Icethetics Season Preview, Part VI
26 CommentsNow more than a week into the regular season, I'm not so sure this still qualifies as a "preview" anymore. But it required a lot of research and for each team to have played at least a handful of games. Why? Part 6 of the Icethetics Season Preview is new goalie masks!
Let's dive in, starting with the biggest and most controversial. Martin Brodeur. The man has worn the same mask design for nearly his entire career — until this season. And he only made one change.
The devil design culled from the New Jersey Devils' logo has been on his head for years. This year it's been replaced by a stylized MB30 to promote his new web site.
Still, Brodeur has one of the classic mask designs left in the league. And speaking of classic, Dwayne Roloson and Mathieu Garon will have special masks and equipment for games in which the Oilers' wear their third jersey this season.
Below you can see pictures of Garon's new regular and vintage masks along with Dwayne Roloson's new Grant Fuhr-inspired retro mask.
And while we're on third jerseys, Cam Ward has updated his mask to go with the Hurricanes' new third jersey.
He's even got the new black and grey shoulder patch logo on the back of his helmet.
Some goalies got new masks because they got new teams, like Alex Auld, Andrew Raycroft, Olaf Kolzig, Cristobal Huet and Patrick Lalime.
Some stayed with their teams but got new masks anyway, like Rick DiPietro, Martin Gerber, Miikka Kiprusoff, Tim Thomas and Henrik Lundqvist.
Curtis Sanford let the fans redesign his mask. And Peter Budaj just likes The Hulk.
The other big one is Roberto Luongo whose design really hasn't changed, but he did add that captain's C to the chin. I posted a picture yesterday.
That's really all I thought were worth pointing out. If you think there are others, email me pictures and I'll add them to the post. In the meantime, here's that list I was telling you about.
If I missed anybody, let me know and send a picture so I can add them. And as you may have noticed, I'm not counting rookie goalies. I'm just talking about established goalies with mask changes.
And so officially ends the Icethetics Season Preview. Hopefully we'll do it all again next October!
The Boston Bruins seemed to unveil their third jersey to season ticket holders at the 
Next, the Toronto Maple Leafs are scheduled for an unveiling on Monday. It's expected they'll be wearing the same white vintage third jersey they wore prior to last season. It will have two blue stripes around the elbows and waist. I'm assuming it will have the blue shoulder yoke.
The Edmonton Oilers will debut their new third jersey live on the web on Tuesday. Don't be surprised to see the Oil go retro. Their new third jerseys are alleged to come from the Gretzky-Messier era. Hard to go wrong with a look like that. The bright blue and bright orange will finally make their return.
The Atlanta Thrashers will be the last team scheduled to unveil a third jersey in October. They'll do so on Wednesday, giving us three straight days of new third jerseys. The rumors here suggest that the word THRASHERS will be arched above the sweater number on a maroon jersey. There will also likely be a lot of white in the design. I have high hopes for this one.
The New York Islanders will be first to debut their new third jersey in November. The Isles had a countdown to November 1 on their official web site. But two days after I reported it, the countdown suddenly changed to the home opener. Interesting. But this team will also be going retro, looking back to the 1980s for their new sweater. All blue with orange numbers. Great combination!
Two days later the Chicago Blackhawks will unveil a new third jersey. This is expected to be one of the least surprising of the bunch. The Hawks will likely go with their classic black sweater. If they try something new, I might actually lose my mind. 
On November 6, the Pittsburgh Penguins plan to make last year's powder blue Winter Classic sweater their new third jersey. Not sure how much different this one will be. But rumors circulated that the Sabres would simply introduce a blue version of their Winter Classic jersey and it ended up being much different. 
The Vancouver Canucks will be the next to unveil a third jersey — on November 15. This date was confirmed on local radio by team president Chris Zimmerman yesterday. Another blue jersey is expected with the modernized stick-in-the-rink logo. New rumors suggest the Johnny Canuck V logo introduced last year will appear on the shoulders.
The Dallas Stars are set to unveil their third jersey on November 18. No game is scheduled for this date so perhaps the Stars will have a big unveiling event for this jersey. However, this one has bad rumors — a white version of the current home jersey. The word DALLAS arched above sweater number. Let's at least hope the text is in green. I was hoping for a green jersey.
Three days later the Sharks will unveil their new third jerseys. They'll likely be black with the full-body shark logo on the front (you can currently see it on the shoulders of the home and road sweaters). Maybe the new fin logo will make an appearance on the shoulders. Personally, I think that one's the best of the new set.
November 22 will be a double-header in terms of new third jerseys. The Los Angeles Kings will debut theirs which is said to be black with a new logo on front. Purple will apparently be hard to come by as the Kings, like the Oilers, look to their Gretzky days for inspiration. This is one I'm looking forward to and really hoping they don't screw up.
The other half of that double-header is the Ottawa Senators, also probably introducing a black third. It's said to have the word SENS angled upward across the front of the sweater. When Howard Berger described the jersey, he said it looked sharp. Yet his description sounded nothing like that. This one I'll be interested in seeing.
To finish out that weekend, the Tampa Bay Lightning will, for the first time, unveil a blue jersey. This third will supposedly have the word BOLTS angled downward across the front. As a Lightning fan, this one has me worried. But like I've said, I'll reserve judgment until I see it. I do like the idea of finally have a blue sweater, though.
The Philadelphia Flyers will be one of the last two teams to unveil a third jersey, doing so in the final weekend of November. Images have leaked so we know the Flyers are also going retro, with an orange jersey from the 1970s. The interesting thing about their jerseys will be the white nameplate on the back. It's been a while, since a nameplate wasn't the same color as the rest of the sweater.
Along with the Flyers, the Phoenix Coyotes will unveil a brand new third jersey on November 28. And I do mean "brand new." This black sweater will have a leaping coyote across the front, a logo that recently leaked. I'm also expecting another new logo on the shoulders. It's got a paw print with the team name in a circle around it. This is easily one of the jerseys I'm looking forward to the most. So naturally, it'll come at the end.
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. 
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.
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.
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.
The Oilers were one of four teams that joined the NHL when the WHA folded in 1979. 
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.
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.
Back on the NHL side, the Columbus Blue Jackets are honoring their late founder and owner John H. McConnell who died in April.
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. 
