Sweaters and hockey have been synonymous with each other since the infancy of the sport. Teams have been identified by their iconic colors and patterns. Some of them are classic while others are classically awful. This summer our annual series focuses on the best and the worst sweaters in each team’s history. Today we have the best and the worse Calgary Flames sweaters in team history.
Calgary Flames Sweaters: The Best and Worst
How We Did It?
We at Last Word on Hockey used a variety of methods to compile this list. Polling came from social media, our writers, and fans. We wanted to get a variety of opinions when we put out our list. This compilation will likely spur debate. However, we wanted to see who had the most memorable sweaters in each team’s history.
Let’s put our best foot forward with the best sweaters
The Best of the Calgary Flames
The Reds
Calgary’s red jerseys are simply iconic. The team decided to keep the name and the colour scheme from their time in Atlanta. Instead of an “A”, the Flames swapped out “C” to stand for Calgary. It seems like it was the right call to keep these sweaters and they’ve lasted for most of the franchise’s tenure in Alberta.
Calgary had these sweaters from 1980 until a chance in 1995-96. These iconic sweaters returned for the 30th anniversary of moving to Calgary in 2009-10. However, they’d be part of the rotation in 2018-19 and would be welcomed back as the home sweaters in 2021.
The Flames had some of their best times in these sweaters, including their only Stanley Cup win. Only some small cosmetic changes were made with red on the bottom of the sweater. These jerseys are the first thing fans of when the Calgary Flames are mentioned.
Blasty
There are some that may not like this sweater, but the horse known as Blasty is a memorable one. In 1998, the Flames put a horse crest on a black sweater as an alternate. Calgary kept the horse alternate until the end of the 2005-06 season.
Blasty’s back 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DxZC5tM4dF
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 24, 2024
The Flames retired the sweater after 05-06, but used Blasty as a shoulder crest for the 2006-07 season. Blasty would disappear for a while, but make his return in the 2021 Reverse Retro.
Calgary would bring it back and repurpose the sweater as its current alternate. We like the first incarnation of Blasty just a bit better, but the modern update is a worthy sequel.
The Black “C”
It’s a favourite of prospect writer Ben Kerr and the Black “C” sweaters just edge out the current road whites. These ones came into existence in 2003 and were celebrated.
Calgary actually got the old trope “just throw black in our jersey” correct. These became the home sweaters in 2003-04 when dark colours were given the go-ahead.
The other ones just get the nod ahead of the Black “C” sweaters. However, these are just clean-looking and an excellent sweater.
The Worst of the Calgary Flames
The 2013 Alternates
There’s usually some disagreement on the worst sweater, but this one is one of the least sweaters in Flames history. Some have described these sweaters as “a dumpster fire.”
The Calgary is done in uninspiring script on the front. Ties on the neck area can be done right, but it falls flat in this edition. Fans also were kind of indifferent to the black shoulder yokes on the sweater.
One of the only redeeming thing on these sweaters the shoulder crest that had the Rocky Mountains, a “C” and “F” and the word Flames on a circular pattern. Sad to see this patch not return for future installments.
The Pedestals
Calgary drastically changed its look in the 1995-96 season and ditched the beloved and old schools home and away sweaters. These jerseys were the first time that the Flames integrated black into its look.
On March 2, 1995, Joe Nieuwendyk became the first player in Calgary Flames franchise history to score 300 career goals in a 2-2 tie with the Vancouver Canucks.
(Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/llOm5gMqKt
— 90sHockeyTweets (@Hockey90s) March 2, 2022
This sweater had a diagonal stripe that jutted up from the bottom and was under the C logo. These jerseys got the name pedestal for that reason. If we had to choose, the red one looks a little bit better than the white ones.
There was a sequel for the second edition of the Reverse Retros that were unveiled in the 2022-23 season. However, the modern update on Blasty became the primary alternate sweater.
Hold the Ketchup and Mustard
The 2011 Heritage Classic saw the Flames take on the Montreal Canadiens. Calgary tried to pay tribute to the Calgary Tigers that ran for a number of seasons. The Flames used their colours of burgundy and yellow, but that’s where things went wrong.
Montreal blanked Calgary, 4-0, in the franchise’s first outdoor game at McMahon Stadium. The sweaters were about as ugly as the Flames’ performance in that game. Some likened the colours to ketchup and mustard. The cream pants and gloves also left something to be desired.
At least Calgary’s other two outdoor game sweaters were an improvement with the 2019 white sweaters being much like the current ones the team is wearing now.
Other Considerations
The home whites that started in Calgary and are the current edition are good. They were close behind the Black “C” sweaters.
Calgary really hasn’t had a lot of bad sweaters other than the three that were mentioned. Let’s hope this look can continue for at least a little while.
Main photo by: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
