New 3rd Logo for Columbus?
When it rains, it pours.
And although the recent bout of weather has been more of a drizzle than a deluge, today we're talking about the Columbus Blue Jackets, whose upcoming third jersey we know almost nothing about. Until now. Maybe.
Mask with logo in questionIcethetics regular Glen C. wrote in yesterday with an interesting tip. After being inspired by the great finds on retail websites lately, he made a discovery of his own on a site that sells, among other things, a line of goalie masks for kids, including this one (right).
First of all, check out the forehead. It sure looks like a Blue Jackets logo, but not like any we've ever seen before. It features crossed cannon and a silver star.
Flashback to March 16. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch told us then that a cannon will be "the central part of the main logo" on the forthcoming alternate sweater. And we've heard nothing more about it in seven months.
In a moment I'll explain why this logo seems legitimate but first, something's been bugging me. There seems to be a general feeling amongst readers that the Blue Jackets are the most super-secretive organization in the NHL for theirs to be the only remaining jersey we have no details on. Not from where I'm sitting.
Nash rocks the purpleFor one thing, the team isn't fully in charge of keeping the design under wraps. That's Reebok and the NHL, especially when it comes to e-tailers. Moreover, if you want to know why there hasn't been a leak yet, allow the attendance at last night's game to serve as some indication. With barely 9,800 souls in the stands in Columbus, it seems clear to me that the biggest problem is the lack of interest in this team.
By the way, this picture (right) isn't totally random. The Jackets skated out in purple jerseys for warm-ups as part of Hockey Fights Cancer Night. Beats pink.
Now back to why I'm not ready to dismiss this logo thing. The image/product in question turned up on HockeyGear.com. It is only one of many in a line by Franklin Sports, an NHL licensee, featuring various NHL teams. Each mask features official team logos, unlike that line of Zephyr hats, for example. Why would they make one up on only the Jackets mask?
That being said, I'm not 100% convinced. The biggest question: When was this product line created and introduced? If it's more than six months old, the logo probably wasn't ready to be licensed for third party products. For what it's worth, the Sabres mask still has the slug on it and the Oilers mask has the secondary oilman logo that hasn't been used since 2007. I'm not ready to call this a "leak," per se, but it sure fits the bill.
By the way, in case you missed it, the game night promotions schedule on the Blue Jackets' website says:
Friday, Nov. 26 vs. Detroit Red Wings Debut of new third jerseys: The Blue Jackets will take the ice wearing their new third jerseys for the first time to kick off a big sports weekend in Columbus as the Blue Jackets take on the Red Wings on the eve of the Ohio State/Michigan game in Columbus.
Portzline shot down the idea of a red jersey in his March article, but I'm not so sure. Also, and I know many of you won't want to hear this, but take note that the two cannon are black in this logo. The Blue Jackets actually used black on their first third jersey back in 2003. Just saying.
Let the countdown to Nov. 26 begin.
Chris
I'm not sure what value, if any, this holds, but these same masks are sold on the NHL's own online store. Interestingly, they don't list all of the masks on HockeyGear.com, most notably, the Blue Jackets version. However, Glen did track down a URL for the image on the NHL's servers where all of the other masks are stored.
Could it be that the Blue Jackets helmet is the newest in the product line, and because of the logo on the front, it isn't supposed to be on display yet? Of course I'm just guessing. Who doesn't love a good conspiracy theory?
Reader Comments (20)
I can't see how any Columbus fan could get jazzed about THAT particular cannon graphic. Looks pretty clip-arty to me. And it doesn't seem to fit into their design style. But at least it's no duck-foot. But, I digress.
like this post, finally something on the CBJ!!!! However, I know this probably isn't the logo because I've seen this helmet paint job before, on the miniature replica helmets at the beginning of last season (09-10). I do like this logo and think it would make a good alternate logo, but I don't think this is it. And I've heard from a very reliable source here in Columbus that the jersey is in fact blue with blue socks, that's all I've heard, he wouldn't tell me anymore details. I do find this to be legit though because I know teams don't like to come up with new pants and with this jersey they could keep the red ones. Also red is far too close to OSU and with the new Practice jersey being red, I think that was to satisfy anyone who wanted a red alternate. As for last night’s attendance, I believe things are going to turn around here in Columbus!! LET'S GO JACKETS!!!
I sure hope that's not our new alternate logo. That'd be a huge letdown after the star / flag 3rd jersey
It would make sense to have cannons crossed like that, after all it's their 10th season in the league...
Well, if that's the logo, I'm all for it. I'm very curious to see which direction they go with the jersey itself. I can't see the red being a good choice for a Blue Jackets jersey, but a black/blue combo might do it justice. Maybe adding a bit of gray or silver? Guess we'll find out in a month or so...
Considering they're on sale already I'd say that they're not new.
I'm going to say that they're from 2007/2008. The Flyers and Penguins use logos or wordmarks that ended then and a few teams have new wordmarks / second logos that started then.
That's a pretty cool concept anyway.
I bet it's a legit logo, but not the primary logo. I think it might be a 10th anniversary shoulder patch. For a shoulder patch it would look nice, but that would look pretty crappy if it were the main crest.
That's not a logo... it's a "symbol", I guess, but you can't tell me they would seriously think of putting that front and center on a jersey.
Has there EVER been a logo that's basically all-black?
@kevin Y - The secondary logo on the Carolina Hurricanes third jersey is pretty much all black, albeit a black version of the cane's primary logo.
I know I would love it if it got leaked, the offer for presale of the jersey isn't too bad, but why should I drop that kind of coin into something that may look lousy?
@Spider1, they already have a 10th Anniversary Patch
I'm guessing no on that logo as the primary, although I wouldn't mind it as a shoulder patch. The X = 10 imagery is too big to ignore.
I'm a little confused by Kevin Y and Dave. This logo I'm talking about isn't all black. The two crossed cannon are black with blue lips, actually. The circle is red, the outline is blue and the star is silver. It has that old-timey look that everyone is going for lately. It's simple but isn't that what we always ask for in hockey logos?
I'm a Jackets fan (albeit after my Leafs) and I would love to see that as the logo on the third jersey.
p.s. I just scored a practice jersey with the Stinger head on the front!
I was just answering Kevin, not sure where he was going with it, but wanted to provide an answer for him.
Chris: The helmets must vary in how old they are. I noticed that the Lighting helmet still features their pre-Edge logo, while the Sens one features a post-Edge logo.
I believe I talked about this on a forum over a year and a half ago, I'll have to go look to see if I can find a link to show how old it is. The guy who posted it had a similar theory about it.
Alright, maybe I overestimated a bit, it's only about a year and 2 months. Unfortunately, the person deleted the OP image, but it was the exact one used at the top of this article, and it also has the link to when the NHL store did actually have it on their online store. Based on the descriptions from everyone else, it's pretty clear that this is the mask and logo they are referring to.
Mathieu Garon has a "10th Anniversary" mask, and it has aspects of this logo, though they are not anywhere near identical. His mask has white cannons that are crossed, with a solo star above it with half a circle around it. Maybe the mask is "inspired" by the new logo. Here is a link to his mask (from In Goal Magazine).
The masks are available at the Blueline store in Nationwide Arena. If they really wanted to keep things under wraps, the masks would be in a backroom somewhere. I asked an employee about it and was told it is definitely not the new logo.