Welcome to a new segment on FlamesForum: NHL sweater reviews. Our friend Adam at @adams_sweater_reviews will now deliver his review of NHL sweaters for your reading pleasure. Let’s begin with the 2003 Calgary Flames classic jersey.
In 2003, Calgary introduced black as a primary colour, changing the Flaming “C” to black on the home sweaters. That season Calgary went to the Stanley Cup, revitalizing interest in the team. The jerseys became an instant classic.
The basic design has since remained with various tweaks and modernizations. Unfortunately those changes have gradually eroded the appeal of what started as a fantastic sweater. These new sweaters are a step in the right direction, but there remains work to do.
I like the two toned sleeves. It’s a neat feature only a handful of teams in the league have.
I’m usually critical of tie up collars, but here it works. Whereas most tie ups are white, the Flames use black which matches the Flaming C. The top third of the jersey is blank so the tie-up gives us something interesting to look at. Calgary has been sporting a tie up collar since 2003. It’s part of their brand identity and not something slapped on because it’s trendy.
Bizarre waist stripe. Very thin, set really low, and is the only thing on the sweater not accented by black. It looks like they intended to have a black stripe but forgot resulting in an unbalanced visual.
The vertical stripes down the sides are the worst! It spoils the clean red look and breaks up the waist stripes. Thankfully the lines are more subdued on these adidas sweaters compared to previous iterations, but it’s inexplicable why the Flames kept them.
I discussed the flag shoulder patches in my Colorado review. To reiterate, the blue Alberta flag works because it contrasts the sweater. The blue pops but isn’t a distraction because the patch is small and in the corner. The red and white Canada flag doesn’t work. It’s washed out by those colours being featured prominently elsewhere on the sweater.
