The Calgary Flames are officially unveiling their third jersey later today. While few details have leaked out about it, looking at history is generally a pretty good way of predicting the future. In an effort of sussing out what the Flames&#8217; new – probably red – jersey will look like, let&#8217;s take a trip down memory lane at their previous, primarily red, jerseys.

<h2>The classic reds</h2>
What: Red sweaters with white and orange stripes, white crest (Flaming C or Flaming A).
Worn: 1972-80 (Atlanta), 1980-94, 2009-13 (alternates), 2016-17 (alternates)
Verdict: This is the best jersey the Flames have ever worn. They went to two Stanley Cup Finals in these sweaters – and won a Cup in Montreal in them – and it&#8217;s just a simple, uncluttered, classic look.
<h2>The classic whites</h2>
What: White sweaters with red and orange stripes, red crest (Flaming C or Flaming A), red shoulders.
Worn: 1972-80 (Atlanta), 1980-94
Verdict: Loved slightly less by fans than the classic reds, the whites are arguably an unappreciated masterpiece. They haven&#8217;t been brought back since they stopped being used full-time, likely due to the need to have red alternate jerseys for use at home.
<h2>The pedestal jerseys</h2>
What: Red sweaters with diagonal white, orange and black stripes, white crest, white shoulders AND white sweaters with diagonal red, orange and black stripes, red crest, red shoulders.
Worn: 1995-2000
Verdict: In the mid-&#8217;90s, the trend in jerseys was taking classic looks and making them worse – usually by adding stripes and gradients. The Flames added black to their colour palate, and then put some of their striping at an angle (creating a &#8220;pedestal&#8221;) to accent the crest. They also added additional shoulder striping on the home jersey, causing a clean look to look a little too busy.
<h2>The Horse Head (&#8220;Blasty&#8221;)</h2>
What: Alternate jersey introduced for &#8220;the Year of the Cowboy&#8221;; black jersey with &#8220;Flaming Horse Head&#8221; crest, red and orange striping; traditional red C on shoulders.
Worn: 1998-2006
Verdict: &#8220;Blasty&#8221; might be the most popular jersey that everyone originally hated. Originally not beloved – because it was not red – the black Horse Head jersey has become popular after the fact because it was a pretty decent design. The logo wasn&#8217;t amazing, though, with some describing it as &#8220;a horse with flaming boogers&#8221; or &#8220;a sneezing dragon.&#8221;
<h2>The 2000s whites</h2>
What: White jersey with red, black and orange striping similar to Horse Head, red crest; Horse Head logo on shoulders.
Worn: 2000-07
Verdict: The redesigned white jerseys weren&#8217;t amazing, but they were pretty clean. The designers just ported over the exact design of the black jerseys and changed around some colours.
<h2>The 2000s reds</h2>
What: Red jersey with white, black and orange striping similar to Horse Head, black crest; Horse Head logo on shoulders.
Worn: 2003-07
Verdict: Under any under circumstances a black C might&#8217;ve been heresy – until this point they had only ever worn red or white Cs – but the league swapped dark jerseys as the home jerseys beginning with this season and the C of Red was born as the team marched to the Stanley Cup Final. This has largely formed the basis for the modern team colour scheme, with minor variations.
<h2>The Reebok Edge/Adidas Era 
</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-39463" src="https://flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/06/476329.jpg?w=1024" alt="" width="1024" height="576" />
What: Slight redesigns of the 2000s red and white jerseys, Alberta and Canada flags on shoulders.
Worn: 2007-present
Verdict: This era represents two minor redesigns of the 2000 white jersey and the 2003 red jersey, with piping added in for the Reebok Edge re-design and then removed several years later during the Adidas re-design. The striping is a little bit cleaner than the prior designs, but the shoulder flags are a rather blah design choice.
<h2>Script alternate red</h2>
What: Red alternate jersey with western-style black shoulders, script-style &#8220;Calgary&#8221; crest, new alternate logo on shoulders.
Worn: 2013-16
Verdict: Arguably the jersey that was received the most negatively in franchise history – fans were clamouring for the vintage reds and ended up getting a jersey that tried to look like a cowboy shirt. While the jersey wasn&#8217;t great and the script logo was a misstep, the shoulder logo was pretty sharp.

The Calgary Flames are officially unveiling their third jersey later today. While few details have leaked out about it, looking at history is generally a pretty good way of predicting the future. In an effort of sussing out what the Flames' new – probably red – jersey will look like, let's take a trip down memory lane at their previous, primarily red, jerseys.


<h2>The classic reds</h2>
What: Red sweaters with white and orange stripes, white crest (Flaming C or Flaming A).

Worn: 1972-80 (Atlanta), 1980-94, 2009-13 (alternates), 2016-17 (alternates)

Verdict: This is the best jersey the Flames have ever worn. They went to two Stanley Cup Finals in these sweaters – and won a Cup in Montreal in them – and it's just a simple, uncluttered, classic look.
<h2>The classic whites</h2>
What: White sweaters with red and orange stripes, red crest (Flaming C or Flaming A), red shoulders.

Worn: 1972-80 (Atlanta), 1980-94

Verdict: Loved slightly less by fans than the classic reds, the whites are arguably an unappreciated masterpiece. They haven't been brought back since they stopped being used full-time, likely due to the need to have red alternate jerseys for use at home.
<h2>The pedestal jerseys</h2>
What: Red sweaters with diagonal white, orange and black stripes, white crest, white shoulders AND white sweaters with diagonal red, orange and black stripes, red crest, red shoulders.

Worn: 1995-2000

Verdict: In the mid-'90s, the trend in jerseys was taking classic looks and making them worse – usually by adding stripes and gradients. The Flames added black to their colour palate, and then put some of their striping at an angle (creating a "pedestal") to accent the crest. They also added additional shoulder striping on the home jersey, causing a clean look to look a little too busy.
<h2>The Horse Head ("Blasty")</h2>
What: Alternate jersey introduced for "the Year of the Cowboy"; black jersey with "Flaming Horse Head" crest, red and orange striping; traditional red C on shoulders.

Worn: 1998-2006

Verdict: "Blasty" might be the most popular jersey that everyone originally hated. Originally not beloved – because it was not red – the black Horse Head jersey has become popular after the fact because it was a pretty decent design. The logo wasn't amazing, though, with some describing it as "a horse with flaming boogers" or "a sneezing dragon."
<h2>The 2000s whites</h2>
What: White jersey with red, black and orange striping similar to Horse Head, red crest; Horse Head logo on shoulders.

Worn: 2000-07

Verdict: The redesigned white jerseys weren't amazing, but they were pretty clean. The designers just ported over the exact design of the black jerseys and changed around some colours.
<h2>The 2000s reds</h2>
What: Red jersey with white, black and orange striping similar to Horse Head, black crest; Horse Head logo on shoulders.

Worn: 2003-07

Verdict: Under any under circumstances a black C might've been heresy – until this point they had only ever worn red or white Cs – but the league swapped dark jerseys as the home jerseys beginning with this season and the C of Red was born as the team marched to the Stanley Cup Final. This has largely formed the basis for the modern team colour scheme, with minor variations.
<h2>The Reebok Edge/Adidas Era
</h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-39463" src="https://flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/06/476329.jpg?w=1024" alt="" width="1024" height="576" />

What: Slight redesigns of the 2000s red and white jerseys, Alberta and Canada flags on shoulders.

Worn: 2007-present

Verdict: This era represents two minor redesigns of the 2000 white jersey and the 2003 red jersey, with piping added in for the Reebok Edge re-design and then removed several years later during the Adidas re-design. The striping is a little bit cleaner than the prior designs, but the shoulder flags are a rather blah design choice.
<h2>Script alternate red</h2>
What: Red alternate jersey with western-style black shoulders, script-style "Calgary" crest, new alternate logo on shoulders.

Worn: 2013-16

Verdict: Arguably the jersey that was received the most negatively in franchise history – fans were clamouring for the vintage reds and ended up getting a jersey that tried to look like a cowboy shirt. While the jersey wasn't great and the script logo was a misstep, the shoulder logo was pretty sharp.

A brief history of Flames jerseys

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