Icethetics Live Chat V

Live Chat Time Change

All right guys, I'm going to give the Live Chat another chance today. I've changed the time to 12:30 PM EDT.

According to the Blues' official web site, the third jersey unveiling will take place at 1 PM (noon, locally). It will not be streamed online like the Sabres and Hurricanes events were. However, they say there will be pictures posted on the site as soon as the jersey is unveiled. And I figured if we get things started at 12:30 it'll give me time to take some of the questions and comments I was unable to get to yesterday.

So, a lot is going on this weekend. I'm working on getting the next step of the fantasy league set up. In the meantime, I updated the Sabres' third jersey unveiling post from yesterday. I just added new pictures from the team's web site and the wires. Much better quality than the screen grabs from the live stream that I was using.

I kept an eye on some of the other fan events that were going on around the league as well. The Coyotes, Senators and Blackhawks all still have their new third jerseys under wraps. Nothing was unveiled or on display at these events — that I know of. If I missed something, please let me know.

I'll add the Live Chat window at about 12:15 PM EDT.

Sneak Peek At Blues Alternate

I got an email from a reader earlier claiming to have scans of all of the new third jerseys. He's sent along what he says is the St. Louis Blues' new sweater. I can't say one way or another whether it's legitimate, but what could it hurt to share it?

We'll see the real thing tomorrow straight from the source anyway. So here's what was sent to me.

It's terrible quality. Nothing I can do about that, I guess. But if you squint and sort of tilt your head you can kind of make out the logo on the front. It's a white circle with the Blue Note and the Gateway Arch over it. It could also be the Virgin Mary.

Anyway, just a little something for you while we wait for the Blues to show us the actual jersey.

Sabres Unveil Third Jersey!

After weeks of speculation, the Buffalo Sabres have officially unveiled their new third jersey. The team broadcast the unveiling ceremony live on their web site.

They also made the official announcement of the new sweaters with this graphic.

The ceremony, which began after a team scrimmage, featured each member of the team stepping out onto the ice in the new sweater. Ryan Miller got things started, giving fans their very first look at the new duds.

It's a great redesign of their classic look — with an update of the logo and blue uniform.

We got a decent look at the full uniform when Maxim Afinogenov and Drew Stafford stepped out. You can see the Sabres will keep the sweater number on the front shoulder and add new socks to match the jersey.

You'll also notice a silver area under the arms in this picture of Teppo Numminen. They're very sharp jerseys.

Once everyone was out there, the players skated a few laps around the ice and waved goodbye to fans.

The Sabres had the following statement regarding the new sweaters on their web site.

Utilizing the original crest from the 1970s, the logo has undergone minor modifications for an overall vintage appearance.

“The first thing we wanted to do is go to our new color scheme, which is the deeper blue and gold,” said Director of Creative Services, Frank Cravotta. “After that we added the striping pattern, introduced some silver accents in it and put some silver vertical piping along the front… It makes for a new and unique look.”

The jersey also encompasses a tie at the collar to “reinforce the retro style,” according to Cravotta.

I couldn't agree more with Cravotta's statement. And to every person saying the vertical piping is "unnecessary"... can you please define what is necessary outside of a uniform that identifies a group of players as teammates? Stuff like that has me in stitches.

I've set up a photo gallery for the Sabres' third jersey. Right now, it's made up primarily of screenshots from the live broadcast of the event on Sabres TV. I'll add more images when they're available.

If I hear anything else or see any better photos of these sweaters, I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Icethetics Live Chat IV

(10:58 AM) Sorry about the Live Chat failure today, guys. Not sure what it was. Combination of my crappy internet service provider — Comcast, under the bus — and other things kept me from being able to run the Live Chat the way I usually do. I guess it had to happen sometime. Hopefully we won't be in as bad of shape tomorrow for the Blues.

Sabres To Stream Unveiling

Just like the Hurricanes did, the Buffalo Sabres will be streaming live video of their third jersey unveiling today at 10:30 from their official web site.

That means we'll all get to watch the unveiling ceremony as it happens this morning. So just like last time, I recommend having two browser windows open — one with the live video and the other with today's Icethetics Live Chat which starts at 10.

Official: Blues Tease New Third

The St. Louis Blues news keeps coming. According to the team's official web site, it's official. The Blues will unveil their new third jersey on Sunday at FANfest.

They even teased us with a new photo of the jersey itself.

Ok, so it is just the shoulder of the sweater, but it's still something. St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Jeremy Rutherford did say they original Blue Note will appear on the shoulders. He got a chance to see it privately yesterday and wrote about it in his blog Morning Skate.

Naturally, the Blues have even more information for us. The jersey will go on sale November 19, two days before it is first scheduled to hit the ice. But at FANfest, there will be merchandise for sale with the new Gateway Arch logo that will don the front of the new sweaters.

Here's the team describes the new jersey.

In contrast to previous Blues uniforms which were (and are) primarily accented in royal blue and gold, the new third jersey and matching socks lean toward navy blue and white. Features of the third jersey include:
• A powerful base color of navy blue trimmed in white gold.
• A new logo on the crest of the jersey featuring the time-honored Blue Note against the Gateway Arch, the iconic symbol for the City of St. Louis, captured within a gold circle highlighted by the words St. Louis Blues.
• The Blue Note, in navy, trimmed in gold and white on each of the shoulders.
• Uniform numbers on the back and sleeves in white — a first for the Blues — trimmed in gold and navy.
• A classic, old-school draw string — another first for the team — at the base of the white-trimmed collar.
• Navy socks trimmed in white and gold will complement the on-ice look, resulting in a navy blue combination from head to toe – helmets, jersey, gloves, pants and socks.

They're certainly going to be blue. Can't wait to see it!

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.

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.

Blues To Unveil Third On Sunday

The St. Louis Blues will unveil their new third jersey this Sunday at FANfest, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Jeremy Rutherford wrote in his blog Morning Skate tonight that the new jersey was actually shown to him and he described it in detail.

The jersey is Navy blue with a circular logo on front. In the logo is a silver-stitched Arch with the Blue Note positioned inside the legs of the famous St. Louis monument. Above the circle, it reads “ST. LOUIS” and below it “BLUES.”

Upon further exploration, I noticed that the Blues’ new jersey (which will be worn at least 15 times this season) has the old-school draw-strings near the neck with white numbers, trimmed in Navy blue and gold. There is also a Bluenote crest on the shoulder of the jersey.

It’s hard to please everyone, but the team’s hard work appears to have paid off.

I won't post the entire write-up here but I highly recommend giving it a read. As for the vitals, the most important thing...

Fans will be introduced to the jersey this Sunday at FANfest, where five of the Blues players (Brad Boyes, Lee Stempniak, David Backes, Eric Brewer and Paul Kariya) will be showing them off on the ice. They will be available to order on Sunday but won’t be delivered until mid-November.

They will first hit the ice on November 21 when the Blues face the Anaheim Ducks. (Which team is going to look better? It's a landslide.) The Blues will wear the new sweaters for 10 home games and 5 road games — for an interesting change of pace. I'm assuming a schedule will be released at some point.

Another interesting note.

The Blues toyed with the idea of powder blue (which the team wore earlier in the franchise’s history), but the ‘Powers that be’ decided they want to move forward. Davidson reportedly was in favor of the Navy blue.

And also the Thrashers wear powder blue jerseys at home and the Penguins will supposedly wear powder blue thirds this year.

Finally, my thanks to everybody who got on top of this almost immediately. Drew, Leanna, Cody, Stephen and Adam... you guys should know you all sent me emails within 12 minutes of each other. Well done.

I'm excited and I'm not even a Blues fan. Can't wait to see what these jerseys look like. Don't forget that the Buffalo Sabres also have plans to unveil their third jersey on Saturday. Less suspense for that one though because of all the leaks. We're still having a Live Chat though and now I'm thinking we may do another on Sunday. Standby for that.