In my last Talking Point I ranked the Penguins' top five jerseys in franchise history, and it sparked some fun debate in the comments.
Some of the debate in the comments involved the Penguins' various outdoor game sweaters, only one of which made my all-time list.
Since the Penguins have played in five outdoor games, I thought it'd be fun to give the outdoor jerseys their own list and rank those.
Here are my rankings:
5. 2011 WINTER CLASSIC
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Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin take the ice for the 2011 Winter Classic
I don't really get these. Back when the Penguins wore blue originally, they only had navy as the primary color for three seasons, it was always a lighter blue. And the only other throwback-inspired thing about these is the logo. Meanwhile, the Capitals' jersey for this game was almost a dead-on copy of their original uniforms. I just don't know what these were supposed to be. They were really modern-looking with a really old-looking logo slapped on the front.
Style aside, these would rank dead last regardless because they were clearly cursed. When these later became the third jerseys, the team actually stopped wearing them before the end of the 2012-13 season, ditching them before they were scheduled to do so because players kept suffering major injuries in them. The first was obviously Sidney Crosby's concussion in the actual Winter Classic with these jerseys. Other notable injuries in these jerseys include a concussion to Evgeni Malkin, and the final injury in these jerseys, Crosby's broken jaw.
4. 2014 STADIUM SERIES
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James Neal in the 2014 Stadium Series
In fairness to the Penguins, the chrome look was just the NHL's theme for the Stadium Series games that year, not anything they chose. Either way, I think it's just awkward-looking. Something feels off about the blocking on the shoulder, and the stripes around the sleeve end halfway around as if they ran out of fabric. It just looks like a weird version of their away jerseys at the time. The only reason these aren't last is because nobody suffered a career-altering injury in them.
3. 2017 STADIUM SERIES
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The Penguins celebrate Chad Ruhwedel's goal in the 2017 Stadium Series
These were pretty good. I liked the City of Champions patch on the shoulder and the cool font used for the names and numbers. My only real complaint is that the Penguin doesn't have the triangle behind it. These had the triangle around the 'C' or 'A' patches. Overall, not a bad jersey. My enduring memory of this game is that Ron Hainsey made his Penguins debut in it, so an historic moment took place in this jersey.
2. 2019 STADIUM SERIES
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Marcus Pettersson in the 2019 Stadium Series
I didn't really like these at the time, but the simple color scheme ended up being cool. The small details on these were nice, like "A GREAT DAY FOR HOCKEY" being on the inner neckline as a tribute to Bob Johnson, and the keystone logo on the pants. These also had sick helmets, with the logo taking up the entire side of the helmet instead of being a small sticker.
1. 2008 WINTER CLASSIC
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Evgeni Malkin chats with Mario Lemieux before the 2008 Winter Classic
If you read my all-time list, you already know how I feel about this one. I thought it was a great way to bring back the color scheme of the franchise's early years, and you can't help but look at it and remember Crosby's shootout goal in the snow. I wouldn't change a single thing about the look of these.
YOUR TURN: Make your picks! Rank the five outdoor jerseys in order.
