Ranking all of the Edmonton Oilers’ alternate jerseys

The Oilers have had six alternate jerseys prior to this in their history (assuming you don’t count throwback jerseys or home jerseys that then became a third jersey). While I think that the current general consensus based on this grainy leaked photo is that this new one will be the worst of them all, how do the others rank amongst each other?

Here is my personal list, which isn’t not the correct ranking.

6. 2022–23 Reverse Retro

This is the “worst” of the Oilers alternate jerseys in my opinion, but I would definitely not call it a bad jersey. In fact, I like it quite a lot, which is a testament to just how good the Oilers have been with their jersey designs (outside of the Reebok Pajamas of course).

The jersey was a part of the second iteration of the NHL’s Reverse Retro program, where every team put out a “retro” jersey but with a twist.

While many teams took the reverse part literally in reversing colours (as the Oilers did in the first iteration and we will talk about later), the Oilers decided to take their first ever third jersey (also to be discussed below) and…just add orange to it.

Since the original didn’t have any orange, this isn’t really a reverse in that sense. It essentially just acts as a highlight by replacing the original silver. The accent does pop for sure, but it seems a little underwhelming.

When it was first rumoured that the reverse retro was going to be based on the Oil Gear jersey, I (along with many people) was hoping for it to be a white version of that original jersey.

The Oilers have spent a lot of time incorporating orange into their brand though, so it was likely that consideration that led to this choice.

Still a nice jersey, but the “what if” is what brings it down in the ranking.

5. 2023 Heritage Classic

I feel weird putting this jersey as the second worst, given that I absolutely love it. It is a gorgeous jersey and certainly better (or at least more creative) than their counterparts in that game.

The shoulder yoke and arm and hem striping is great, especially the thick white outline. I love the solo oil drop, and love the number being in it even better. I’m not a huge fan of the wordmark though, as it seems to take up a bit too much of the jersey making it look a little too busy. Maybe if it was a bit smaller it would look a little more clean.

The other part that drags this down is the brown pants and gloves. For the purposes of it being a heritage classic, I get it and don’t mind it. But objectively speaking it clashes pretty hard with the jersey. Make those pants blue and orange and it becomes a very, very good look.

4. 2019–20 Alternate

The Oilers took a chance with their alternate jersey in 2019 and I for one think the risk paid off. It is the only Oilers’ jersey to have absolutely no white in it, and it brought back navy blue as the main jersey colour, something us Oilers fans who grew up in the copper and blue era had been yearning for (now bring back the copper as well and you have a certified best seller on your hands).

This jersey got some criticism for looking almost black on TV, but in person it was a gorgeous look. Removing the white from the logo actually works really well, and the jersey manages to be minimalistic without looking simple, boring and unfinished (*cough* Reebok Edge *cough*).

This jersey was so good it became the Oilers home jersey for the playoffs even with the promotion of the “Orange Crush,” and will forever be linked with this legendary Connor McDavid goal:

3. 2001–02 Alternate jersey

Like the 2019 jersey, in 2001 the Oilers took a risk with their first ever alternate jersey, and by all accounts they knocked it out of the park.

This jersey removed any copper or orange, focusing on the navy blue and accenting it with silver and white.

The biggest change, though, was the logo. It got rid of any wording, rotated the oil drop and surrounded it with a metal gear. There was some symbolism with the logo as a nod to the past still, with the five lug nuts representing the team’s five Stanley Cups (which begs the question: would the team have had to update the logo every time they won a cup?).

The jersey was popular, breaking the NHL record for third jerseys sold, which is kind of a big deal for a small market, northern Canadian team who, unlike the current team or the one in the ‘80s, did not have a major generational superstar to help sell jerseys.

The only thing that wasn’t a home run with this jersey was the shoulder patch, which compared to the oil rigger (which should 100% come back as well) was much more bland, and looked a little too big in my opinion.

2. 2015 Third Jersey

With the clock counting down on the Oilers’ last season in Rexall Place/Skyreach Centre/Northlands Coliseum aka their first NHL arena, the Oilers released a third jersey calling back to the team’s WHA days.

It was almost like a reverse retro of the classic royal blues with the orange base and blue yokes, although the striping was a solid blue with white outline rather than three stripes, and in all honesty maybe the colours look better that way? The numbers on the shoulder yokes also looked fantastic, and frankly I defy anyone to find an actual flaw with this jersey.

While this was based off of the WHA Oilers, this jersey is more readily synonymous with Connor McDavid, as it was unveiled when he was drafted, making him the first ever Oiler to wear it.

It seemed like a great way to show that there was a new era for the Oilers without trying to just re-live the glory days. These were the jerseys the Oilers wore when they finally made it to the playoffs after 11 years, and also happens to have a famous Connor McDavid playoff goal in it:

Most Oilers fans were clamouring for this to be the team’s full time home jersey. The team clearly got the spirit of that, but missed the point when they unveiled the new orange home jerseys with the new Adidas jerseys. It’s not hard to imagine that if the team just kept this jersey the same, it would be the one the Oilers are still wearing to this day.

1. 2021 Reverse Retro

The Oilers listened to the instructions much better in the first iteration of the reverse retro, taking their away jersey and reversing the blue and orange. The result was an absolute stunner, and it is nothing short of a tragedy that the team only wore it three times during a season where fans weren’t allowed in the building to be able to appreciate them in person.

While everyone likes the current sweaters given they are the classic Oilers look, imagine this jersey and the 2015 one as the current set up? Would be the best jersey set up in the league bar none.

Also, this jersey was the one where McDavid scored what is arguably the best goal in his career:

Clearly there is a “look good, feel good, play good” thing for Connor going on here.