Love these videos! The format feels like I’m a teenager again, hanging out in a friend’s basement, goofing around and waiting for the pizza to arrive before watching an action movie on VHS, rented from Blockbuster!
what's interesting is how all 4 of these jerseys were actually (at least slightly) different in their final year in the WHA, so not only did they expand into the NHL all of the jerseys were improved.
Love your videos, but I (an Oilers fan, I know) really like how it looks like oil is dripping down from the font. I personally like the 90's logo better with navy and copper since those colours match with what you would expect "oil" to look like. Also, the extra orange on the sleeves (plus the shoulder yolks) does help it stand out from the NY Islanders style. I could also be entirely biased, though, lol
I never knew if the Nordiques logo was supposed to be an igloo, a goal net or even an elephant as another commenter said. It is iconic though but wouldn't fly today. They also had the fleur de lis on the shoulders, which was overkill after all the ones around the waist. In the WHA, they had a year or two where they made the shaft of the stick wider, which looked really bad.
The San Diego Mariners were the relocated NY Raiders/NY Golden Blades/Jersey Knights. I always assumed the Mariners just repurposed the Raiders jerseys because they appear the same apart from the logo/wordmark. Same goes for the Michigan Stags repurposing the Los Angeles Sharks jerseys after they moved.
Considering how red and blue are the dominant colors in any sports league, it was always very odd that in the first year of the WHA, three out of the 12 teams had ORANGE as their primary dark/road jersey color (NY, Alberta, Philadelphia)...
Was never sure about the name 'Nordiques', but I do love their jerseys, and the Minnesota Fighting Saints is a fantastic team name and one of my favourite logos. Always wondered why Cincinnati didn't get in to the NHL as well. Agree with the second ranking more than the first, but take your point about Quebec, IF they were ever given an expansion franchise (not happening while Gary Bettman is alive) could they really bring back the exact same name / jersey designs? Not sure if it's a modern enough 'branding' for today.
Interestingly, the Fighting Saints jersey you are wearing is not authentic: While the team's promo material from year 2 onward included a halo over the saint's head, it did not feature on the jerseys. I have no idea why though. Say what you will about the Nordiques' logo, it is one of the most iconic logos in sport, and deserves some reverence for that. it's unique too in that it is predominantly red, though the uniforms had not a trace of red anywhere on them other than the logo.
I think the Quebec jersey ok. But the logo is objectively trash. You would mot know what it is when you first see it. And unlike the wild logo, once you learn what it is it makes you day “uhhhh ok…. Why?” Its awful. Its 2D, too basic, weird shaping, and just looks awful
I also think that they used the wrong jersey for this video, the 79-80 Nordiques logo on their dark jersey was white with a red trim (like on the Adidas team classic jersey from a few years ago), I think it looks better in those colors personally.
