Daily Faceoff’s Mike Gould, Scott Maxwell and Colton Davies ranked the NHL’s 32 home jerseys in a late-July piece for DailyFaceoff.com today, and here’s what they have to say about the Winged Wheel:
9. Detroit Red Wings
Mike: 9th
Scott: 11th
Colton: 11thColton: Detroit’s winged wheel has been around since the 1930s and has become a staple among Detroit fans with a logo I consider top-five. While there have been minor cosmetic changes to the jersey throughout history, the winged wheel has primarily stayed the same and for two whole decades the jersey stayed the same. Once again, it’s a nod to history and the roots of the Original Six.
Mike: I’ve always been a big fan of the arched player names on the back of every Red Wings jersey. It’s a subtle touch but it gives a pretty basic-looking uniform the perfect dose of character. No, there’s nothing flashy about Detroit’s uniforms, but they’re a great match for a Red Wings franchise with a rich history of being the class of the NHL.
Scott: I grew up surrounded by Red Wings fans, so I always enjoy the look of their jersey. It’s simple, but it’s iconic. Admittedly, it gives them no room for making other jerseys because they don’t have any other colors that they consistently use, so every jersey will be worse (although I do wonder what a black alternate jersey would look like). My only other note is that these jerseys drop much closer to the bottom during the preseason thanks to the weird nameplate font that they use then.
Continued; you know that I’m biased by now, but there’s nothing that says, “That’s where I’m from” to me like the Red Wings’ red “home sweater.”
It’s like the Detroit Tigers’ “Old English D” or the Detroit skyline as you ride the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor to Detroit. You just look at it and say, “Yeah, that represents where I am from, where I was born” (and I was born in Detroit).
