In part one of this series, I covered the NHL retro jerseys of the Metropolitan Division that I believe should return arenas next season. There were fish sticks, there were eagles and there were even Whalers! With the Metro covered, I will now turn my focus to the Atlantic Division and cover their retro uniform possibilities.
The same rules will apply to the Atlantic Division as the Metro. All prior uniforms and logos in a team’s history will be considered, including one-time uniforms in outdoor games.

Boston Bruins-Yellow “B”

This was the uniform the Bruins donned in the late 1960s and early 70s. The likes of the great 1970 Stanley Cup Champion Bruins donned this uniform, including Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk, and former Islanders captain Ed Westfall.

The jersey is simple in terms of design, as the iconic circle B is in its original form, but instead of black being the primary color of the logo and jersey, yellow takes center stage as the primary color. The black now takes its place on the shoulders with white piping and outside white bands on the sleeves. The Bruins haven’t had a yellow uniform since the 2011 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, and if the team wants to go back to the days of its greats, this look would be a good place to start.

Buffalo Sabres- Red and Black Buffalo

While the Sabres are more known for their blue and gold color scheme, the team should go back to the red and black uniforms they wore from the mid 90’s to mid 2000’s. It would give shades to the most successful era of the franchise’s history, as the team made the postseason 6 times out of the 10 years they wore the jersey, including deep runs to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999 and a Eastern Conference Final appearance in 2006. Some of the team’s best players wore the uniform as well, including Miroslav Satan, Jason Pominville, and Dominik Hasek.
As a result, the revival of the black, while moving away from their conventional look today, would be a sharp look with the head of the Buffalo and strong balance between red, white, and black, and it would be a good homage to the best teams and players in Sabres history.

Detroit Red Wings-2016 Stadium Series

This was the uniform the team rocked at Coors Field in Denver in their 2016 Stadium Series matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, and it is arguably one of the best in Stadium Series history. Right off the bat, it’s an eye catcher with a sharp balance of red and white, with a white diagonal stripe going down the middle. The white gloves to complement the end of the sleeves only add to the sharpness, and the script “D,” a play on the old Detroit Cougars logo, at the middle is also a refresh to the logo the team wore in the 2009 Winter Classic. While the collar with the team name written over the left shoulder may not have been the best decision, the uniform and logo are welcome changes over the “Winged Wheel” design of today and would be awesome to see on the Little Caesar’s Arena ice.

Florida Panthers-Blue Leaping Panther

This was the jersey the team wore in its early days at the BB&T Center from 1996-2006, and the crest on the jersey is the old “Leaping Panther” logo the team wore for the large majority of its history. Not only is the jersey a reference to the beginnings of the Panthers, but some of the players on the team today have worn that crest during their NHL careers. Some of the Panthers’ stars, including Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, and their all time points leader Jonathan Huberdeau, have worn the logo, so there are ties to the Panthers of today as well. Also, the Panthers haven’t had a navy blue jersey in their rotation since 2012, so to bring this jersey back as a retro uniform would be a good call.

However, the one question about the jersey would be the logo. The old logo is still used by the team, but it was revamped with the teams rebrand back in 2016 and was demoted to a secondary logo. While it is unknown what logo they would use if they were to bring it back, the uniform is very good looking with the red and yellow shoulders and stripes down the arms of the jersey. Also, the shoulder patch with the sun, hockey stick, and palm tree logo is still around as a helmet decal, so it would be nice to give it another chance on a jersey. As a result, the jersey is very good looking, and bringing it back would not only tie into the present, but also the past with some of their best players, such as Olli Jokinen, Roberto Luongo, and Scott Mellanby.

Montreal Canadiens-Centennial Blue

When the Canadiens celebrated their centennial in the 2008-09 season, they brought back several jerseys of the distant past for select games throughout the season. Those jerseys included the original blue jersey with the white “C” of 1907, the “Green Leaf” logo of 1910-11, and the beautifully ugly “Barber Poles” of 1912-13.

However, if the Habs were to pick one of these jerseys to bring back as a throwback, the blue one is the best of the bunch. While it may not have a ton of connections to the Canadiens players of today, it would be a great callback to the original days of the Montreal Canadiens. The jersey looks great, and the color scheme would be a nice changeup away from the bleu, blanc, et rogue of today. Also, the jersey was only worn for one season in 1907, so it would be fair for the uniform to come back as a third jersey for next season and possibly an extended run the foreseeable future.

Ottawa Senators-“O”

The jersey itself is relatively simple with a black base color, red and white stripes down the middle, the sleeves, and the waist, and a big black “O” in the middle. The “O” not only represents the city of Ottawa, but it is also a reference to the logo of the old Ottawa Senators the played in the city from 1917-1934. The original black was unveiled in 2011 as their alternate, and a white version of the uniform was unveiled in 2014 in honor of their Heritage Classic matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. They stuck with the black uniform as their third jersey until the change to Adidas in 2017, where the jersey was scrapped in favor of a red jersey with black and white stripes and a silver “O” in honor of the 2017 NHL 100 Classic at Lansdowne Park.

While that uniform is also a sharp looking jersey, the black is better since it takes advantage of a secondary color in black, and the logo overall looks sharper on the older uniform than the newer one. As a result, the uniform is a good blend of the past and present, and the black “O” should be a likely choice to return to Canadian Tire Centre.

Tampa Bay Lightning-The Original

While the Lightning may not have been around the longest compared to other NHL teams, they have a Stanley Cup and have had several great players in their history. They have the great faces of the past in Marty St. Louis, Vincent Lecavlier, and Brad Richards, and present faces such as Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Victor Hedman. This choice would see the past and present collide with the Lightning of today donning the threads of those cup winning players of 2004.

The logo was consistent in the early part of the Bolts’ history with “Tampa Bay” written above the gray bolt and “Lightning” written on the bottom. The jersey itself is simple with black as the base color, white on the shoulders, and white and blue accents at the edge of the sleeves and waist. While it may not be as good as today’s jersey, it’s a great retro look, and has been donned recently for warmups during the number retirement ceremony of St. Louis’ #26. Also, considering the Lightning’s recent struggles in the playoffs, this could possibly tap into the recent failures and give the Bolts of today the extra boost to get to their name on the cup once again.

Toronto Maple Leafs-Centennial Classic

The Maple Leafs took on the Detroit Red Wings in the 2017 NHL Centennial Classic at BMO Field in Toronto, and the uniforms for that game were sharp. They gave off a lot of shades to the Florida Panthers’ uniforms today, but the Leafs made it work very well. The look is simple with blue as the base color, and there is a white band with a silver outside down the middle of the jersey and the sleeves. The purpose of the game was to reflect on the past and look towards the future, and with the Leafs young stars running the show in “The Six,” this jersey is a logical choice. Many Leafs players on today’s roster also played in that game, including Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, William Nylander, and Zach Hyman, so there are not only ties to the current generation of Maple Leafs, but also the next century of hockey in Toronto and the NHL.

So that’s a wrap on the Atlantic Division edition of the series. Like last time, if there are any jerseys you think I missed, leave a comment on this post and let me know! The next edition of the series will cover the Central Division, so stay tuned for another entry to the series!

Matthew Page

I am a first year student at Hofstra University and an avid Islanders fan. I have been writing for Drive4Five since March 2020. My family has been season ticket holders for the team since 2016, and hockey is my favorite sport. As I expand my knowledge in the field of Journalism, I am writing to express my love for the Islanders and the NHL.