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.

Caps GM Says No Third Jersey

Washington Capitals fans may not be happy about this news — I guess, depending on your stand with regard to third jerseys. On Monday some information I received seemed to indicate the Capitals might be among the teams with third jerseys this season. But according to the team's general manager, that is not the case.

Washington Post writer Tarik El-Bashir wrote in his blog Capitals Insider that GM George McPhee said his team won't be wearing an alternate sweater anytime soon.

As you might have heard, the Capitals won't be among the 18 teams introducing a third jersey this season. But it might not happen next season, or the season after that, either, if McPhee has his way.

"We just came up with these jerseys a year ago and we're still building equity in them," he said. "Personally, I'm not a third jersey fan. Half the time, you don't know who is playing out there. So I'm in no rush to do it."

So if you were among those hoping for a blue "Weagle" jersey — keep dreaming. It sounds like there's no possibility of a third until at least 2010.

Thanks to James for the tip!

Finding Lost Logos

Tuesday's post about blogger James Gordon finding unreleased logos in public trademark filings and an email from JP at Japers' Rink got me thinking about what other hidden gems might be out there on the United States Patent & Trademark Office's web site. Now I think "gems" is misleading because, by and large, logos that were trademarked but never used probably weren't that good in the first place.

Even one that was trademarked and will be used wasn't that good. I'm of course referring to the Kings.

That got me thinking about the one other team who is supposed to be getting a new logo for their third jersey — the Blues. And we haven't seen anything from them yet. So I did a search. Unfortunately, it seems they haven't filed yet. However, I did find one interesting wordmark.

A Blues fan would have to let me know if this was used or not at any point. But I don't remember ever seeing it. I believe it dates back to the days of the trumpet logo you see on the right. That was a secondary logo worn as a shoulder patch during the Gretzky days when the team introduced red into the uniform.

I did like that trumpet logo a lot though, for what it's worth.

Moving on now to the Capitals. Here's a logo we have seen before here.

And here's one we haven't.

This is what JP pointed out to me in the first place. Last year he wrote up a post about these two logos. He didn't like either and while I know my opinion doesn't count for anything, I have to say I really like the one on the right.

Yeah, it has text in it and all that, but if you can look beyond it's major flaw, I think it's a very balanced and well-designed logo. Shame it never saw the light of day.

And finally, I have to bring it all back to my Tampa Bay Lightning.

This logo was trademarked by the Bolts but never used — thankfully. I first saw it at Boltsmag a few years back.

If you guys find anything else of interest, let me know and I'll post it.

UPDATE (8/22 1:02 AM): All right, this is incredible. Not only were both of those Blues logos used, a reader emailed in a picture of a banner that features both on a hockey mask — together!

How cool is that?

Four New Sweater Designs

Icethetics reader Paul (aka capn89) has been redesigning NHL uniforms league wide and he's sent in another batch for your enjoyment. Most recently you saw him take a stab at the Senators. Today we've got four new teams — beginning with Columbus.

I'm not sure how well a red third jersey works in theory for a team named the Blue Jackets, but looking at it, you can't help but like it.

His Islanders jerseys are sharp!

He's used a Liberty Bell logo on the shoulders of the Flyers jerseys.

Notice how the home sweater is orange. I think most Philly fans tend to prefer that to black. And finally, we have the Capitals.

That secondary logo just looks killer on the front of the third jersey. Let's hope the team's smart enough to actually make one for this season.

By the way, tomorrow I'll have more details on the new logo design contest I'm launching. Imagine a league with 30 teams — each team has a name and color scheme — but none of them have logos! Designers, this one's for you. You'll be able to brand a team from the ground up!

Red, White & Blue

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.