Under the NHL's CBA, players are required to wear a suit, dress shirt and tie to the arena on game days "unless otherwise specified by the head coach or manager." It's the only major professional sports league in North America with such a strict dress code.
"Once you get onto the plane, every team I've been on was different," explains recently retired winger Kris Versteeg, who played for seven teams in his 11-season NHL career. "Whether you can change into jeans and polo, or some teams still make you wear your suit. Some teams still make you wear your suit and tie when you're on the plane and getting off and going to hotels.