From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
A hockey jersey, traditionally called a sweater, is a piece of clothing worn by hockey players to cover the upper part of their bodies. It is usually decorated with the team's logo on the front, the player's last name on the upper back (with the first initial in cases of teammates with the same family name), and a designated number below, from 1 to 99 (in the NHL, 98 is the highest allowed number because the league retired 99 for all teams to honour Wayne Gretzky). A team captain will have an uppercase C above and right of the team logo, and up to two other players, designated alternate captains, will have an uppercase A. Some leagues may also cover their sweater with advertisements.
NHL teams sell replica sweaters of their famous players at their stadiums, as well as through sports memorabilia stores.
The Hockey Sweater is a Canadian short story about a young Montreal hockey fan who orders a Montreal Canadiens sweater from the Eatons catalogue, but receives a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater instead.
In the NHL, players wear their dark sweaters at home and their white one on the road. However, in the 70's, 80's, 90's and early 2000's, teams wore their white uniform at home until 2003, when they switched.