From Sakic to Sketchy: Ranking My Avs Jersey Collection

With the Nordiques look set to come back, I looked back... into my closet.

After our fearless leader broke the news — and the hockey internet — that the Colorado Avalanche would be paying homage to their roots this season, I did something dangerous: I started thinking.

With the Avs celebrating 30 years in Denver, they’re apparently going full throwback and rocking Quebec Nordiques-style blue jerseys again. Unlike the Reverse Retro 1.0s from the fan-less 2021 season, these look to be direct remakes of the iconic blue-and-white fleur-de-lis jerseys from the team’s pre-Mile High days.

I’ll hold my official judgment until the full reveal, but this sent me down a rabbit hole — or rather, into the closet.

“Pat,” I hear you ask. “What’s the stupid/dangerous part?”

I never said stupid, you just added that part!

See, I love jerseys. And logos. A lot. Like, lose-a-friend-in-a-debate-about-the-Fisherman-Islanders-jersey level. So when I saw the news, I instantly thought: “Where will this new Nordiques look rank in Avalanche jersey lore?”

But instead of ranking every jersey ever worn by the team, I decided to make it personal — and rank every Avs/Nords sweater I personally own.

Obviously, I have tremendous taste, so they’re all winners in one way or another. However some stand out above the rest. First, let’s first breakdown the criteria of how I made these rankings:

• Coolness

• How I felt at the moment I was making the list

• Nothing else, really

Okay, now that the important stuff is out of the way, what a better place to start than the bottom:

#16 Mikko Rantanen Retro Reverse 1.0 (China knock-off)
It’s not that it’s a bad jersey, it’s just that I can never wear it again… or until Mikko’s career ends Cup-less in Dallas along with Benn and Duchene. As for the Chinese knock-off aspect of it: don’t care. It’s actually a great knock-off. The only thing that really sucks about it is the fight strap. Everything about this is actually perfect. The logos, the font, the stitching… all great. Plus, I got three in total (more to come) for like $100 rather than the $750 I would have had to pay from the NHL Shop if I was even able to get my hands on it since those jerseys were damn-near impossible to get at the time.