Third Jerseys: What's Coming?

Just like last summer, I think my blog has unintentionally become a primary source for jersey news. Guess I'll keep that flame burning while I can. Back in March I posted a long list of rumors regarding this season's new third jerseys. This is an updated list of what we know/suspect/wish for as far as that goes. It includes 18 teams — the number rumored to be seeking permission from the league for an alternate sweater.

Atlanta Thrashers
Word is they'll be going with a maroon or navy sweater with a textual element on the front — something like the Rangers or Stars black jerseys, perhaps. This is the team with the least information available so we don't have very much to go on. What we do know is that the Thrashers will be giving fans a preview of the team's "new look" this weekend. We assume they mean third jersey.

Boston Bruins
Images of the Bruins' third jersey have leaked. And though they haven't officially unveiled the real deal yet, it'll be black with the secondary logo as the crest, the primary mark on the shoulders, and have yellow and white stripes around the elbows and waist.

Buffalo Sabres
One of two things will happen. Either they'll have their traditional blue vintage with the 1970s logo or they'll go in a new direction entirely. My money's on the blue vintage — similar to what they wore at the Winter Classic, but perhaps with some minor differences.

Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have unofficially confirmed they will have a third jersey — black with the secondary flag logo on the front. Expect minimal design elements like striping in contrast to their standard home and road sweaters.

Dallas Stars
We keep hearing it will be a white version of their black sweater with DALLAS written out above the player number. I like their black sweater, but let's not overdo it. At the same time, maybe they should avoid creating special logos for the third jersey as we all know what resulted last time. I'd love to see them wear something in green.

Edmonton Oilers
Team management has unofficially confirmed a third on a number of occasions without detailing the design. Expect a vintage look with the classic shades of blue and orange. I'm sure it will win over fans. Just the description alone has me sold.

Los Angeles Kings
I keep reading that it will be black but that would surprise me (or not, considering the NHL) since they already have a black sweater. I'm holding out hope they return to the purple one. The latest rumors suggest it will feature the shield logo — or perhaps a simplified version of it.

Minnesota Wild
At last... green! This is another jersey we're expecting to feature a prominent textual element — such as MINNESOTA spelled out across the chest. The Wild have a history of creating quality vintage style jerseys so hopefully this one is no exception.

New York Islanders
We're probably looking at a vintage blue sweater for the Isles — something like what they wore in their glory days. Though not to worry, I don't envision the fisherman making a comeback anytime soon. Basically all that would be different is the striping pattern as far as I can tell. I imagine it will feature the same logo crest.

Ottawa Senators
A lot of bad rumors have been floating around the Sens. In fact, that four-letter word just might be plastered onto a gold jersey if there's any truth to them. I was always a fan of their black jerseys. I think the new 2D logo on a sweater like that would be money in the bank.

Philadelphia Flyers
This is the only one we've actually seen in pictures (sort of). The cell phone photos that leaked suggest an orange sweater in a vintage style conjuring the days of the Broadstreet Bullies. I can't see anyone complaining about this. It's the sort of thing traditionalists get geared up for.

Phoenix Coyotes
This will be one of a handful of thirds featuring a completely new logo according to recent rumors. Imagine a full-body coyote in a running stance on a black sweater. Don't hold me to the color but I can't imagine what else they'd go with. If we're barely getting orange and green jerseys this year, I think sand is asking too much.

Pittsburgh Penguins
The team has confirmed they submitted a design similar to what they wore at the Winter Classic for NHL approval as their new third. The sky blue sweater will probably feature a more contemporary logo over the vintage one seen on the New Year's Day game. I imagine this will be one of the better ones.

San Jose Sharks
Expect black. That's what they did with the last third jersey and it worked out. We're not sure one what logo to expect on the front, though. There hasn't been much in the way of rumors with regard to that. I'm hoping for the diamond logo with the shark fin or maybe the shield that currently adorns their pants.

St. Louis Blues
Team management has confirmed that we should expect a navy sweater with a new logo incorporating the Blue Note and the Gateway Arch. Sounds like a winner there. Other rumors have suggested it'll be in the style of Minnesota's red sweater.

Tampa Bay Lightning
The rumors for the Lightning are about as bad as the Senators. While the jersey will be blue, it will allegedly make use of a textual element that reads BOLTS. And there's nothing good about the sound of that. As a fan, I'm keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't go badly.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Despite rumors of a blue jersey similar to an image featured on the team's official web site recently, it seems more likely the Leafs will wear a white vintage sweater with the retro logo — just like what they had in the pre-Rbk EDGE days.

Vancouver Canucks
Apparently a blue vintage style sweater is in the works with the classic stick-in-the-rink logo. My guess is they'll go with the updated one currently worn on their shoulders. I would like to see a green or black sweater with the new Johnny Canuck logo on the front, but I don't think that's going to happen just yet.

As for the 12 teams not listed above, the Blackhawks and Red Wings are expected to wear one-time-only vintage sweaters for the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field and the Canadiens will probably use a variety of vintage sweaters throughout the season to commemorate their centennial.

The other nine teams not mentioned above are the Rangers, Devils, Panthers, Capitals, Blue Jackets, Predators, Ducks, Avalanche and Flames. For what it's worth, the Red Wings and Devils are the only two NHL teams never have a third jersey for those of you keeping track.

I know that was a long one, but there was a lot of information to disseminate. By the way, it took me almost two hours to assemble this post. Don't be surprised if I take a little break from the blog tomorrow.

Hawks Convention Yields News

The Blackhawks are holding a big hockey convention this weekend to, I suppose, intensify the city's interest in the team and the sport. As part of the event, Saturday at noon there was a panel discussing the Winter Classic set for New Year's Day at Wrigley Field. Hawks president John McDonough and defenseman Brian Campbell were on hand along side the NHL's marketing director, Brian Jennings.

According to an email I received summarizing the event, there was a discussion about whether the Blackhawks and Red Wings would be wearing vintage jerseys like the Penguins and Sabres did last season. McDonough said they would be and suggested it may be styled after a 1930s sweater, like the one seen below.

credit: Andrew @ NHLUniforms.com

According to this same email, Jennings spoke about the selection process for last year's Winter Classic sweaters. He apparently said the Penguins liked theirs so much they'll be unveiling a similar powder blue design as their third jersey this season. This isn't really news but it's coming straight from the Director of Marketing at the NHL so I felt like it was worth mentioning.

As with anything, I can't vouch for the veracity of this info as it comes by way of a reader email and not any official channels. B But what's the point of lying? Thanks to Brent for the info!

Want To See Philly's New Third?

An interesting photo turned up in my inbox this afternoon. It shows Daniel Briere's new third jersey hanging up in the locker room.

The Flyers haven't made anything official yet, but rumors have been floating around since March.

For what it's worth, my opinion on this photo is that it's legitimate or a Photoshop job too well done to be an amateur — though folks here do love their Photoshop. But seriously, I think it's an actual photo of a jersey. It doesn't differ much from the cell phone photos that surfaced several months ago. Here's another look at them.

The main difference appears to be the nameplate. On the March leak, it appears the orange jersey has a white nameplate with orange lettering. Here, it's switched to a matching nameplate.

Other than that, they look the same to me. So it appears we've gotten our first real look at what the Flyers will wear as an alternate jersey this season. Hope you guys like it.

UPDATE (7/21 2:25 AM): So it's definitely a photo of a jersey, it's just a vintage replica being sold on ebay. Kudos to Hockey Week for the find. I think we should probably expect to see something more like what's in the two cell phone pictures. As always, I'll try my best to keep you updated.

Bruins Confirm Alternates

It seems like over this past week the news leaking about next season's third jerseys just will not stop. And I don't see anyone here complaining about that. As far as news tonight, we've got newspaper journalists confirming alternates for the Bruins and Hurricanes.

Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe wrote in the Bruins Blog last week that the Bruins will in fact have a third jersey for the new season — something we've all kind of known for quite some time now. Shinzawa also wrote, "The final design has not been released, but it will most likely feature the retro bear, on the shoulders of the current uniforms, on the chest."

Below you can see a sample of the new sweater in action. During a game last season, NESN broadcast video of a player skating around in it — it's not actually Patrice Bergeron.

The full video was originally posted on YouTube but has since been removed — whether by the person who uploaded it or by YouTube, I don't know.

And this is just a followup to yesterday's post. News & Observer writer Luke DeCock said in his blog there was "a good chance" the Hurricanes would have a new alternate sweater this season. A similar story was published in today's paper. You can read an excerpt from the article below.

The Hurricanes will unveil a third, alternate jersey this season and hope to have it ready to reveal at the Caniac Carnival on Sept. 21, Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said.

Rutherford declined to comment on the design, but team officials have talked for years about a black jersey with the team's secondary, waving-flag logo on the chest.

The team planned to unveil the new design last season, but the debut was pushed back a year because of the introduction of the NHL's new "uniform system" from Reebok.

The Hurricanes are one of three NHL teams not to use a third jersey at some point, with the Red Wings and New Jersey Devils the others.

If you want to send in tips regarding this season's new crop of third jerseys, email me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

Leafs Confirm Third?

This is a followup to a story I posted on Wednesday about a jersey that turned up on the Maple Leafs' official web site recently.

According to a reader who emailed me, that is going to be the Leafs' new third jersey this season. The following is the email sequence that was forwarded to me:

Whats the deal with this? thats not the Leafs jersey! Is it being altered to fix what was broken last year? Please tell me it's true!!!

Thank you for your email,
The jersey in the link you have provided is the new Maple Leafs third jersey.
Thanks for being a fan!

Names have been removed for privacy reasons. I have no other corroboration this information so take it for what it is — I'm sounding like a broken record, I know. But I don't want to pass stuff off as factual before I know it to be so.

The thing is, the majority of rumors swirling suggest a vintage white sweater as next season's alternate. That could just be excited fans promulgating wishful thinking... or not. But if the above does turn out to be true, we saw the Toronto Maple Leafs' third jersey 11 months ago. Here's another look at it.

If anymore support for this surfaces, I'll let you guys know.

Third Jerseys For 'Canes, Sabres, Oilers

Long day. I've been awake for too many hours now but I've just gotten so many emails I'd feel bad about going to bed before updating you guys on the news of the day.

The biggest news — what I got the most emails about today — the Hurricanes have confirmed a third jersey for this season according to a report from The News & Observer's Luke DeCock. He wrote the following in his blog today:

When the Hurricanes take on the Red Wings in the second home game of the season, there's a good chance only one team will be in red.

The Canes hope to unveil their new, NHL-approved alternate jerseys — expected to be black with the team's secondary, waving-flag logo on the chest — at the Caniac Carnival in September and could wear them on the ice as early as Oct. 13 against Detroit.

“We wouldn’t wear it Opening Night,” Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. “Our jerseys as they are now are really nice jerseys in red and they’re really popular. … It could be (Detroit). It won’t be Opening Night, but after that sooner rather than later, probably. We haven’t made that decision.”

A little research on the Hurricanes' official web site turns up a date for the Caniac Carnival — September 21. That's going in the countdowns.

By the way, DeCock even cites a graphic found on NHLToL. You can read the full post at Lord Stanley's Blog. For what it's worth, he says 18 teams could have new third jerseys this year.

The other third jersey news for today comes by way of WGR 550 Sports Radio out of Buffalo.

The Sabres will indeed have a third jersey for the new season — to be unveiled to fans on September 20. The following was posted on their web site:

Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn ... announced that the Sabres will unveil their 3rd alternate jersey at an open practice to the fans on Saturday, September 20th. Fans will have to wait until then to see the new-look uniforms.

Another radio station has third jersey news. Dan Tencer of Alberta's 630 CHED reports on his blog that "the team will unveil a new 3rd jersey for the 2008-09 season, likely with an announcement in August."

It's not very informative as far as the design of the jersey, but it's one more source confirming that an alternate sweater will exist for the Oil.

The reason I'm more apt to trust this information is that they're coming from reputable media sources and not random personal blogs (like this one). So as with anything, take it for what it is.

By the way, the next time I'll be able to update the site will likely be tomorrow night. If any news surfaces, I'll get it posted then.

Isles, Thrashers Confirm Thirds!

It's true. In roundabout ways, the Islanders and Thrashers have both confirmed third jerseys for 2008-09.

Evidently a customer service rep with the Isles has been in "contanct" with the team store. He says no release date has been set but it will be available for purchase before the season begins. He also says the there will be an announcement made on the team's web site at some point.

He posted all of this on the Isles' official message board and even though you have to be a member to read it, fellow blogger Sean was happy to oblige.

By the way, you should read his latest post at Puck Daddy. It's all about us.

Onto the Thrashers, now. They're much more about beating around the bush. In an email to fans, the club says "fans will have the opportunity to see a new look for the Thrashers" on July 26.

So let the countdowns begin. Here's the email that was sent. The pertinent information is highlighted.

Thanks to Taylor for that one.

It's been a rather prolific week for me — three posts a day and all — but I'm afraid that streak will soon end. I'm not sure how much updating I'll be doing over the weekend while I'm on a mini-vacation in Orlando. I'll try to keep an eye on things though and get any important info posted quickly.

Rumors & Possible Leaks

Leafs fans, just when you thought all was quiet on the jersey front after this morning's announcement, something strange has happened. In the Game Master section of the team's official site is the following graphic.

That's confusing. For sure it's not what the Toronto Maple Leafs' jersey looked like last season. It had different striping and no laced collar. Thing is, it looks and awful lot like one of those concepts I posted back in the early days of NHLToL. In fact, see for yourself! It's a dead ringer!

In fact, that jersey I posted last August was one fan's recoloring of a Rbk EDGE Bruins jersey. How did that exact image make it on the Leafs' official site?! That's my question. Weird. Are the Leafs considering a jersey alteration already?

I'll keep you posted on whatever I find out. Thanks to Tyler for pointing this out to me.

And as we near the new season, I'm getting more and more emails from people who say they've seen or spoken with someone who's seen new alternate sweater designs. I can't speak to the veracity of the claims, but I'm happy to post them nevertheless. So here's what's been going around recently:

	Bruins black with primary and secondary logos swapped like previous rumors
	Oilers royal blue and orange vintage style
	Senators black with SENS written across the chest
	Sharks black, no further details
	Blues similar in style to Minnesota's home sweaters
	Maple Leafs white vintage style with laced collar, like 2006-07 alternates

One source is reporting that 17 teams will have alternates for 2008-09. Previous rumors said 18.

And finally, the Canadiens will apparently have three different jerseys throughout the season to commemorate their centennial. I'm assuming this means three in addition to the regular home/road uniforms.

That's it for now. Should I hear anything else, you'll be able to read it here. By the way, I plan on migrating the big rumors post from NHLToL to Icethetics soon just so you don't have to leave this blog to see it. I'll wait for a slow news day so it doesn't bump everything that I've posted recently.

Potential Third Jersey Colors

Here's another item to file under unconfirmed third jersey rumors. I received an email from a reader who I assume works in a sporting goods store. He tells me he has an account with Reebok and that the company has apparently listed the colors for this season's new third jerseys — no actual designs or logos, though.

I don't have any specific reason for not trusting it, but I get a lot of crazy emails. So like I always say, take it for what it is. Listed below are the "body colors" for this fall's new alternate sweaters.

	Bruins: black		Sabres: navy
	Blackhawks: black		Stars: white
	Kings: black		Senators: black
	Flyers: "special" orange		Penguins: sky blue
	Blues: navy		Sharks: black
	Lightning: "royal"		Maple Leafs: white
	Canucks: "royal"

That's the list as it's been presented to me. I don't know if it's a complete list or how accurate it is. Really only time will tell us that for sure. In the meantime, it's just a little more speculation to add to the pile.

And for whatever it's worth, I'm psyched about a possible blue Lightning jersey!

“Official” Oilers Concept Jerseys?

Apparently some Oilers jersey designs have been floating around recently. I guess the claim is that they're official concepts being considered by the team as a potential alternate or home sweater replacement. Have a look at see what you think.

Like I said I can't vouch for the veracity of these images. Just take them for what they are.

I like them both but the first one would be my favorite. Express your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks to Zac for the tip.