New York Rangers - Uniforms

Uniforms

The classic Rangers sweater has been in use since the franchise's foundation, with several alterations along the way. The current blue uniform has the serifed word 'Rangers' in red and white drop shadow arranged diagonally, with red and white stripes on the sleeves and tail. Originally the uniform was light blue, before it switched to a darker classic Rangers blue in 1929. In addition, the original versions neither had a drop shadow nor were serfied. During the 1946–47 NHL season, the word 'Rangers' was arranged in an arch form above the sweater number. It adopted its current form the next season, along with dropshadowed numbers, except for a brief period where the city name was used, a tie-down collar was not used, and the tail and sleeve stripes were separated by thin blue stripes. Red pants have been used with the uniform since the 1929–30 season.

The white sweaters were first unveiled in the 1951–52 season, as part of a mandate that regulated NHL teams to have a dark home uniform and a light away uniform. The serifed word 'Rangers' is also arranged diagonally, but in blue with red drop shadow. A quinticolor of blue, white and red stripes accentuate the tail and sleeves, while a blue shoulder yoke with white and red stripes completes the look. The white sweaters, with minor changes such as a tie-down collar and arched player names, have remained virtually unchanged since.

The Rangers currently use a heritage blue alternate uniform, which was unveiled in the 2010–11 season. The front of the sweater features the city name in a sans-serif block lettering and in red with cream trim. The inside of the collar features the franchise's foundation year while retired player numbers are added inside the sweater below the back stripes. Unlike in their regular uniforms, the wordmark is not dropshadowed, while the player name is in cream and in a different arch form.

The Rangers previously had a navy alternate uniform featuring the head of the Statue of Liberty with the team abbreviation below in a futuristic script. Silver was used as an accent color, but the player names and numbers retain the same color schemes as the regular sweaters. With the exception of a white version used in the 1998–99 season, this uniform was used from 1996–2007, and was well received by fans.

During the tenure of general manager John Ferguson, Sr., he sought to modernize the Rangers sweater by featuring rounded numbers, a darker shade of blue, and the shield logo, which was unveiled in the 1976–77 season. A blue and red stripe (white and red stripe in the blue sweaters) extend from the yoke to the sleeves, while blue pants were used. However, it proved unpopular with the fans, and following the 1977–78 season it was replaced by the classic version in use today. Ferguson used this similar design when he became GM of the original Winnipeg Jets.

In the 2012 NHL Winter Classic, the Rangers wore a cream uniform combining classic and current styles. A different version of the shield logo was used, while the player names were arranged in a straight line. The stripes were also lessened, giving it a minimalist look.