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Best and worst sweaters of all-time: New York Rangers

Henrik Lundqvist

New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) reacts as he takes a curtain call after the Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 in Game 3 of their first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, April 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

AP

When you’re an original six team that comes with its own super amount of history and a look that’s already timeless, messing with what you’ve got is never a good idea. Good thing for the New York Rangers they’ve never done too much with what they’ve had and have even managed to always get their third sweaters right. It’s not like New Yorkers are critical about anything so they could’ve gotten away with something bad... Right?

Best: I’ve trashed plenty of third sweaters throughout this whole exercise and while most of them have been done with little thought for what the team was about or how it would play out, the Rangers got theirs spot on perfect back in the late 90s-early 200s. The “Lady Liberty” third jersey that portrayed a new crest with the head of the Statue of Liberty and the “NYR” initials was a perfect symbol for both the team and the city itself. While the Rangers did both a blue and white version of this sweater, the navy blue one is the most memorable of the bunch. It’s a true beauty and one that they’d make a killing with if they brought it back.

Worst: The Rangers haven’t done a lot differently through the years, but during the late 1970s for two seasons, rather than using the “RANGERS” word mark on the home and away sweaters; Instead, they opted to use their crest in a sweater that looked eerily similar to that of the Winnipeg Jets. The Rangers busted these out as throwbacks not too long ago and they didn’t look any better with Jaromir Jagr wearing them than when they had Phil Esposito wearing them. Well... Maybe Ron Duguay made them look good, but that’s besides the point.

Old-Timey Goodness: The beauty of the Rangers’ look is that it’s essentially been the same throughout their 85 years in existence. Aside from the two season stretch in the 70s, they’ve always had the “RANGERS” in script diagonally down on the front of the sweater and while that look has seen its own tweaks over the years (mostly the lettering font), it has stayed the same with even the stripes staying the same. Timeless looks don’t need to change much or ever (if you’re the Red Wings) and the Rangers have stuck with an outstanding, classic look.

Assessment: Original six teams just know how to do it right. The Rangers have a perfect, beautiful sweater and even their 85th anniversary third sweater last season was done perfect. Sticking with what works makes the Broadway Blueshirts a thing of beauty.