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Best and worst sweaters of all-time: Calgary Flames

Edmonton Oilers v Calgary Flames

CALGARY, CANADA - APRIL 6:Jarome Iginla #12 of the Calgary Flames is congratulated by teammate Alex Tanguay #40 on his hat trick goal against the Edmonton Oilers in third period NHL action on April 6, 2011 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Mike Ridewood/Getty Images)

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For our final team of the “Best and worst sweaters of all-time” series we head to the great white north of Calgary where the Flames may not have originated there, but they’ve adopted a look and a name and made it their own.

Best: Perhaps the best sign of the greatness of a single sweater is when it’s brought back from the dead for special occasions and then ultimately becomes the team’s new third jersey. Such is the case for the best Flames sweater of all-time, their original road sweater when the team moved to Calgary. It’s red and, perhaps for some, eye aggravatingly so. With the yellow and white stripes around the sleeves and waist and the letter “C” on fire for the logo it’s got a single beauty all its own.

Seeing the likes of Joe Nieuwendyk, Al MacInnis, Theo Fleury, and Lanny McDonald all sport this look when the team won the 1989 Stanley Cup helped make it even more legendary than it is, but it’s never a bad thing to see the old look brought back so current Flames legend Jarome Iginla can get some glory out of it as well.

Worst: I honestly debated over which of two sweaters the Flames have worn in their history are their absolute worst. While one was a poorly striped modernized version of their old home and away set, I had to lean on the team’s original third sweater as their worst. Going from a bright red sweater to a black one with a new and bizarre horse head logo on the front is one that still makes me shake my head. The Flames’ flaming letter “C” is an incredibly easy and familiar logo, adopting a new look that takes Calgary’s pride in being a rodeo town and putting a flame-breathing horse on the front is just so strange.

I’m not sure if it’s so bad honestly, but with how the team and the city rally around the color red, jumping on the bandwagon for a black alternate was just predictable and ultimately lame. At least the horse head got to live on a little while longer as the shoulder patch on a newer and updated version of the Flames’ uniform.

Sherman’s march to Canada?: Calgary wasn’t a town that had anything to do with fire, but the team moved to Canada from Atlanta. The Flames name came about thanks to General Sherman burning the city down during the Civil War. Much like the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, the team nickname has absolutely nothing at all to do with its current home city. Their look in Atlanta, however, was a thing of beauty and one the team was easily able to recreate for being in Calgary. The “flaming A” of Atlanta soon became part of the Flames uniforms as the “A” on the sweaters of team alternate captains.

Assessment: The Flames’ current sweaters are fantastic. The bold flaming “C” adorns all three of their sweaters, and with the flags of Alberta and Canada being on the shoulders of both the home and away sweaters, it’s a proud way for the Flames to stake a claim on their Canadian home. Using the throwback sweater from the 80s as their third is a great touch for the team, but they can’t go wrong with either of their standard sweaters. It’s a stellar look for a team with a proud fan base.