Often imitated but never duplicated, your friendly neighborhood besties at To Hockey, With Love, are back with the third (3rd!) installment of the WAG Playoff Jacket of the Year Award!
Since we last wrote this, the WAGs' fashion game has drastically changed with Taylor Swift's arrival into the sainted ranks of NFL WAGs and the puffer jacket seen worldwide. We definitely expected to see some of the Swiftie influence this year, and sure enough, it popped up a few times.
We use our Rigorous Academic Process, but competition is strong, so our grading is a little tighter than it was in the last two years. Let's get into it!
… Ready for It?
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have been on top of their game for the last two seasons. After some iconic jackets by Kevin Leonel the previous year, this time, the Bruins WAGS worked with designer Ben Weiner at Jeanius Jackets for some classic brown leather jackets. The jacket is ribbed at the hem and the cuffs without lining, so we’d call it a bomber, with some deep-set side pockets and interesting seams as some additional detailing. The extra elements were placed well, with the numbers and names clearly visible. The bear patch with the number on the sleeves was a charming addition. Funny enough, it feels like everyone has known an uncle with a jacket like this. Overall, it is very well thought out, if a little on the safe side. 8/10
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton girlies are back this year, serving up some gas station realness. They came through with a black leather trucker jacket and a complimentary white cap. It's their simplest jacket yet, with the players' names single-stitched on the back and an Oilers patch on the front. The only outstanding bit was a patch on the front, reminiscent of vintage gas station signage - a clever little nod to the industry that inspired the name. Lauren Kyle did an interview with the Oilers, saying they were going for something more "stylistic" and "simplistic" that looked good on everyone. Ultimately, it's not as iconic as last year's, but we all got down years. 4/10
Tampa Bay Lightning
We didn’t see the jackets being worn, so our rating is what we could see from the artist’s Instagram stories. This is the best one we’ve seen from them yet. It looks pretty straightforward, but in a good way, since the elements were well placed and the jackets were not overcrowded. However, there is not much to discuss since we’ve seen two pictures, so scoreless ??/10
To see the jacket - look through the artist’s NHL highlights stories: pressed.bysarita
So High School
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto jackets often leave much to be desired, and this year was no exception. However, this time, they put in more effort with some retro satin blue bombers. They added to the vintage feel by using the 1980s Leaf logo on the back and the striped cuffs and hem. Instead of using the players' names, they put their numbers on the right front side - a very discrete choice. We will give them a point back for Tessa Virtue consistently refusing to use them because it's their best bit. But honestly, what is one playoff series win (so far) to someone who won five Olympic medals? Overall, it gives a similar feel to the jackets by the Panther's WAGs from last year, but less well executed. 4/10
Carolina Hurricanes
After the weird, painted-red leather situation Carolina had going on last year, they are back with a classic varsity jacket. It's a definite improvement for sure. The elements' placement on the back were fine. It was on the front where they lost us. In this picture, you can see an odd place with the word Carolina, with three letters on one side of the coat and five on the other. They also split the numbers and added a cursive font with the team's logo under the welted pockets. Listen, they chose a classic look, so it feels fair to point out that one of the most basic principles of fashion is balance. It is nowhere to be seen, and it's very chaotic. Lean into the camp, or don't. 5/10
Colorado Avalanche
The Avs’ Better Halves fully embraced the navy and maroon of the logo and gave us one of the more creative takes on this often-used style. The names and numbers were on the back, and the contrast was very clear. The subtle outline in white was a good choice. They put the logo patch on the arm, and “Colorado” was placed diagonally across the front, which worked well. After a couple of mediocre years, this was a solid effort, and hopefully, they step up their game some more next year. 6.5/10
To see the jackets, click here!
Nashville Predators
The last time the Preds were on the WAG jacket was in 2022, and we gave them one of the lowest scores, so this is a strong comeback. The ladies gave us beige jackets with navy and yellow accents this year. The back was what stood out, with the number and player names in blue and yellow piping. The cursive font was unexpected, but it worked out well. It was a smart move away from the typical block lettering, and it still manages to be very readable. The number repetition on the front seemed redundant; we would have gone with a logo patch. 7/10
Washington Capitals
It's hilarious that the Capitals got eliminated so fast that the jackets probably haven't even gotten rid of their new clothes smell. There were a lot of elements at play here, and it got a little overwhelming. It was cool to see the use of the retro logo, but adding the number in the back was too much. However, it was one of the more unique jackets we saw this year. 7/10
Los Angeles Kings
The Official Awardees of the Go Girl, Give Us Nothing Award for three years of consistently giving us nothing. We aren’t impressed with the Kings’ jackets every year because they consistently decide not to play with their color palette and always have an oversized piece mixed with the “clean girl aesthetic.” Also, with the size of the number and name on the back, we would crop the jacket or separate the numbers and name so they are more spread out if they wanted to keep that length. We could offer more critique, but to be honest, let’s wrap it up - if that’s what they keep bringing each year, they don’t need to make the playoffs. 3/10
The Jerseys (WAGs Version)
New York Rangers
For this year's jackets, the Rangers WAGs added their twist with their customized version of the 1990-96 New York Rangers jersey. It's an upgrade from the Inspector Gadget-inspired trench coat, but it's also nothing to shout about. Sometimes, when you try too hard to think outside the box, you often miss the point. Scoreless/10 because it’s not a jacket
To see the jackets, click here!
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights WAGs always have a strong vision for their playoff jackets. The mood board probably made sense. We will give them that. It’s just in practice; it always gets wonky. The awful sewing job made our hearts drop. Plus, the numbers weren’t correctly cut out. Talking about numbers, why are there so many of them?? The repetition of elements made the jackets look too crowded and overwhelming. Again, we'll give them their flowers for their efforts, but since we’re judging execution, it’s 3/10
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks had their first home playoff games in nine years, and the WAGs showed up and showed out with their first jackets. Well thought and rounded use of the Canucks colour palette without anything getting too gaudy. However, the logo and patch applications are the weak links of the jackets. They look like they are peeling off since they seem to be iron-on patches. Plus, as usual, a point-off for the signatures on the collar. 6/10
Winnipeg Jets
This might be the strongest of all the rework jerseys we got this year because it doesn’t feel like they cut pieces and glued them on top of another jacket. You can see the strong sewing technique. The only downside is that the designer cut the bottom too close to the numbers for the crop look. She should have cut it just after the navy line to give it a little space to make the piece breathe, but other than that - great work. 8/10
'Cause we never go out of style
Florida Panthers
There’s nothing much we can say except that these underwhelm us. The jackets aren’t bad, per se, but they are also not fantastic. The BY. DYLN jacket has an interesting cut and texture, and the color chosen for the lettering is fun. The Panthers WAGs always successfully incorporate the team’s name on their jackets, which we will give them that. Besides that, it’s in the middle of the pack for us. 6/10
New York Islanders
The Islanders also went with a customized BY.DYLN denim jacket, going full out with the team’s blue and orange. It is definitely better than last year’s light denim vests, but still not too exciting. There’s nothing much to write about, also very middle of the road. 5/10
Dallas Stars
As the iconic Mikhaela Jennings once said, “The girls that get, get it.” And the girls that don’t, don’t.” As far as we can see, the Dallas Stars WAGs seem to get it. After taking the top spot in 2022, Dallas took a bit of a tumble in last year’s ranking, but they came back stronger. Their jacket has the perfect mix of originality, color use and lettering sizing. We never tire of seeing what they have in store for us because it is always well thought through. 8.5/10
The WPJOY Winners for 2024 are The Dallas Stars. Congrats, ladies, on taking back your throne!
As for the other teams, everyone made a great effort. However, it felt flat overall compared to previous years. Although we're not always the biggest fans of some decisions, we appreciate the tradition. Plus, this year's pieces' (re)wearability has more potential than usual, so kudos.
As for y'all, tell us which jacket is your favorite in the comments!
With love,
Perrye & Gaby