| In this day and age when every kid wants to be the | | | | than a decade after the franchise moved to Carolina |
| next Alexander Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby it stands | | | | to become the Hurricanes, Whalers gear is now hotter |
| to reason that Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh | | | | than ever. The same can be said of franchises like the |
| Penguins jerseys are flying off the shelves. However, | | | | Quebec Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Rockies |
| even though the demand for current NHL sweaters is | | | | and Atlanta Flames. |
| high, the market for vintage hockey jerseys is just as | | | | However, it is not only defunct NHL clubs whose |
| hot. Whether it is an oldtimer who likes to remember | | | | throwback jerseys are in high demand. Legendary |
| the glory days of the NHL, or a youngster who wants | | | | teams like the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple |
| to wear something a little different than his friends | | | | Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins are |
| hockey sweaters from defunct NHL teams are | | | | also seeing demand rising for their old school jerseys |
| surprisingly popular. | | | | that were worn as long as a century ago. In fact, |
| A team like the Hartford Whalers, who truth be told, | | | | demand has been so strong that the Canadiens |
| was one of the doormats of the league during its | | | | actually wore some of their classic jerseys during |
| relatively brief NHL tenure, probably never sold much | | | | regular season play last year, and sales saw a spike |
| of its merchandise outside of its own city while the | | | | following each of the games which featured those |
| team was actually still in the league. However, more | | | | sweaters. |