Hockey sweaters "are hip again," and are now "de
rigueur on the street, ultra-cool in the urban scene, and a
legitimate fashion statement," according to Chris Jones of
the NATIONAL POST. North American consumers spent $1.15B
on NHL-licensed merchandise in '97, $150M more than was
spent in '96. A panel of five Canadian "fashion experts"
was assembled by the NATIONAL POST, to choose the "best" and
"worst" of the 65 official NHL jerseys on the market, and
the results were "surprising" as the panel "seemed to prefer
classic designs to the flash of more modern numbers." The
winners: the Maple Leafs -- "just straightforward and to the
point;" the Flyers -- "It has a lot of elements that relate
to what is going on right now in fun clothing;" and the
Kings -- "very modern ... very cool." The uniforms of the
Rangers, Canadiens, Oilers and Red Wings were also "deemed
acceptable." The losers: the Hurricanes -- "ridiculed on
just about every imaginable fashion front;" the Avalanche --
"an avalanche of bad colour;" the Stars -- "subject to the
most vicious spearing;" the Mighty Ducks -- "already dated;"
the Coyotes -- "Too busy. Horrible;" and the Sharks -- "it
looks like the shark has a cigarette hanging out of his
mouth." Ducks and Coyotes jerseys, however, are ranked 8th
and 9th in NHL sales, respectively (NATIONAL POST, 11/10).
