Every Pacific Division Team's All-Time Best and Worst Uniforms

Let's take a trip down memory lane to look at every Pacific Division team's uniform highlights, as well as their lowlights.

Feb 27, 2021; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) in action in the third period during a game against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: David Berding-Imagn Images / David Berding-Imagn Images

Brand identity is an crucial part of building any sports team, but especially in the NHL, where many fans rightfully treat their jerseys as sacred.

Every team has had its share of good jerseys, but also one or two duds over the years. So, in the dead of the offseason, let's take a trip down memory lane to look at each team's best and worst uniforms in franchise history.

Before getting started, however, let's quickly go over a couple of things. First, this series is inspired by a recent piece from The Athletic going over the same concept, so be sure to check that out as well. Second, links to every jersey mentioned will be provided to give a visual reference without cluttering things up.

With that out of the way, let's dive right into the Pacific Division.

Anaheim Ducks

Best: 1993-2006 road

The Ducks — or rather the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, as they were known on the time - debuted with one of the most iconic uniforms in NHL history. The color scheme of eggplant and jade is unlike anything the league has seen before or since, and the logo with the duck-shaped goalie mask and crossed hockey sticks is just incredible. Anaheim's recent redesign features a logo very similar to the original one, but outside of rare occasions, the color scheme unfortunately seems like a relic of the past.

Worst: 2006-14 road

The Ducks underwent a drastic uniform redesign upon renaming, and while they're in a solid spot with their brand now, there were some growing pains. This uniform isn't offensively bad, but it is very boring.

Calgary Flames

Best: current home

The Flames went back to basics for their latest redesign, and boy does it look good. Their color scheme of red yellow and white comes together beautifully, and their logo looks far better in white than it did in black. A solid contender for the best home uniforms in the league today.

Worst: 2013-16 alternate

These jerseys are just a bit overcomplicated for our liking. The Calgary wordmark in addition to the standard logo and the black shoulder yoke makes for a uniform that isn't very appealing.

Edmonton Oilers

Best: current home

Much like their provincial rivals, the Oilers' best uniform is a modern recreation of their original look. The royal blue and orange look very nice together, and the striping really brings the whole look together.

Worst: 2017-22 home

In essence, this is pretty much just a color-swapped version of what we picked for Edmonton's best look. However, not only is orange work significantly worse as a primary color than a secondary one, but the Oilers used a brighter shade of orange that looks like it came straight off a safety vest.

Los Angeles Kings

Best: 2021 Reverse Retro

In my humble opinion that probably no one else agrees with, the Kings had the best uniform from both sets of Reverse Retros, but the first one is ever so slightly better. This uniform features the Wayne Gretzky-era design with the purple (or Forum Blue, as the team calls it) and gold color scheme the Kings wore in their earlier days. The result is an all-time classic uniform that should've been around far longer than just one season.

Worst: 1995-96 alternate

It's hard to believe that this was a real NHL uniform, and that the greatest hockey player of all time wore it. Known as the "Burger King" jersey, there's just so much wrong with this look that it's hard to even begin describing all the design sins it commits. At least they only appeared in a few games.

San Jose Sharks

Best: current home

The Sharks' current logo far outshines the original one in my eyes, and the current jersey has just the right striping to put it over the top. Admittedly, there could be a bit of black in the uniform to balance out the overwhelming amount of teal, but this is still a very good look.

Worst: 2021 Reverse Retro

The Sharks don't have any truly bad designs, and this one is no exception. However, the decision to use gray as the base color instead of their trademark Jim cements it as the best.

Seattle Kraken

Best: current home

Seattle obviously doesn't have much of a uniform history to pull from, but they hit it out of the park with their first design. This uniform boldly doesn't include any white at all, but the three different shades of blue and hint of red make for a really great and unique look.

Worst: 2022-23 Reverse Retro

Of Seattle's four uniforms, this is the only dud of the group. The idea is great, paying tribute to the 1940s Seattle Ironmen of the Pacific Coast Hockey League, but the execution left something to be desired. It's just too busy all around.

Vancouver Canucks

Best: current alternate

The Canucks have begun embracing their "Flying Skate" era, which ran throughout most of the 90s, more in the past few years, which is great news for uniform enthusiasts everywhere. Compared to the original, the latest version of the skate jersey features some tweaks to the striping and typeface, which give it a slight edge. It's nice to see a team fully embrace its two distinct identities at the same time.

Worst: 1978-85 home

Dubbed the "Flying Vs," these might just be the most infamous uniforms in NHL history. They don't feature a traditional logo on the chest, but rather two V-shaped stripes, which results in them looking more like graduation gowns than hockey jerseys. The yellow home jersey is slightly worse, but both of them are terrible.

Vegas Golden Knights

Best: current alternate

This was the Golden Knights' inaugural home uniform, but has been relegated to an alternate since 2022, which is a shame because it's such a good look. No other NHL team uses steel gray in its color scheme, and to have it front and center was such a good decision.

Worst: current home

Yes, it makes sense for a team called the Golden Knights to have a gold jersey, but this just doesn't look great. The gold is so dominant that it takes away from everything else, and not to mention that the material just feels very scratchy. Hopefully, the Golden Knights will go back to gray for their primary home jersey at some point.

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