The Third Jersey is used in the National Hockey League as an alternate design for the previously established other two jerseys, the home and away outfits.

Introduction

In the National Hockey League, each team has its own distinctive jersey design. Prior to 1995, each team only had two jerseys, the home jersey (typically the team's logo on a light colored background) and the away jersey (the same logo on a darker background). With the introduction of the Third Jersey teams were allowed to use a completely new jersey with a re-designed logo and layout.

Usage

Once a team has been granted permission by the league to use their new design, they are allocated ten to fifteen games during the season in which they may use their Third Jersey. They may continue to use the Third Jersey in subsequent years as well. This alternate design allowed the team's appearance to flirt with radical designs which have occasionally gone on to become the new looks for some of the participating teams. It has become a great marketing gimmick to raise money to fund the ever increasing players salaries.

Chronology

Several teams have had multiple designs of their Third Jersey.

• 1995-96 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Boston Bruins
• 1996-97 Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning
• 1997-98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals
• 1998-99 Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs
• 1999-2000 Los Angeles Kings
• 2000-01 Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs
• 2001-02 Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks
• 2002-03 New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers
• 2003-04 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim,Columbus Blue Jackets,Dallas Stars,Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild