Bruins mark 90 years of hockey decade by decade

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The Boston Bruins have been marking their 90th anniversary with special tributes throughout the season — involving a variety of historical jerseys.

On 10 special nights, the Bruins are honoring a specific decade along with a key figure from franchise history.

Each night, the special guest drops the ceremonial first puck while wearing a classic Bruins sweater. At this point in the season, the team is halfway through its tribute nights, so I wanted to take a look back at the five sweaters we've seen so far.

By the way, after you've clicked through all the photos, scroll back up here to the poll and pick your favorite vintage Bruins jersey.

10/14 · Milt Schmidt · 1940s

The Bruins got things started on Oct. 14 with Milt Schmidt, who skated in the black and gold from 1936 to 1955. He looked good reviving the sweater he wore in his heyday — though it looks more like a football jersey with giant numbers on the chest and back. The B's wore this one from 1940 to 1948. 

11/21 · Bobby Orr · 1970s

Boston can't have a proper hockey tribute without including one of their greatest players. Bobby Orr showed up in November to help celebrate the '70s. His jersey was first introduced by the Bruins in 1967, when the original expansion teams joined the NHL. In 1974, the shoulder yokes disappeared from this uniform but that striping pattern would stick around another 20 years.

12/17 · Terry O'Reilly · 1980s

In December, Terry O'Reilly dropped by to represent the '80s. His jersey features the bear head shoulder patch which was introduced in 1976. It survived until 1995 when the bear got a facelift and a new color scheme.

1/14 · P.J. Axelsson · 2000s

Boston kicked off the new year with P.J. Axelsson, who was on the roster not that long ago. The Swedish winger was a career Bruin from 1997 to 2009. As such, his jersey was the one used by the Bruins just prior to the Reebok Edge overhaul in 2007. It debuted in 1995.

1/30 · Weston Adams, Jr. · 1920s

I have to admit that was a name I didn't recognize, though longtime Bruins fans probably know him well. Weston Adams, Jr. served as president of the franchise from 1969 to 1975. His grandfather, Charles Adams, founded the Bruins in 1924. So his lineage made him the ideal candidate to represent the Bruins' first decade of existence.

Adams' jersey is modeled after the one worn by the team in its second season, 1925-26. It's not one we get to see very often so it's disappointing the Bruins only shared one photo of Adams. I'd love to see a few more angles of this one. More than that, I would've loved to see the Bruins wear each of these jerseys as throwbacks on each tribute night.

More tribute nights to come

The next 90th Anniversary Night is just around the corner. On March 1, the Bruins will welcome Eddie Shore, Jr., son of the famed blue-liner, to celebrate the 1930s. The last four tribute nights will take place March 6, 24, 27 and April 5.

Guests and decades have not been announced yet, but it's probably safe to bet on seeing Ray Bourque or Cam Neely represent the 1990s at some point. The other remaining decades are the 1950s, '60s, and of course 2010s — probably on the final night.

Before you leave, go back to the top and vote for your favorite of the five jerseys used so far. What other historical B's sweaters are you hoping to see on the remaining nights?

Flames prepare for season debut of vintage jersey

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Fear not! The Calgary Flames will indeed continue to wear their brightly-colored throwback uniforms despite the debut of a new third jersey.

This was confirmed on Wednesday morning when the Flames tweeted photos from practice, showing the team on the ice in their red and yellow retro gear.

No dates were specifically mentioned, but the fact that they're breaking out the classic gear means the game can't be too far down the road.

The Flames' next game happens to be at home on Thurs., Feb. 27 when they host the Kings. It would make sense we'd see the throwbacks that night. Otherwise, it would have to wait until Wed., March 5. But that's unlikely. Why?

I know the question is coming, so let's knock it out. Does this retro revelation mean the new third jersey is being prematurely retired? Certainly not. Superstition caused the team to skip a previously scheduled third jersey night a few weeks ago, but we'll probably see it back in action for it's next scheduled night — which is March 5.

Keep in mind what the team said in October when the third was unveiled:

"We believe we have delivered a third jersey that will appeal to those who wanted a third jersey while adding to our classic vintage jersey and solid current jersey."

—Jim Peplinski, Calgary Flames VP, Business Development

"Adding" to the vintage jersey. The new third was never intended to replace the throwback. Likewise, the return of the throwback should not indicate replacement of the new third.

After that, the next home game is Fri., March 7 and that's a special night. In fact, the Flames have declared it their annual "Retro Night" as they plan to honor Joe Nieuwendyk's contributions to the organization that drafted him.

Calgary will no doubt sport their retro jersey that night. It'd be especially appropriate considering Nieuwendyk himself once skated a lap with the Stanley Cup while wearing it.

That leaves Feb. 27 and March 7 as two potential dates for the Flames' retro reds. Keep your eyes peeled for any official announcements.

My thanks to Icethetics reader Ryan Pike for his contributions to this post.

Update

February 27: In case you were wondering, the Flames did not break out the retro jersey for tonight's game against the Kings. March 7 now appears to be the most obvious date — what with the whole Retro Night theme and all.

B-Sens pay tribute to Team USA with ugly jersey

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The AHL's Binghamton Senators wanted to capitalize on the excitement of the U.S. Olympic hockey team with a special jersey on Saturday.

But boy, was it ugly.

The crest was clearly modeled after the USA Hockey logo, which for legal reasons the B-Sens obviously had to avoid. So instead they tried to mimic it. Poorly.

In fact, it's so bad it ended up looking like the letters "USA" sitting atop an Austrian flag.

Kudos to the B-Sens for wanting to show their support to Team USA, but next time hire a real designer for the jersey. No reason any team has to look like that.

By the way, if the U.S.-Russia game was a nail biter, this one was decidedly not. They may have had ugly jerseys, but Binghamton cruised to an 8-0 win over the Worcester Sharks.

I usually try not to be so harsh when it comes to minor league specialty jerseys, but I'm clearly having difficulty finding the redeeming qualities in this one.