Third Jersey Fan Concepts & More

We haven't had a good concept art post in almost a month because of the explosion of third jersey news. Now that we're getting a little bit of a break from it, let's take a look at what some fans would like to see as alternate sweaters. And get comfortable, because this is going to be a long one.

We'll start with some update Flyers logos that were submitted.

My personal favorite is the bottom right corner in the sketches. Up next is a great set with some uniquely updated logos.

credit: David Baratta

And speaking of updated logos, check out these for the Sharks.

The artist who submitted these prefers the one on the left but I thought I'd post them both and let you decide for yourself.

Now let's get into those third jersey concepts I was telling you about. We'll start with San Jose. Rumors have circulated that the shield logo could go on the front, but I wouldn't expect to see any white or orange anywhere else on the jersey.

And the Predators concept is purely from the mind of the artist. The Predators haven't announced any plans for a third jersey either this year or next. Neither have the Capitals, but many people are wishing for something like this.

Many Canucks fans were hoping for a green third jersey. Maybe something like this isn't too far off.

Yeah, maybe not the one on the right, though.

Here's a very busy idea for the Canadiens.

Maybe if your jersey was distracting enough, you could just win that way. Sticking with the Canada theme for a moment, how about these for the Senators?

And finally, hoping for the return of a yellow third jersey for the Bruins? Here's one of my favorite concepts from this batch.

What do you think of these? if you have any concept art of your own, feel free to send it along.

Vote For Your Favorite Habs Jersey

They beat me to the punch. On their official web site, the Montreal Canadiens are holding a poll, asking you to vote for your favorite of the six newly unveiled Centennial Jerseys.

Click here to go cast your vote.

It'll be interesting to see which one is the most popular. I'm sure I'll have a poll like that on Icethetics at some point. Happy voting!

Icethetics Season Preview, Part II

NEW CENTER ICE DESIGNS

The Icethetics Season Preview continues. All week, I'm doing my best to get you caught up with what's new in the world of hockey as it pertains to the right side of your brain.

Every year, every NHL team repaints its ice rink. In fact, this happens several times a year. But usually, they paint the same logo down on center ice each time. For the 2008-09 season, a half-dozen clubs are giving their manmade ponds a makeover.

In this post I'll be using concept images to show you what the center ice logos will look like. They are not entirely accurate representations of what's painted on the ice, however the logo dimensions are correct. The arena names have been left off along with the center line design which can vary from team to team.

A couple of teams are just enlarging their primary logo under the main faceoff circle.

The Dallas Stars increased the size of their logo and also added small stars to dot their red line. The Toronto Maple Leafs actually removed one. Previously, the Leafs center ice featured two logos, one facing the television cameras and the other facing opposite.

Two other teams are using their center ice circle to celebrate their anniversaries.

The Montreal Canadiens' 100th anniversary logo replaces the classic CH logo this season while the Edmonton Oilers are going with a simplified version of their 30th anniversary mark, which includes the vintage logo.

Finally, two other teams are going with their third jersey logos at center ice.

The Buffalo Sabres will use their updated vintage logo while the Carolina Hurricanes are going with the storm flag and small square storm flags along their red line.

There are unsubstantiated rumors circulating that these designs are temporary for the Hurricanes and Sabres, meant only as a marketing tool for the preseason in creating awareness of the teams' new third jerseys. I'll keep an eye out when the regular season starts to see if the primary logos find their way back to the ice for these two teams.

I'm only covering the NHL with this part of the preview, but if you think I missed anything, shoot me an email and I'll be sure to add it. Otherwise, that does it for the second day of the Icethetics Season Preview. Tomorrow, we're looking at minor league teams introducing new logos this fall.

Icethetics Season Preview, Part I

NEW SPECIALTY LOGOS

The Icethetics Season Preview begins today. All week, I'll do my best to get you caught up with what's new in the world of hockey as it pertains to the right side of your brain.

I consider specialty logos to be those that get sort of a one-time use — commemorative, tribute logos; anniversary logos and the like. And obviously there's no better place to start for the 2008-09 season than the Montreal Canadiens.

The Habs are launching a 100th birthday celebration that will span two seasons. For the event, they've created two logos.

The logo on the left can be seen on the right shoulder of Canadiens' home and road jerseys this season as well as doing double duty on the ice in the Bell Centre (more on that tomorrow). The one on the right will be featured on the the right shoulder of jerseys worn on Centennial Jersey Night — which brings us to our next logos.

On the eight Centennial Jersey Nights throughout the season, the team will don four different retro style sweaters, twice each. These jerseys will also feature the logo from that era.

The logo on the left is from the 1912-13 season. On the right is the 1915-16 logo. The Canadiens will also have throwbacks from 1945 and 1970, seen below.

The 1970 logo, right, is no different from the team's current logo — which is a cleaner version of the 1945 design, left.

The Habs aren't the only NHL club with a special anniversary this season. The Edmonton Oilers are celebrating 30 years — despite having been in existence for 37.

The Oilers were one of four teams that joined the NHL when the WHA folded in 1979.

Interestingly, all four were formed in 1972 but only the Oilers remain in their original city. The New England Whalers have become the Hurricanes (who celebrated 10 years last season), the Quebec Nordiques are now the Avalanche and the Winnipeg Jets are now the Coyotes. None of those three franchises are doing anything to mark their 30th year in the NHL.

Having said that, no other NHL teams are introducing anniversary logos this season. But for the record, this year is the 10th anniversary of the Atlanta Thrashers.

That brings us to the AHL. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have introduced a simple logo for their 10th anniversary. It features their skating penguin over a gold X with the years 1999 and 2009.

Oddly enough, this franchise has existed since 1981 when it joined the AHL as the Fredericton Express. In 1988, they became the Halifax Citadels and then the Cornwall Aces in 1993. But operations were shut down in 1996. The Pittsburgh Penguins resurrected the organization and moved it to Wilkes-Barre in 1999 — which is the year they count as their first.

The Norfolk Admirals are celebrating 20 years. This is interesting because for the first 11 years of its existence, the team played as the Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL. They were admitted into the AHL as an expansion franchise in 2000.

The anniversary mark incorporates a major element of the Hampton Roads logo — the large yellow ship anchor — yet stays true to the Norfolk logo and the addition of blue to their color scheme after becoming an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Speaking of the ECHL, a couple of teams are turning 15 — last year, technically. The Charlotte Checkers and South Carolina Stingrays joined the ECHL in 1993 and so started their 15th anniversary celebrations last year.

On the left is the Checkers' logo — introduced last year — and the Stingrays logo on the right, which is new for this year (I believe). Both logos come with a completely new branding for the teams. We'll get a look at their new logos on Wednesday.

Back on the NHL side, the Columbus Blue Jackets are honoring their late founder and owner John H. McConnell who died in April.

It's a sharp logo bearing his initials, a silver star and red stripes. The logo will be used as a patch on the team's jerseys this season.

There's more information on the Blue Jackets' official web site.

We can't forget about those all-star game logos. Along with their centennial celebrations, the Montreal Canadiens will host the 2009 NHL All-Star Game. English and French versions of the logo have been released.

It's a cool design that tries to play off one of the 100th anniversary logo (see above). It also features the Habs' famous CH logo in full — a rarity among all-star logos since 1993, which typically feature only small elements of the host team's crest.

We can't leave out the minor leagues. The AHL's All-Star Classic will be hosted this year by the Worcester Sharks and the Reading Royals will host the ECHL's All-Star Game for the second time in four years.

And that about does it except for one thing — a special logo for a special event.

The Winter Classic will be held at Wrigley Field this season and feature the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. The logo, left, works in the famous sign at the old ballpark.

For the game, the teams will don classic vintage sweaters — the Hawks in black and the Wings in white. I'll share pictures as soon as they surface.

Almost forgot a couple. Just like last year, the NHL is premiering its season in Europe.

On the left is NHL Premiere Prague featuring the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. On the right is the Bridgestone-sponsored NHL Premiere Stockholm featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators.

Now, I'm only human, so if you think I missed anything, shoot me an email and I'll be sure to add it. Otherwise, that wraps things up for the first day of the Icethetics Season Preview. See you back here for more tomorrow.

Habs Announce Plans For Centennial

The Montreal Canadiens have announced their plans for their 100th anniversary season. They also unveiled a collection of vintage sweaters which will be worn throughout the season along with the jersey for the NHL All-Star Game which will take place in Montreal in January.

Four separate vintage sweaters will be used this season. Two will be introduced in the 2009-10 season. An image posted on their official web site shows the new duds.

According to the team, there will be eight Centennial Jersey Nights throughout the season where the Habs will don retro sweaters — two games for each jersey. Before I detail the schedule, I'll tell you about the four jerseys.

1912-13

1915-16

1945-46

1970-71

Interestingly, the jersey they seem to be indicating as the 1970 vintage style is actually just what they wear on the road currently. However, all of the Centennial Jersey Nights take place in Montreal.

The first one is October 4 against the Panthers when they'll wear the 1970 jersey. On November 15 against the Flyers, they'll wear 1945. They'll don the 1915 sweaters on December 4 against the Rangers. And on February 1 they'll wear the 1912 jerseys against the Bruins.

Those jerseys are repeated in the same order for the last four Centennial Jersey Nights on February 21 against the Senators, March 14 when they face the Devils, a week later against the Maple Leafs, and on March 31 when they face the Blackhawks.

As I said, two more jerseys will be introduced for next year from 1909 and 1910. You can see them below. Oddly, they each have 08 on the sleeves but they aren't indicated for use until fall of 2009.

It's going to be a big year for the Habs. I look forward to seeing them in all of these vintage jerseys.

Habs Jerseys Bear New Patches

Training camp is underway for the Montreal Canadiens and the Montreal Gazette has photos. They're on the Habs Inside/Out blog. Why is that interesting?

They have this shot of Robert Lang, Georges Laraque and Alex Tanguay wearing their new red sweaters — with some new shoulder patches.

Obviously the right shoulder bears the new 100th anniversary logo — which can now be seen at center ice in the Bell Centre. Habs Inside/Out has a better picture.

What's not obvious is the patch on the left shoulder. You can make out something on Tanguay's sweater but it's out of focus in this picture yet clearly not the same as what's on the right. None of the other pictures I saw in the gallery show that shoulder. However, if I were to guess, I'd say it's the 2009 All-Star Game logo.

Most teams seem to wear the logo on the front of the jersey when they're hosting, but there's no reason it couldn't be up on the shoulder. So there you have it. If any new pictures turn up, I'll have them.

Info On Habs' Retro Jerseys

An article at Cyberpresse.ca which happens to be in French has some interesting information regarding the the vintage jerseys the Montreal Canadiens are rumored to be wearing this season to celebrate their centennial.

I used Google to translate it to English.

Retro Jerseys

In addition, the Canadian will take advantage of the centennial celebrations for dusting four of his old sweaters. This season, the Montreal players will don jerseys retro twice, once on November 15 against the Philadelphia Flyers and a second time on 1 February against the Boston Bruins.

In the first case, it is the jersey of the 1915-16 season to be worn by the Canadian players. The second time, Montrealers will skate wearing the jersey of the 1912-13 season.

Apart from the terrible grammar of the translator, there's some interesting stuff here.

While it appears to suggest the Habs will wear four "old sweaters," it suggests only two dates when they will be worn. Unless the Canadiens are planning on a wardrobe change for each of those games, I think we might need some clarification.

But it sounds like they're at least wearing the 1915-16 sweaters against the Flyers on November 15 and the 1912-13 sweaters against the Bruins on February 1. If someone would like to track down pictures of those jerseys, I'd be happy to post them. A quick Google search turned up nothing useful for me.

UPDATE (3:04 PM): Thanks to Alan for finding an image showing the Montreal Canadiens' uniform history. In the upper left corner are the jerseys we might be seeing on the ice this season.

The 1915-16 sweater is clearly labeled but we have to assume the sweater labeled 1911-12 is what they mean by 1912-13 in the article. Both very interesting jerseys.

Now do you they'll actually wear "sweaters" in those games or adapt these styles to a Rbk EDGE jersey? (Just a joke.)

Canadiens' New Center Logo

The Montreal Canadiens said a couple weeks ago that they would be using their new 100th anniversary logo at center ice instead of their primary logo.

We now have a photo of what that looks like.

Complete with new Bell Centre text around the circle and everything. Very classy.

Habs To Retire Roy's No. 33

According to CNN, the Montreal Canadiens will retire Patrick Roy's jersey No. 33 this November.

I have found no further information on the subject. However, TSN has.

Good for him!

Habs Unveil 100 Seasons Logo

I've gotten about a dozen emails about this so most of you probably know already. The Montreal Canadiens released a new 100th anniversary logo that will be used this season. The announcement was made yesterday on their official web site.

The logo is described as "using the style of numbers found on the Canadiens’ current white jersey worn on the road." It will also be used at center ice. A rendering of what that will look like is on the team's web site.

For what it's worth, the logo says "100 Seasons" right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the last 100 years we have had at least one year without a hockey season. Did the Habs perhaps play two seasons in one year at some point prior to the formation of the NHL?

The article makes no mention of the vintage jerseys the Habs are rumored to be wearing throughout the season to commemorate their centennial.