When you’re the team that’s got all the hype and are all the rage for new fans in the nation’s capital, it helps to have a great look to make sure everyone wants to buy your stuff. The Capitals more than pulled that off in Washington with just a little bit of help from Alex Ovechkin. It also helps that owner Ted Leonsis was eager to embrace the team’s history as well.
Best: While the Caps have a history unto themselves of different looks, their current take on their original logo with a modernized RBK Edge sweater is their best look. The home reds and road whites look clean, smooth, and excellent and their home sweaters are the ones that stand out the best. After all, Alex Ovechkin helped put people back in the seats in Washington, but he also helped them “rock the red” as well and made the Caps sweater the one new fans had to have.
Worst: There was a period in D.C. where both of their hockey and basketball teams changed up their look and decided to be modern and hip for the time. Both teams went away from the red, white, and blue color scheme to one that centered on a teal-blue-ish color with black and gold mixed in for good measure. In the Caps’ case, their road teal-blue sweater with the “screaming eagle” logo seemed like the biggest slap in the face, especially when you consider what they Caps had been wearing before that that looked so good comparatively. Wearing these sweaters around Caps games these days will get you looked at as if you’re a NARC.
Old-timey favorite: The Caps’ original sweater scheme was really an enjoyable look. It was bright (red and white dominating the look), it did its best to make the Capitals’ logo stand out, and it had stars. There were lots of red, white, and blue stars everywhere as they were on the chest of the sweater and down the sleeves. While it had a slight touch of 1970s horror to them, the look was a unique one for the team and one that helped you grow attached to guys like Peter Bondra, Mike Gartner and Rod Langway.
Assessment: I’ve already heaped a ton of praise on the Caps’ current look and it’s for good reason. Taking an old look and improving on it is something that’s apparently tough for other teams to pull off. In the Caps’ case, they did it perfect. The new logo is sleek and eliminating stars from the sweater was the right move. When it comes to the Reebok-style sweaters, the Caps were the one team that got it right with how to make it look good. While there’s been talk that the Caps will someday, eventually, add a third sweater using their fantastic “weagle” secondary logo, let’s hope they don’t botch it by trying to use a blue sweater and put a torpedo in their ever-present “Rock The Red” campaign.