What is the best uniform in Blues' history? More than two dozen alumni make their pick

New York Times

3 days ago

ST. LOUIS — In February of 1997, Jim Woodcock's first assignment in his new job with the St. Louis Blues was getting players out of the red diagonally striped uniforms and into a new classical look.
'Job No. 1,' Woodcock, who was the senior VP of marketing and communications for eight seasons, recalled this week. 'I was writing prolific messages to the league office about why it was important to our fanbase to get out of those things, and fast.'
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The Blues were granted permission to introduce a third jersey for the 1997-98 season, which would become their full-time home and road jerseys for the '98-99 season and worn for the next nine years.
'I said I was going to take the red out, and the league said, 'We like colors, and if you take red out, you should put another color in,'' Woodcock recalled. 'So that's when we introduced the navy blue accents. The thinking was, 'We're the Blues, so now there are different shades of blue.''
Before the new uniforms were seen by fans, Woodcock was part of a photo shoot with former Blues Brett Hull and Kelly Chase, and he still remembers their reaction.
'I just happened to see Hullie looking at himself in the mirror, and he was like, 'This looks great!'' Woodcock said. 'That made me feel good.'
Those uniforms debuted on Jan. 31, 1998, in a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars at Kiel Center.
'Steve Duchesne scored in the first minute, and we rolled,' Woodcock said. 'After the game, he said, 'We played great because we finally liked how we looked.' That didn't surprise me. Athletes will tell you that they want to wear a uniform that has dignity, strength, earns respect and ideally celebrates some tradition.'
The Blues unveiled their new uniforms Tuesday, and as someone who had the responsibility of procuring the sanctity of the Blue Note during his tenure with the team, Woodcock had a keen interest.
'It's an enormous privilege, but also a responsibility because you don't get do-overs,' he said. 'You can't find out a couple days later that fans have a distaste for it, or for whatever reason, it's not clicking. This is who you are for many years to come.'
And Woodcock loves them.
'They're excellent!' he said. 'The blue ones are exceptional, but I'm a little more used to seeing them. The white version will be the best uniforms in the National Hockey League — no rival — and that includes the Original Six uniforms. It's distinctive, it's colorful and it's clean.'
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The reviews were positive from Blues' alumni, too.
'The new jerseys look awesome!' former defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said.
The Athletic reached out to more than two dozen alumni regarding the new look, asking each: 'What is your favorite uniform in franchise history?' We provided them with a picture of seven sets — home and away; no third jerseys or Winter Classics — that have been donned over the franchise's 50-year history. Not every uniform was represented because some had just minor style tweaks, or only changed because the company making them changed.
As expected, some alumni chose their own, while one former player voted against one particular jersey.
'Please tell me no one said the red ones!' former defenseman Jeff Brown said.
No, not one. Four players did.
Here are the responses we received, with a quote from each player below the jersey they liked best:
This is not the Blues' first uniform, which was worn only for the inaugural 1967-68 season. We chose the second one because it still represents the earliest days of the franchise and was worn longer.
David Backes: 'The baby Blue is classic and retro and unassuming. Then you get the hard-nosed Blues down your throat.'
Brett Hull: 'Prettiest and classiest.'
Barret Jackman: 'It's simple, clean, has great colors, and it's the best logo in sports.'
Terry Crisp: 'It's an original, and it's the jersey I wore with pride.'
Bernie Federko: 'Was the original one I wore, and the colors were the best of all the jerseys.'
Carlo Colaiacovo: 'I always loved the powder blues. It's an old-school look, and it's simple with the yellow and blue.'
The Blues made several changes from 1974 to '79, such as reversing the colors on the stripes and adding nameplates on the back, before landing on these in '79.
Mike Liut: 'Classic Blues jersey with the shoulder ribbon matching the bottom of the jersey and socks. What's not to like other than it was made of the heaviest material ever produced, particularly when soaked with sweat.'
Kelly Chase: 'The baby blue is epic and I'm a big tradition guy.'
Scotty Bowman: 'I like the royal blue color, and the Blue Note was over the top.'
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Paul Stastny: 'To me, it's the white home jerseys. The white is always the cleanest look, and then with the stripes in the jerseys and pants, it just makes it pop.'
Pat Maroon: 'I feel like it was the beginning of something special. It represents all past players and the great alumni brotherhood that's been built here.'
This version was introduced in 1984 and was a big departure from any previous uniforms. This particular color scheme is what they wore from 1985 to '87, when red was added to the blue uniforms.
Ian Laperriere: 'I like the simplicity and the old-school look.'
Dallas Drake: 'That's my favorite. I'm just a fan of the old-school look, and it's just different from all the rest. I like the yellow stripe on the pants, but I'm not really known for my taste in fashion, so take that with a grain of salt.'
The 'BLUES' script came off the front of the jersey, and the Blue Note was enlarged. Over the next few seasons, the Note became more rounded, and the name plates also changed colors.
Bob Bassen: 'It's my favorite because it's the jersey I played in and bled on.'
Cam Janssen: 'Because of Hull. He's the one that got me and so many people my age into hockey. Plus, that was my first jersey when I made AAA Blues.'
Geoff Courtnall: 'I love the colors.'
Garth Butcher: 'It's the classic Blue Note. It was always front and center. It was simple but a recognizable symbol that all the guys were always proud to play for.'
Gino Cavallini: 'It brings back fond memories of my days playing there. This was the style at that time, and who could forget Brett scoring 86 goals in the 1990-91 season.'
The most controversial change in the history of the Blues' uniforms took place with the addition of the diagonal striping and red becoming much more prominent in the design.
Jake Allen: 'When I was growing up in the mid-'90s, this was an iconic jersey in my eyes and symbolized the Blues for me. I wish I had a chance to wear it.'
Reed Low: 'I may be a little biased, but that was my draft jersey, and I always loved the red stripes! Most people hate it, but I'm a black sheep, so that sounds about right.'
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Kevin Shattenkirk: 'It's one of my favorite NHL jerseys ever. I love the red accents, and I can always picture Blues players I looked up to growing up wearing that jersey. Such an awesome design.'
Chris Butler: 'It brings me back to being a kid and falling in love with the game — watching the likes of Brett Hull, Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis.'
The Blues lose the red and add navy blue to their new three-color scheme. The white version was worn in early 1998, but the white and blue became the permanent home and away jerseys for the 1998-99 season.
Bruce Affleck: 'It's a classic and with less yellow. I'm not a fan of the yellow.'
From 2007 to '14, the Blues wore a Reebok Edge jersey that featured vertical piping, but that was abandoned for more traditional horizontal piping in 2014. Despite a few subtle changes over the next decade, the uniform remained largely unchanged as the manufacturer went from Reebok to Adidas to Fanatics.
Jordan Binnington: 'To me, it's a clean look! It's the uniform we've worn the most since I've been a Blue.'
Tyler Bozak: 'For sure, because we won the Stanley Cup in that jersey.'
In 2025-26, the Blues will wear their previous home blue jerseys as their third jersey, and they'll continue wearing the red '90s retro jerseys, as well.
'You mean the ones that I tried to get rid of?' Woodcock said. 'I've had to change what I say from 'I did' to 'I tried.' That's just a lesson in how trends can circle back because the kids were pumped when the mid-'90s red diagonals came back. Different generations gravitate to different things, and in a way, the Blues are doing that today with what was just released. The remastered look is inspired by the very roots of this organization with a forward-thinking element to it.'
Woodcock is fine with that forward thinking, even if it means replacing the version of the logo that he developed in 1998.
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'It has had different looks along the way, but it's still the Blue Note,' he said. 'I'd like to think the Blue Note over the past 27 years served the team and fans faithfully. The key is that it stands tall and strong as it always has. There's only one Blue Note, and it's awesome. It has a new life today, and I'm here for it.'
(Top photo of Dallas Drake and Lee Stempniak wearing Brett Hull jerseys: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images. All uniform renderings courtesy of the Blues)