Have to agree it's always been perplexing.
I get the odd design, as they were sort of forced by Reebok in 2007 so lots of teams ending up looking kind of foolish with Edmonton and Florida leading the way.
http://www.nhluniforms.com/2007-08/2007-08.html
My gut says teams were being forced, the Flames and others listened, some original six teams pushed back, and the teams that "listened early" were stuck with some odd designs for years.
But why stick with it for 10+ years? That's what I don't get.
Last year was a step away from chaos by getting rid of the odd black piping, but they still have the vertical meets horizontal mess in the arm pits, stupid flags and super ugly pants.
Just bring back the retro sets ... that would make half your fans happy. And then design a third jersey that has some black in it for the next generation.
But how can they not know this? What stunted committee has to exist to not get this fixed for 11 years?
Hell even if they were money grubbing capitalists you'd think they'd see the gains in getting people to buy a new concept in a hockey market.