When you talk about the Carolina Hurricanes and their history of sweaters, there’s really not a whole lot of change they’ve done since they’ve been in North Carolina. Don’t think we’re going to ignore the whale in the room when it comes to their departure from Hartford, however.
Best: The original road red sweaters the Hurricanes busted out with is the one I identify best with when it comes to what they’ve had over time. It was a simple design and while the logo leaves a lot to be desired, the storm flags design that goes around the bottom of the sweater with the simple stripes make it stand out well. The piping that came in later on after the lockout and the addition of the RBK Edge designs dumbed the whole thing down. The Hurricanes got it right the first time around without the needless piping.
Worst: When the Hurricanes introduced a third sweater that was going to take advantage of their secondary logo, I was excited to see what they would pull off. After all, their secondary logo is ingenious using a hockey stick as a flag pole with the, ahem, tropical storm warning flag atop it being blown by the wind. Instead, they went full on with the black color scheme dulling everything out, including the storm flag stripes at the bottom. They had a real chance to do something cool and came up with something that was hip for the moment. For shame.
Long Live the Whalers: Give me your tired, your weary, your Pucky the Whale (although not like this). Give me your green and blue, your navy blue and gray, and your Brass Bonanza. Give me the Hartford Whalers sweaters in every iteration they’ve ever donned in their history. The Hurricanes bolted Hartford and left behind a legacy of looks that tug at every hockey fan’s heartstrings. If you can’t appreciate the looks the Whalers brought to the ice, I don’t want to even know who you are.
“Iconic” doesn’t even begin to describe what the Whalers are and were to hockey fans… If only as many people loved the Whalers then as they do now perhaps Peter Karmanos wouldn’t have run screaming for North Carolina.
Assessment: Listen, nothing is ever going to live up to the bar that the Whalers set beforehand and the Hurricanes have been fighting that retroactive Whalers fandom since they moved to North Carolina so that’s not fair. All things considered, the Hurricanes have an OK look right now. The logo is tough to love but they have a great color scheme and the sweaters are nicely designed enough. Hey, if it’s good enough for the “Justin Bieber of hockey” it’s good enough for me. It’ll just never be as nice as something that once originated out of Hartford.