Kings Set Third Unveiling, Sked

Tonight the Los Angeles Kings officially announced their intentions to unveil their new third jersey via their official web site. They also released a schedule indicating when this new sweater would be worn.

They will unveil the alternate sweaters on November 22 when they take the ice against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Kings will wear their regular Crown/black home jerseys for pre-game warm-ups and change into the new sweaters before hitting the ice prior to the drop of the puck.

“I know our fans are anxiously awaiting this jersey and we are excited to unveil it,” said Kings President, Business Operations Luc Robitaille. “Everyone will want to get to that game early.”

The jersey is described as featuring "a modern look while echoing the history of the franchise." It will be worn for 12 home contests.

This image, showing the complete collection of past Kings sweaters, was included with the announcement.

I'll have pictures of the new sweater when they become available.

New Third Jersey Rumors!

I know the real reason you're here checking Icethetics tonight. It's to see if I've got any new third jersey scoop. It's your lucky night. I've got some new information to share regarding what some of the yet unreleased sweaters will look like.

As always, the source shall remain anonymous — so take it for what it is. But how many times have I lied to you?

This person got a look at the jersey designs on a piece of paper and compared what he saw with what Howard Berger saw. There's some interesting stuff here.

Is this the logo that will be on the front of the San Jose Sharks' third jersey? I'm told that it will indeed be black but instead of featuring just the full-body shark logo, it will actually be the new shield logo introduced last year — which includes the full-body shark.

My source writes, "This jersey disappointed me, it isnt just the black with the traditional shark. It is black, yes, but it uses the full body shark inside the shield design. With the orange and black script reading 'San Jose' across the top with the sun design."

Personally, I loved this logo from the moment it was first unveiled last year and would be thrilled to see it front and center on its own jersey. Is this true? I don't know. But I sure hope so.

We're continuing to hear that the Los Angeles Kings' third jersey will in fact be black and white with this logo — in black and white, no purple. I'm a little worried it's going to look boring, but they pulled off the look well in the '90s.

That's not all...

The Dallas Stars' third jersey will be white — basically the opposite of the regular black jersey. DALLAS will be arched above the player's jersey number in black text with a green outline instead of gold.

The interesting thing about this is that, like Toronto, wearing it at home forces the visiting team to carry twice as many jerseys with them on their road trip.

The Vancouver Canucks will wear their secondary "stick-in-rink" logo on the front of their blue third jersey. However, this latest source claims it will actually be a white version of the logo currently used as a shoulder patch. It certainly stands out more.

My hope is that the new Johnny Canuck logo will find its way onto, say, the shoulders of this jersey. It seems all of the images being seen by our "leakers" are small and grainy making it difficult to see details — such as shoulder decoration.

And that brings us to the Ottawa Senators. What I wouldn't give to see that team wear this logo, but there's been no word on that. If anything, it might be a shoulder patch, but this is just wishful thinking — I have nothing to back that up.

What I do have on the Sens from my source is this: "The jersey is not black, its that odd gold colour that the sens use. The word "SENS" isnt laid out in the common slanting downward fashion, its close together in white, with the red and black outlines, slightly slanting upwards (think Washington Wizards of the NBA, gold alternates). Very different from the concept illustration."

Gold, eh? That's... unusual. I'm not so sure about that but the main thing to take away from this information is that the upward slant of the text will not make it look like it says SNES as many have worried. In fact, I've put together a few concept renderings what what this may look like.

It's a simple upward slant that I've done but the actual jersey may feature more stylized or curved text. First, on a gold jersey, as this rumor suggests.

That's just standard block letter text, but they may also use something similar to the numbering style seen on their current home and road sweaters.

This serif text is also used for the C and A on the captains' sweaters. But if you want my opinion, I still think it'll be a black jersey — and this is the more likely look for the text.

And here are a couple of other options — one including gold.

Which one do you guys like best?

By the way, just a blog note here. I've updated the Atlanta Thrashers' third jersey logo in the sidebar. Their new sweater features the bird-head only logo on the shoulders — obviously no logo on the front as we all know.

That's all for tonight. Hope that satisfies your third jersey rumor thirst for now.

Icethetics Season Preview, Part IV

NEW NHL LOGOS

The Icethetics Season Preview is winding down. All week I've been getting you caught up with what's new in the world of hockey as it pertains to the right side of your brain.

Unlike last season, no NHL clubs are introducing new primary logos this season. However with the re-introduction of third jerseys this fall — and I'll go deeper into this tomorrow — a handful of teams will have new marks for their new duds.

There's no better team to start with for this topic than the Buffalo Sabres. I know a number of tradition-loving fans are thrilled at the prospect of the team's original logo making its' return — even if it is on a part-time basis.

The updated classic logo with a darker blue and silver lining will be worn on the Sabres' third jersey this season. Some are even hoping this logo will eventually be promoted to full-time status. It's not unprecedented for a third jersey logo to eventually become a team's primary. The Blue Jackets and Blues both did it.

Speaking of the St. Louis Blues, they've also unveiled a new logo to go on their new third jersey. The main feature is the use of the Gateway Arch imagery but it's also got the classic circle style — similar to what the Wild did when they introduced their first and only third jersey in 2003.

It's a beautiful design and use of color and stays true to the original Blue Note. You have to hand it to the Blues for really getting this one right.

Technically, the Carolina Hurricanes also have something new on their new third jersey. This dark version of their primary logo can be found on the shoulders. It's nothing spectacular, but it sure is a nice touch. And I assure you it looks much better in context, on the black jersey.

But that's all for new NHL logos — officially. But leaks happen and there's no group in the world that can really keep a secret — except the ones that kill people. So over the course of the summer, a few logos have make their way to those of us interested enough in finding them.

We'll begin with the Los Angeles Kings, who will be unveiling a new third jersey next month. The logo seen here fits the description for what we've heard about this particular sweater. It was discovered on a governmental trademark web site. And while those web sites generally tend to use only black and white images, it's believed this logo as well as the jersey will be black and white — and maybe silver.

So I trust this image and fully expect to see it on the front of the Kings' new third jersey in November.

Another team with leaking logos is the Phoenix Coyotes. Two brand new logos turned up over the summer.

The logo on the left is expected to be on the front of the Coyotes' new third jersey — also expected for release next month. The one on the right, if I were to guess, will probably be on the shoulder of this jersey — if they use it on a uniform at all. It could just be one of those alternate logos that only gets used on a handful of merchandise. The Canucks, Senators and Sharks all have logos like that.

Along with these other leaked logos were a couple of new scripts that turned up for the Coyotes and the Boston Bruins.

This new script logo for the Bruins matches much better with the new logo they unveiled last year.

The New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers are expected to go retro with their new third jerseys this season.

Technically, these aren't "new" logos but they are new additions for this season.

And that's that. We're expecting to see something new when the Thrashers, Lightning, Stars and Senators unveil their new third jerseys, but rumor has it they'll simply be text logos across the chest.

If you think I missed anything, shoot me an email and I'll be sure to add it. Otherwise, that does it for the this edition of the Icethetics Season Preview. Tomorrow is the last day of the Icethetics Season Preview (or is it?) and it's all about third jerseys. It's all the intelligence we've gathered this summer wrapped up in one big post.

Fans Get Creative

I've been trying to get some concept art posted a little more frequently. So since we're lacking any real news today, I can offer you these concept designs created by some of your fellow readers.

We'll start with the Kings and some ideas for their new third jersey.

And here's a series of various Kings logos from history in black and silver on a black sweater.

They don't all work, obviously. So let's get some color back in here.

I could really get behind a jersey like that.

Got a couple of concept logos to share as well. We'll start with the Blackhawks.

You already know I'm not a fan of their Indian head logo, but you can also be assured that I don't think this is the right direction. Very clean design though.

This would only work for the Islanders if the Rangers didn't exist. But this Big Apple imagery won't fly for the team on Long Island. Still, it's another excellent logo.

And we'll finish where we started — colorless.

These are some all-star game jersey ideas. Not bad, but very plain.

Freak Out Friday XLII

Freak Out Friday is finally back! After taking six weeks off, everybody's favorite series is making its' big return today. For those of you who just joined us in the last six weeks, take a look at some past Fridays. Some of the best ones were on the old blog. Basically, I take the opportunity every couple of weeks to showcase some of the weirdest and craziest concept art that turns up in my inbox.

Now, we're starting back up with an easy one. What did we last make fun on Freak Out Friday and what do we make fun of the most? Could it have been the Mighty Ducks' mid-90s third jerseys? What if they mated with the Kings?

Sticking with California for a moment, imagine if the Sharks went in an entirely different direction with their logo design.

That's not even the best one, and you'll notice that the majority of today's Freak Outs come by way of David Delisle who, while doing excellent work, sure ends up with some odd stuff.

Last month I featured a blog that was holding a competition to design the best Hurricanes/Whalers hybrid jersey for the franchise's 30th anniversary.

That's so scary it's actually good. And to all of you who think the Hurricanes' logo looks like a toilet flushing... this logo brings back memories of when my first goldfish died.

The Flames will be our next topic of discussion.

Check out that logo in the middle. The more astute among you will notice some things hiding in plain sight. The less astute will just be amused by this.

The Blue Jackets are next on our hit list. All this time and no one's ever made a concept showing jerseys that look like blue jackets. Until now.

How would that not get your team laughed off the ice?

Finally, a combination of odd designs by our new buddy Dave.

Yes, we get it. There are a lot of cabs in New York. By the way, the record needle on the end of a hockey stick is pretty funny.

One more thing, which isn't related to hockey but still funny. Kurt Snibbe of ESPN.com's Page 2 had some fun messing with NFL logos last week. I highly recommend a look even if you don't like football.

And that's all there is for this 42nd edition of the Freak Out Friday. I hope to be back in two weeks with a new crop of the ridiculous so make sure you guys keep them coming.

Kings Modify Jersey Numbers

Photos from a recent rookies game between the Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings seem to indicate the Kings are making a slight modification to their home uniforms this season.

A picture I found at LetsGoKings.com shows an outline has been added to the numbers stitched onto the back and sleeves of the black sweaters.

credit: Wile E. @ LetsGoKings.com

It's small but I guess it adds a little something to the jerseys. And it's different so I suppose that makes it news.

By the way, it's worth noting that teams tend to do all sorts of weird stuff for those rookie jerseys this time of year so it's hard to say for sure if this is a permanent change or just something that made it easier to throw together a bunch of sweaters for guys who won't see real NHL ice for a few more years.

That being said, this particular change seems like it'll stick. We'll know for sure soon. The season's right around the corner.

Thanks to Steven for the tip on this change.

Around The League

Time to get caught up on a bunch of news items from around the NHL. Get comfortable. This is a long one.

Vancouver Canucks goalie Curtis Sanford has decided on the fan-designed mask he'll be wearing this season. Hundreds of designs were submitted and the winner was announced yesterday on the team's web site.

I'll follow up when pictures of the final mask start popping up.

...
The Chicago Blackhawks recently attended a White Sox baseball game — I'm guessing to show the other hometown ball club that they don't love them any less than the Cubs even though they'll be playing in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. But they were wearing some unusual jerseys for the occasion.

See what I mean? Let's just hope they never make it on the ice.

...
The Los Angeles Kings continue to pimp their season tickets by offering a free third jersey no one's ever seen. Guess that's one way to avoid complaints. You can't whine about something that's free (...oh, wait a minute). There's an ad on their web site showing that ol' question mark jersey.

...
I got an email from an Atlanta Thrashers season ticket holder who asked his account rep about when the team would be unveiling their third jersey so he could get tickets for that game. He was told Friday, November 14 when they play the Hurricanes. That date coincides with what I've had in the sidebar....
Recently, a handful of new Phoenix Coyotes logos leaked and now it seems the team's own web site has some confirmation of at least one of them. A version of the new script logo in that post can be seen in the CoyotesFest logo.

The event is this Saturday at 11 AM. The team hasn't indicated any plans to unveil their third jersey... but neither did the Bruins.

...
Speaking of third jerseys, aside from the Sabres and Coyotes, a handful of other teams are holding fan events this weekend. Only the Sabres have mentioned anything about unveiling their third jersey, but it'll be worth keeping an eye on these other guys.

The Ottawa Senators will have their Fanfest on Saturday from 8 AM to 1:30 PM. They really want you waking up early for a Saturday morning. Anyway, on the agenda for the day is the grand opening of The Sens Store. Might they have certain new merchandise for sale? (Wink, wink.)

The Chicago Blackhawks have Training Camp Festival 2008 on the books for Saturday from 8 AM to 4 PM. The Bruins unveiled their new third jersey to very little fanfare. I'd expect the same from the Blackhawks who are likely to go with their standard black alternate that's been in service for over a decade now. Will they have it on display at this event?

The St. Louis Blues will hold FANfest on Sunday from 11 AM to 4 PM. There's a Q&A scheduled with head coach Andy Murray and president of hockey operations John Davidson with season ticket holders at 1:45 PM. I can almost guarantee someone will ask about third jerseys. What will the guys say?

That wraps things up for today. I wanted to get as much new information as I could in this post since it might be the only one I write today.

Concept Art Is Back

It's late. I'm bored. Seems like the perfect reason to write my first random concept art post in over a month. Obviously it's going to involve a lot of third jersey speculation. So let's start at the beginning.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Hurricanes will become the first team to unveil a third jersey in the Rbk EDGE era. You can even join us for a live chat as it happens! On to the art, now.

The one labeled "a" seems to be based on the standard rumors. The other one is pure fantasy. Unique. This same artist has been working on speculative designs for a few other teams. He's got the Kings and Sens covered.

Sens, what a joke. Guess I won't be laughing so hard when my team wears jerseys that read "Bolts" across the front. Our friend Vlad also took a stab at the Thrashers.

Again, rumor-based on the left, fantasy on the right. I really hope Atlanta can do better. I do have another concept design for the Thrash which came before the real text design leaked.

Aside from the choice of font, it's a nice set.

This next one seems to be half-based on rumor. It's a concept for the Blues featuring the Arch but their new third jersey is alleged to be navy.

And we'll finish with an artist just having a little fun with the Devils.

Stare at that logo a little while. You'll start seeing things.

So anyway, time to get excited about all the new third jerseys. The fun kicks off tomorrow when we'll know for sure what at least one of them will look like.

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?

Logos Revealed In Public Docs

A rather industrious reporter for the Ottawa Citizen may have found some new third jersey logos. In his blog Hockey Capital, James Gordon writes, "Potential new logos and third jersey centrepieces are starting to trickle out of public document filings in the lead-up to the 2008/2009 NHL season and I've posted a few here for your perusal."

The new image we haven't seen before is this one, which appears to be the Los Angeles Kings logo described by Howard Berger last month.

He said, "The Kings will unveil a predominantly black jersey with the letters 'LA' inside a pencil-point logo on the front." If he's right, this appears to be our winner.

This concept jersey I posted a few days later is the closest yet.

It doesn't end there. A logo he found for the Coyotes all but confirms the logos I posted here and here.

Though this is the black and white version. I really love that logo, by the way.

And for whatever it's worth, Gordon also had this logo for the Edmonton Oilers' 30th anniversary celebration.

My unending appreciation goes to Greg at Puck Daddy for the tip as well as continuing to pimp Icethetics!