and include the pentagon just makes it look like a bib. The triangles in the center are a different material than the maroon of the jersey, so that’s suboptimal. Replicating that on the helmet doesn’t look great. It just was not the move. Like, if they just went with that design theme but as an actual logo, this would be in the top five. As is? #16.
#15 – 2018 Toronto Maple Leafs
Jerseys 15 through 12 are all really tight to me, and their order shuffled multiple times as I was writing this. But ultimately, the next three jerseys are masterclasses of taking existing jerseys and adapting them for the Stadium Series, and it felt right to include them together. This may be the most direct adaptation. The Leafs took their away jersey, and their iconic two blue stripes, expanded them to a full chest stripe, and then went all-in on the all-white look. The main downside is that it didn’t look fantastic in-game due to the ice being a couple shades darker than normal. If you’re against white pants for hockey jerseys, you probably won’t like these. But the fact that they commit so much to the all-white, I think, makes it work.
#14 – 2014 New York Islanders
While the Leafs took a more direct approach to Stadium-ification, the Islanders were a bit more abstract. Their classic striping of an orange bar over a white lower-arm fill was vastly simplified down to just an orange stripe over white. They also isolated the NY from their logo and gave it a chrome border, and added a white version of the funky yoke that this Stadium Series used. And for what it’s worth, it pulls off the diagonal pants stripe thing better than any other jersey from this year. It’s a good look, no doubt, and unquestionably Islanders, enough so that they adopted it and then adapted it as an alternate. But I don’t think it’s as good as the jerseys above it.
#13 – 2016 Chicago Blackhawks
As the Stadium Series is wont to do, people seem to be divided on this jersey. If you ask me, the Blackhawks hit a healthy middle ground. Unquestionably Blackhawks, with their classic arm stripes expanded to fill most of the arm, but still with some fun twists, like the black yoke and Chicago stars. It’s a bit black-heavy, but within the Stadium Series context, it does what it set out to well. I really like it! And I don’t have much more to say about it. Solid jersey.
#12 – 2023 Washington Capitals
Here, the Capitals tried for a similar “over-sized logo becoming the stripes” thing as the Avalanche in 2020, but it works much, much better. The Weagle is a fantastic logo, and after 17 years it finally made it to the front of the jersey. The blue arm bands blend in with it well, especially with the feather detailing and arm numbers both in white. It has a lot of pleasing consistency, but it still screams Stadium Series and screams Washington. It’s a bit lacking from the back, but I really like it regardless.
#11 – 2020 Los Angeles Kings
Five years after their last split Stadium Series design, the Kings came back and nailed it. The diagonal split between black and white is a stark, attention-grabbing centerpiece, and I love it. Taking the LA from the Kings’ 2010s logo and adding the motion lines from their Gretzky-era brand looks incredible. And the introduction of chrome helmets to the NHL. Fantastic. I love all of it. The arms are a bit blank, with the right almost all black and the left almost all white, but I almost don’t care. It’s the perfect, maximum “Stadium Series” design, and it works wonders.
That was a lot more fun! We’re hitting our stride here, and I’m starting to look forward to what Fanatics will cook up for the Jackets. Is that a mistake? Probably! We’ll hit the top 10 after the New Year in Part 3.