If you've been paying any attention at all over the last few days, you've certainly notice that I've been doing a lot of tweaking to the design of the blog. I'm interested in some feedback. Let me know if you guys think I'm heading in the right direction.
I'm also introducing new logo graphics for the various polls and tournaments. I've debuted the new design with the two polls currently posted for the QMJHL Tournament of Logos. Have a look and tell me what you think.
It's been a lot of work for me this weekend but I still felt like finding the time to put together a concept post for you. We're starting with a new artist with work labeled under King Creative Design. First, check out the Islanders logo he's come up with.
Outstanding, if you ask me.
He's also got a cool new mark for the Stars and even a set of jerseys to go with it.
I'm a fan I hope to receive more from this guy to share with you all.
But moving on, here's an interesting Maple Leafs logo that turned up in my inbox.
And as you know, I've always got room for a new Blackhawks logo.
Obviously it's a tweak of the current logo. I wouldn't say it's better, but it's no worse really. Just something to look at.
I'm not sure if I do it enough, so let me take the time here to express my appreciation to all the talented artists who submit their work for me to post. You guys make this blog what it is. Anyway, that's it for today. Gotta get back to work on the site design now.
We're into the final rounds of the QMJHL Tournament of Logos as we shift everything here to Icethetics. Place your vote and leave a comment about how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!
As you guys may have notice I'm finally getting some things done here at Icethetics. You can thank the weekend for that. While I'm working, I thought I'd talk about a few things briefly.
THIRD JERSEYS I've transferred the list of confirmed third jerseys from the sidebar at NHLToL. I'll update it as I learn more. I have to say I'm really surprised at the lack of information about the new jerseys so far this summer. But at the same time I'm not. We spent a lot of time last summer just waiting for the smallest bits of news to trickle out about the Rbk EDGE jerseys.
If you want my input, don't expect to see a whole lot of unveilings until the season gets really close (meaning training camp) or actually underway. If I ran a team, I might want to wait and unveil a new third jersey at my team's season opener to the home crowd. Maybe even as one more way to sell tickets. You know, "Hey, show up and you'll get to be the first to see our new sweaters!"
Don't forget too that some of the teams on the list may not actually unveil alternate jerseys until halfway or more through the season as a way to reinvigorate a fan base. I may be full of hot air (and I often am) but these are just things to consider as the summer progresses. But just remember, any news that should surface will of course be posted right here.
FREE AGENT SIGNINGS I got an email from a reader who had a good suggestion earlier. With so many players — big name players at that — changing teams this offseason via free agency, we might be tempted to get an early glimpse at what some of these guys might look like in their new uniforms. So if anybody wants to paint some new jerseys onto recently signed players, I'd be more than happy to post them.
One example someone made and sent in features former Pens Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone in Lightning sweaters.
As a Tampa Bay fan, I think it's pretty cool.
ToHL LOGO TOURNAMENTS As mentioned, I'm moving all ToHL content to Icethetics as well. That means the QMJHL Tournament of Logos and the CHL Memorial Cup poll will finish up here. If you scroll down you'll see that today's poll has been posted and you can vote for the Huskies or Oceanic.
Basically, for those of you that haven't been following that site, when we finish with the QMJHLToL, the champion logos from each of the CHL leagues will go head-to-head to determine the overall champion. The Swift Current Broncos and London Knights won the WHL and OHL, respectively.
CENTER ICE TOURNAMENT I don't have a start date set for this tournament yet but I anticipate getting it going before the end of the month. It'll probably happen after or at the same time as the final CHL poll.
We're getting into the final rounds of the QMJHL Tournament of Logos as we shift everything here to Icethetics. Place your vote and leave a comment about how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!
I don't plan on blowing anything up tonight. It's not really my thing. Instead, you guessed it... concept art. And what NHL team is quintessentially red, white and blue? If you're Canadian, you might say Montreal, but then they're actually bleu, blanc et rouge, aren't they?
No, I'm speaking of the New York Rangers. And one reader has submitted some rather unconventional designs.
Doesn't really scream New York Rangers to me, but I see where he was going.
Another red, white and blue team is the Washington Capitals but that's a recent development after they spent more than a decade in navy and bronze (which I always loved, by the way).
That's a rather simple design and, if I do say so, not entirely worthy of this club. I've also been sent a peculiar design for a blue third jersey.
I'm not sure where they eagle came from, but it just feels unoriginal. It's a simple design but not in the good way.
And finally, I hate to leave out our Canadian friends, so with the next all-star weekend being held in Montreal, enjoy this set of concept jerseys for the big game.
American folk: Enjoy the fireworks tonight. Try not to blow off any appendages and we'll consider it a success. Canadian folk: Carry on as usual with your Friday night.
I'm sure many of your remember a new series we started last week from an artist under the moniker capn89. He's been redesigning the uniforms of each team league-wide, doing so without drastic changes to the colors or logos. It's been amazing work and while he began the series in alphabetical order, we're going to step out of that pattern for today's post.
We're starting with the Hurricanes.
Again, he's only making slight adjustments, mainly to the striping and design patterns on the sweaters, but in some cases that can make all the difference. Next up, my personal favorite as you well know, the Blackhawks.
It's amazing how the addition of a shoulder yoke suddenly changes my mind completely about these uniforms. For some reason it even makes the logo look better! I might be going crazy though. Finally, we have the Panthers.
And just for good measure, he wanted to see what the Cats would look like without the red.
I'll keep these posts coming as long as he continues to submit his artwork. I expect to have a post tomorrow but with it being the 4th of July, I may be out so don't hold me to that.
I've been at work for 15 hours today so forgive me if this post is less chipper than usual. I'm lucky to be posting at all at this point. But it is Wednesday so you deserve your wallpapers for the week. Today's post is rather player-focused.
Up first is Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom.
Also got Bruin Phil Kessel inside some broken glass, I think.
A rather informative wallpaper for Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller.
This next one is all about the future of the only NHL team never to make the postseason (sorry Blue Jackets fans).
And lastly, newly signed Red Wings goaltender Ty Conklin up close and personal.
By the way, keep the wallpaper artwork coming. I'm starting to run low. And if I run out, we're going to have to skip a week.
Anyway, that does it for me. I need to get some sleep so I can be back at work again at 3 AM. Goodnight!
Aw, you didn't really think I'd do a launch with nothing more than a post about things you already know, did you?
Icethetics partner artist Matt (aka GhettoFarmBoy) has been hard at work on his latest design in the Rebranding The NHL series. And today, as we launch the new blog, he's offering up a preview of his new Buffalo Sabres logo.
It's looking good. He assures me that the final design will be ready soon.
But just so you don't walk away empty-handed, he's sharing with us one of the logos that didn't make the cut in his final Washington Capitals rebrand.
So I hope it was worth it on moving day. And I've been reading some of the comments posted so far. Here's some quick responses. The logo at the top is not final. It's a placeholder. I understand you like/dislike the color scheme (we can hold a poll on that if you want). The center ice tournament will feature "natural" logos — no all-star or anniversary symbols. We'll get to the mascots but I wanted the first Icethetics tournament to feature all 30 clubs.
Think that answers everything so far. Got any other questions? Feel free to email me or leave a comment.
Hey everybody! Icethetics is officially here and I know you're excited about that. It's a little bare right now, but give it time.
If you're new to this, Icethetics is a brand new blog born from the merging of the NHL Tournament of Logos and Tournament of Hockey Logos blogs. Icethetics will feature the same great combination of reader-submitted concept art and logo voting as well as so much more!
Over the next few weeks I'll be rolling out all the new features and additions including a brand new concept art gallery, an artist partnership program and a brand new tournament for you to cast your votes! And actually, I'm announcing the new tournament today. It's something I've been talking about for several months at NHLToL.
Get ready for the NHL Tournament of Center Ice Logos! (I know you saw that coming.) Each team has in their arena a unique design painted onto center ice — usually incorporating their primary logo — so in this tournament, you'll be voting on whose is the best.
Last year around this time we did a primary logo tournament which was won by the Montreal Canadiens. It'll be interesting to see if they keep that title for another year.
Anyway, I've got a lot going on today as I get this blog up and running. And like I've said, NHLToL and ToHL aren't going anywhere. But as of today, they will no longer be updated. All of your concept art and logo voting needs will have to be fulfilled by the brand new Icethetics blog!
By the way, my email address is not changing. It will continue to be nhllogos@gmail.com.
Comments Off Saturday · Sep 16 · 2006 | 7:00 AM PDTShare
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On September 16, 2006, the Buffalo Sabres officially unveiled a new logo and uniforms. The logo had been leaked online months earlier and was met with much criticism. The original article about the unveiling on the team's official website no longer exists. This article was written by cityhockeyfever at ArmchairGM.
Buffalo Sabres Unveil New Logo and Uniforms
Sabres new logo at center iceThe Buffalo Sabres already had their fans excited about the prospects of going deep into the playoffs next spring, but they will do it in fashionable style on the ice during the upcoming 2006-2007 National Hockey League season.
Earlier today, the Sabres officially unveiled a new logo and uniforms to a large crowd that gathered inside HSBC Arena in Buffalo for the first open practice of training camp. As part of a "Game On" league-wide ticket drive, Sabres fans also had the opportunity to purchase season tickets and individual game tickets at the arena. WGRZ-TV provided a live webcast of the festivities, including the moment when the players stepped out onto the ice for the first time. The new logo with a team name wordmark was painted on the HSBC Arena ice surface earlier this week.
Paul Gaustad #28During this summer, hockey fans got an unexpected preview of the new logo as it leaked out onto the internet and then shown by various media outlets. Not all embraced the new logo and one Sabres fan even created the web site Fix The Logo to protest its use. Drew Celestino as the webmaster of the site has collected at least 29,000 signatures on his online petition.
As a result of much buzz around the city and the hockey community, the Sabres somewhat quieted fans in agreement with Celestino's protest of the new logo by announcing on July 27th the original road jersey would become the new alternate for 15 games this season. It is the blue base color jersey with the familiar blue circular logo in gold trim with a white bison and crossed swords.
Confirmation was made about the new primary logo at this point after all the talk had surfaced about whether it would officially be the new brand. Last seen in 1996 prior to the team moving into HSBC Arena (at the time of its opening, it was called Marine Midland Arena) and having the previous red, silver, white and black color scheme, the first game this season that the original blue jersey will worn is on October 14th against the New York Rangers. The retro jersey was also on display by a handful of players wearing it this morning during the open practice.
Martin Biron #43The third logo in team history resembles a modern-looking gold buffalo leaping from left to right, but without legs. Celestino and other non-supporters of the new logo describe it as a slug or hair toupee in resemblance. It is outlined in a deeper blue than the original blue color the Sabres wore from 1970 to 1996 and also in white and silver. A modified version of the secondary logo from the previous uniform was originally to be scrapped, but instead has been retained in the new navy blue and brighter gold colors with silver accenting.
The new home uniform has its base color in navy blue to make it more eye-appealing on television. Thin silver striping runs horizontally around the lower shoulders and also vertically below the armpits to the waist. The new road white uniform has the same silver striping, but the sleeves and within its boundaries along the sides of the jersey are in navy blue. But a unique first for NHL team jerseys is the implementation of a small player uniform number on the front. It is seen on the upper right chest in a different font that either of the previous two uniforms.
The Sabres and Reebok International jointly worked on the design of the new logo and uniforms. A limited amount of jerseys sporting the new look were made available this morning.
The following video was posted on YouTube by KayKay024 from the night of the logo and uniform unveiling in Buffalo.
blackhawks, 
