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10 Tri-State Area Franchise Faces Who Looked Awkward In New Places

By Daniel Friedman
» More Columns

On Tuesday, the St Louis Blues officially announced the signing of Martin Brodeur. It's nice to see the surefire Hall of Famer still kicking, but seeing him in anything but a Devils sweater is going to take some getting used to. In fact, we'll probably never get used to it.

Here are 10 franchise cornerstones, including Brodeur, who left their Tri-State Area teams for a last hurrah or two, but just didn't look right sporting different colors:

10. Carl Banks

Banks was a defensive standout for the Giants for eight seasons, two of which ended with Super Bowl titles, but he eventually joined Washington and then Cleveland for a couple of brief stints at the end of his career.

9. Yogi Berra

He eventually cemented his own Mets' legacy, as the first base coach on the 1969 championship squad, but when he first arrived, seeing him in that uniform just didn't look quite right. He was a Yankee, through and through.

8. Andy Pettitte

Houston Astros v San Francisco Giants
Pitchers Roger Clemens, left, and Andy Pettitte of the Houston Astros. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Yes, going to Houston was a homecoming of sorts for Pettitte. Still, he was one of the constants on those dynastic Yankee teams, so the change of scenery was a bit strange. Surely enough, Pettitte found his way back to New York a few years later.

7. Joe Klecko

Kleco was an Indianapolis Colt in 1988. The Jets had released him at the end of the 1987 campaign, but he only looked right wearing green.

6. Brian Leetch

Brian Leetch
Brian Leetch of the Toronto Maple Leafs passes the puck down low during a game against the Boston Bruins at Air Canada Centre on March 16, 2004. (Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

Leetch in Toronto and Boston was weird. Seeing him wear No. 22 was even weirder.

5. Mike Piazza

Mike Piazza
Mike Piazza of the San Diego Padres rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the New York Mets on Aug. 9, 2006 at Shea Stadium. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Piazza was the New York Mets. The Padres and A's? Not so much.

4. Bryan Trottier

Bryan Trottier
Bryan Trottier of the Pittsburgh Penguins plays against the Montreal Canadiens during the 1993-94 season. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

A cornerstone of the Islanders' dynasty of the 1980s, he joined the Pittsburgh Penguins and won two more Cups. That still didn't make him look right.

3. Patrick Ewing

The Knicks' legend wound up in Seattle and Orlando before retiring in 2002.

2. Martin Brodeur

The Devils finally decided to part ways with the legendary goaltender, and after waiting for his shot, Brodeur will now get one in St. Louis.

1. Joe Namath

Joe Namath
Joe Namath with the Los Angeles Rams in 1977. (Photo: Getty Images)

I think everyone would prefer to pretend Namath as an L.A. Ram was never a thing.

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