Puck Daddy - NHL

Jersey Fouls is our ongoing exploration of the rules and etiquette for proper hockey jersey creation and exhibition. If you spot what you think may be a foul in your arena, e-mail a photo to us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com for inclusion in future installments.

We're sorry, Whalers fans. We truly are. After watching your heartache on display in the short documentary "Bleeding Green," we know the image of your beloved logo adorning the sweater of the Carolina Hurricanes is, perhaps, one of the most painful sights for anyone from Connecticut that doesn't involve bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way to your jobs in New York.

Again, we enter every edition of Jersey Fouls with an open mind. Is this, in fact, a Foul? Would a Winnipeg Jets logo on a Phoenix Coyotes sweater be a foul or a tribute? Ditto a Colorado Rockies logo on the New Jersey Devils sweater? Is there an argument to be made for honoring the legacy of a relocated team by placing what is a defunct NHL symbol on your favorite team's jersey?

All of this naturally ignores the fact that the color scheme of this jersey resembles a recently harpooned orca ...

Thanks to reader Aaron for the WhalerCanes foul. Coming Up: Free Candy, the sadness of '69', a tribute to Jarkko and what might be the first O.J. Simpson Jersey Foul that didn't involve an unfortunate Halloween costume.

Let it be known that we enjoy any Jersey Foul that includes a passionate defense for the potential faux pas.

From Tim Z. for Royal Oak, MI:

"This was my creation for St. Patty's Day. The Wings played at Home on St. Patty's Day and I had to take it up a notch, complete with the Green Winged Wheel from the shop.NHL.com website.  You might hate on it, but I got a ton of kudos on it. It was really fun to get done and wear around town for a couple days.  In fact I went to the same shop that actually does the cresting for the Wings. I wore it to the Detroit St. Patrick's Day Parade and that is the photo I am including."

We believe the Irish have a word for this: Blarney.

OK, according to Leahy, they have more than one word for it. But we can only print "blarney."

Once again, we open up the floor for a debate about what is or is not a Foul.

"Free Candy" is, without question, one of the best nicknames in all of hockey. It was given to Brooks Orpik of the Pittsburgh Penguins (and popularized by The Pensblog).

If this had said "Orpik," it's an immediate pass, right? So should a nickname with street cred for a player be a Foul? Can you rock a No. 99 sweater with "The Great One" and not have committed a hockey crime of fashion?

The Free Candy No. 44 jersey: Pass or Fail? (Thanks to Puck Buddy Jake S. for the image.)

The "69" jersey trend is an epic, epic fail in nearly every case. We know this. But the two photos here really bring the revolting nature of the "69" jersey to a new level. For example, the "Bang 69" Calgary Flames jersey makes us yearn for the innocent days of McLovin 69. And reach for the soap.

And what about you, Super Dad? Even if there's some sweet story about a son giving his 39-year-old father a heartwarming Father's Day gift with his birth year on a Boston Bruins sweater, we'd like to give you a gift of our own: a well-wrapped "FAIL." Oh, and a neck tie, naturally.

(Thanks to Bobby M. and Brian K. for the images.)

Puck Buddy Cory K. sends over this image of the Scruuruutu Ottawa Senators sweater, which nearly reaches the level of brilliant Protest Jersey. But in the end, it's probably still a Foul, albeit one with an understandable sentiment. Perhaps if there had been an umlaut somewhere. We love those.

Sadly, the construction of this single jersey affected the Senators' entire clothing industry, forcing months of K-bu and A-ld sweaters due to a "U" shortage.

From Zach of Die By The Blade, who found this foul at a Buffalo Sabres/Florida Panthers game:

"The number is right, the name is right.  The flames on the bottom of the shirt, not so much. I think this guy just took a black t-shirt and made it look like a jersey, which has to be some sort of jersey foul right?"

The short answer: Yes. There isn't a long answer.

Finally, Mike B. from Port Chester, NY may have found one of the strangest Jersey Fouls of the season. From Mike, who believes we are looking at an "OJ 94" New Jersey Devils sweater:

"Maybe, as a fellow Devil fan, you can try and explain this one, taken in a parking lot after the Rangers-Devs game last night (3/30) at MSG.  I pray that there is some other explanation other than the obvious one.  Especially since the jersey is an EDGE, meaning that the earliest it could have been purchased was 2005, i.e. over ten years after the famous car chase. 

Further proof of the hypothesis that all Devil fans have diminished brain capacity.  Seriously, it's science."

Naturally, we're hoping it actually says "DJ," which would be a Foul but a slightly less mind-blowing one.

But considering Mike's prognosis, and the fact that it's white like a certain Ford Bronco ... if the Jersey Foul fits, you can't acquit.

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86 Comments

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  1. Dave Y
    1. Posted by Dave Y Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:45 pm EDT

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    pass on the whalers and free candy. fail on everything else.
  2. RandomClown
    2. Posted by RandomClown Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:34 pm EDT

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    I think that Bruins Jersey says Superbad, which would make more sense for the number 69
  3. Benson
    3. Posted by Benson Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:19 pm EDT

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    Devils fans are to hockey fans what Juggalos are to music fans.
  4. Ryan P
    4. Posted by Ryan P Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:57 pm EDT

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    free candy jersey = pass. 100%.
  5. The Bog
    5. Posted by The Bog Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:11 pm EDT

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    I'm a Hurricanes fan who was a Whalers fan and even I can't stomach the site of that jersey. If the Canes wore Whalers jerseys for a retro night or whatever, that's completely fine, but nothing like this.
  6. Munkcy
    6. Posted by Munkcy Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:21 pm EDT

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    Irish Wings fan receives a fail for the following two sentences: "This was my creation for St. Patty's Day." followed shortly by "It was really fun to get done and wear around town for a couple days."
    .
    Come celebrate St. Patty's Day for a couple days....
  7. Sobu
    7. Posted by Sobu Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:31 pm EDT

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    Double fail to any loser who is dumb enough to put 69 on their jersey. "Ooh, I just made a sex reference! I am so radical!" (especially the dad)
    The Whalers Jersey only passes because it's so damn tragic. Everything else fails.
  8. The Bog
    8. Posted by The Bog Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:11 pm EDT

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    The guy next to the Scruuuuutu jersey looks like he's wearing a WBS Penguins St. Patrick's Day jersey, possibly belonging to AHL Penalty Minute King Dennis Bonvie(looks like it could be #27). Now that is an awesome jersey.
  9. Ed K
    9. Posted by Ed K Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:21 pm EDT

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    Free Candy = pass
    HurriWhalers = epic fail
  10. btumpak
    10. Posted by btumpak Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:23 pm EDT

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    free candy is a real nickname - the great one is just lame
    there will be free candy tonight at the igloo
  11. Xerxes
    11. Posted by Xerxes Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:07 pm EDT

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    JAARKO RUUTU FTW.
    BY "K-BU" YOU MUST MEAN "K-BA"
  12. Shaun
    12. Posted by Shaun Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:26 pm EDT

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    That Carolina-Hartford jersey is an insult to the thousands of ex-Whaler fans and the season ticket-holders who stuck with that team during the worst of times in the team's short history. Connecticut deserved better than that. Bring back the Whale!
  13. Waffle Stomp Ya!
    13. Posted by Waffle Stomp Ya! Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:32 pm EDT

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    1.) Is the St Patty's Wings jersey a SUPER FOUL since Patrick Roy was nick named such.
    2.) Whalers jersey classic, Canes jersey, I'm a fan, but that monstrosity is a big o'l mushroom stamp on the forhead of whalers fans everywhere.
    3.) If that fem sens fan is named Ruutu, she's got a deal for sure.
    4.) BANG 69? on a Flames jersey? How about Ceuthbert 69
  14. superman
    14. Posted by superman Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:13 pm EDT

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    I duno, call me crazy... I kinda like this Jersey.
    i miss the whalers....
    hey guys, please, i would really appreciate it if you would go to
    http://www.thebullrocks.com/pages/cutestkidvote.html?feed=328762&article=5236725
    and vote for KAIDEN M. in a green chicken little costume. you will need to put in an email and then respond to an email they send u. PLEASE! ty!
  15. srob
    15. Posted by srob Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:10 pm EDT

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    def. a pass on the freecandy jersey. any pens fans out there have a tyler kennedy "manbearpig" jersey yet?
  16. Waffle Stomp Ya!
    16. Posted by Waffle Stomp Ya! Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:32 pm EDT

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    i probably spelled ceuthbert wrong huh?
  17. Saugus
    17. Posted by Saugus Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:46 pm EDT

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    Fail, fail, fail, a thousand times fail for the butchered Whalers sweater. I'm from CT and I refuse to acknowledge the team that the Whalers became as legitimate; if I must refer to them, they will always be "the former Whalers" and never anything else. In my fantasy world, the franchise simply disappeared because Peter Karmanos is an idiot, the 2006 Stanley Cup was not awarded for some strange reason, and there are persistent bizarre and unfounded rumors of a team that plays in North Carolina. Regardless, there sure as hell should not be red on a Whalers jersey.
    Pass to Free Candy, fail for the rest.
  18. 25superstar
    18. Posted by 25superstar Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:57 pm EDT

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    free candy = pass
    the rest are all fails.
  19. goon with the wind
    19. Posted by goon with the wind Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:11 pm EDT

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    oh my poor poor Whale.
    I'm the guy that sends his kids to school in Mike Liut Jerseys on "Jersey Day"
  20. knucklehead
    20. Posted by knucklehead Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:37 pm EDT

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    The "SUPERDAD" should be investigated. My kid will not play at his kids house.
  21. Chemmy
    21. Posted by Chemmy Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    I feel like I'm mostly over the Whalers losing, I have another team that stinks to root for, but if I saw someone on the street wearing that Whalercane jersey I would probably punch them to death.
    Seriously.
  22. Chemmy
    22. Posted by Chemmy Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    @ #20
    You're a good man, those kids should thank you. I washed my Dave Babych jersey and the letters disintegrated. :(
  23. Tuo
    23. Posted by Tuo Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:27 pm EDT

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    So the guy you mentioned in posts months ago who makes jerseys out of old shirts has a kick idea, while the fellow in the Numminen jersey-shirt (flames aside) is a fail?
    These photos are always amusing, but the double standards presented here are just as bad.
  24. Tuo
    24. Posted by Tuo Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:27 pm EDT

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    Was going for kick-a$$, cursed censory!
  25. Mike B.
    25. Posted by Mike B. Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:12 pm EDT

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    I'm realizing now that I was wrong, the EDGE jerseys came out in 2007. Which would make that even worse.
    Seriously, if anyone out there has a better explanation for that Devil jersey, I'd love to hear it.

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