Sweaters and hockey have been synonymous with each other since the infancy of the sport. Teams have been identified by their iconic colours 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 worst Washington Capitals sweaters in team history.
Washington Capitals 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 Washington Capitals
2021 Reverse Retros
Sometimes combing two great tastes can be bad. People like spaghetti and milkshakes as individual items, but a spaghetti milkshakes sounds terrible. However, putting cookies with ice cream can be magical.
Hello, old friend 🥺
Sign up to be the first to know where to get your Screaming Eagle Reverse Retro: https://t.co/ZME26EbToH pic.twitter.com/Vlagu0ZDC3
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 16, 2020
Enter the 2021 Reverse Retro sweaters that the Capitals wore. Washington used its original red, white and blue colours with the late 90s “Screaming Eagle” logo to form a fantastic-looking sweater.
This was one of the best Reverse Retros of the set. We hope the Caps think about bringing these back someday in their arsenal of looks.
2023 Reverse Retro
Sometimes the sequel isn’t as good as the original, but other times the sequel can be a hit. Washington went back to the Screaming Eagle once again and it was another successful sweater.
For a period in the 1990s and 2000s, the Capitals went with a black, blue and bronze colour scheme to go along with the eagle. The second crack at the Reverse Retro got rave reviews.
We hope this one also makes a return for special events. Washington did make its first Stanley Cup Final in these sweaters, so maybe we see these if that 1997-98 team gets honoured.
The Original Reds
Nothing beats the classics and the Capitals made a good first impression in the 1974-75 season. Washington may have been dreadful on the ice, but at least they looked good while being one of the worst teams in league history.
The team incorporated patriotic American colours of red and white and blue. It also had elements like stars on the shoulders, sleeves and shorts to complete the All-American look.
One thing to take points off these uniforms is the team wore white pants for a time with these. That tidbit came from the great NHL Uniform Database. The Capitals finally ditched them in favour of blue pants.
The Worst of the Washington Capitals
The Current Roads
Hear us out because this could anger some Capitals fans. We don’t hate them, but these sweaters have become stale.
Washington decided to reclaim its old colour scheme in the 2007-08 season. The look does pay tribute to the original sweaters that the Caps wore before the rebrand.
These were fine for a time, but it hasn’t changed much since those days. Sometimes being consistent with a look is fine. However, there may needs to be some freshening up with these sweaters.
The Current Homes
We can put the same things for the red home sweaters like we did for the road whites. However, we like these just a bit better.
#HoltBeast days away #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/0K0G7LvF6x
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) August 3, 2024
The blue is a little bit more of a navy shade than its past design. However, the Caps also have a blue variation of the 2015 Stadium Series jersey that’s been worn.
Like with the current road sweaters, it’s just time to shake things up a bit. There are some good memories with these sweaters, but it’s time to move on.
2018 Stadium Series
Washington has usually done pretty well when it comes to specialty sweaters. However, this one they wore against the Toronto Maple Leafs was a miss.
There’s a big red block on the bottom and has a navy base with white shoulder yokes. The sweater also has CAPS on the front and white numbers.
This one just doesn’t work and probably would have been better served with a smaller red stripe. The uniform could have also gone stripeless and been improved.
Other Considerations
Both the blue and white Screaming Eagles sweaters deserve some love as well as the black Capitol building alternate from the same era.
On the other side, the 2023 Stadium Series was a bit showy with the eagle logo blown up really large.
Main photo by: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
