The Chicago Blackhawks have participated in the most NHL outdoor games with five appearances including it’s 4th straight in as many years. The Blackhawks showcased two very bold black jerseys in their first 2 appearances in 2009 and 2014. For the last 3 outdoor showings, the Hawks have featured sleek white jerseys in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

If you’re a Hawks fan that loves collecting all their jerseys, this post is dedicated for you!

Chicago Blackhawks 2009 Winter Classic

Worn on January 1st, 2009 in Wrigley Field – Chicago, Illinois

  This jersey was a great first choice to use for an outdoor game for the Hawks. The jersey used for this Winter Classic date with the Detroit Red Wings was the throwback retro uniform Chicago used in the ‘Original Six’ days during the 1936-37 NHL season. This particular jersey design is very bold for a classic uniform as the engraved “Blackhawks Chicago” circled around the vintage Hawks logo show a sense of branding, honour and pride about it. The black base combined with the red and beige stripes add to the boldness of this uniform plus it suits the iconic center logo very well.

Chicago Blackhawks 2014 Stadium Series

Worn on March 1st, 2014 in Soldier Field – Chicago, Illinois

The Blackhawks 2014 NHL Stadium Series jersey is the reintroduction of Chicago’s first alternate jersey that debuted in 1996. Eventually, they were retired after 2011. Three years later, the Hawks brought back the black alternates with very subtle changes to match with the Stadium Series theme.

These NHL Stadium Series uniforms utilize colors within the teams’ existing color palates. Each jersey features chrome-treated logo designs that are unique to the NHL Stadium Series and inspired from the chrome details in the NHL shield, bringing a dynamic and modern perspective to conventional team identities. The chrome crest was developed using new technology that fuses print and embroidery and allows logos to be displayed as a high-resolution image incorporated into the crest. This technology also reduces the weight of the crest, resulting in a lightweight jersey to help improve athlete performance.

Numbering on the back of the jersey is enlarged and sleeve numbers are angled to improve visibility in outdoor venues.

Overall, this is a great jersey, especially for the young fans. Not too many jerseys based from old school designs blend in very well with any new school tweaking but this uniform was done just right.

Chicago Blackhawks 2015 Winter Classic

Worn on January 1st, 2015 in Nationals Park – Washington, D.C.

Inspired by the 1957 jersey worn by the Chicago Blackhawks, the white Winter Classic jersey features a lace-up collar and secondary logos on each sleeve; the secondary logos overlap the top two stripes on the sleeve rather than the traditional shoulder placement. The vintage logo in the 1957 jersey will not used. Instead, the current logo will be used to add a dash of modern to it even though the current logo has been used since 1964.

Another detail about the jersey is on the inside portion of the neck it inscribes “2015 NHL Winter Classic” in white letters. Besides that small detail and the placement of the secondary logos, this sweater looks just like the current road jerseys used today.

Chicago Blackhawks 2016 Stadium Series

Worn on February 21st, 2016 in TCF Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, Minnesota

The white NHL Stadium Series jersey pays homage to Chicago, featuring four, six-pointed red stars on the white collar, which are derived from the City of Chicago’s flag and were incorporated as a symbol of regional fan pride. Additionally, the black shoulder yoke serves as a visual representation of the city’s nickname, the “City of Big Shoulders.” The team’s secondary logos overlap the top three stripes on the sleeve rather than the traditional shoulder placement.

The stripes, letters and numbers were purposely made bigger to match the Stadium Series theme plus it improves visibility in outdoor venues.

Chicago Blackhawks 2017 Winter Classic

Worn on January 2nd, 2017 in Busch Stadium – St. Louis, Missouri

Very similar to the 2015 Winter Classic sweater, the 2017 Winter Classic jersey was also inspired by the 1957 original. This time they used the vintage logo instead of the current one plus the secondary logo is more modern than the one used in 2015.

This sweater is not only inspired by the 1957 originals, it was also inspired by the playing era of legends Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull. The uniform stands as an homage to the legends of the past while preserving the classic aesthetic of the franchise by using details from uniforms of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Just like all of the other white uniforms used in the outdoor games, the Hawks once again used single-layer black lettering because black is the perfect contrasting colour to the white body of the uniform.

THE 2016/17 NHL OUTDOOR JERSEY CLASS – ALL ABOUT LEGACY