The Uncertainty Principle
The more we think we learn about unreleased jerseys, the more we find we really don't know a thing. I mean absolutely nothing.
Another Winter Classic rumorAs a follow-up to yesterday's post about the Winter Classic rumors, it's been pointed out that UniWatchBlog had its own plausible speculation for the Pittsburgh Penguins. This new information found its way onto Paul Lukas' site on Thursday:
A little birdie tells me that the Penguins’ Winter Classic jersey will look like this: “Take the 1967 jersey (the diagonal Pittsburgh), flip the navy and powder blues, and put the circle logo with the ‘scarfed’ fatbody penguin on the front instead of the diagonal lettering. The numbers on the jersey will be rounded, as on the 1967 jerseys. It sounds like a hot mess, but in my opinion they’re very sharp.”
Almost immediately, Hockey Week put together the concept to the right. And just within the last 24 hours, Icethetics' own "little birdie" corroborates with the following note:
I wanted to give you a heads up that the powder blue jersey you just posted isn't the actual jersey. It's correct as far as the logo and number style goes, but the jersey body itself is identical to the 1967 jersey, only the body is navy blue and the trim is powder blue. ... The first thought is how similar it may look from a distance to Florida's alternate jersey. All in all, it's still very sharp.
What it really comes down to is this: we have to have patience. We'll wait and see what the Penguins unveil — now some saying it could be as late as November before that happens.
If that doesn't have you scratching your head, this should.
All summer, Icethetics JerseyWatch 2010 has been reminding you that the Nashville Predators will have new home and road uniforms this year — elevating the third jersey and adding a white partner.
Then on Sept. 10, Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net tweeted this:
@sportslogosnet Nashville Predators back off on new unis for 2011, pushed back to '12 #nhl #nashvillepredators
He cited an anonymous source previously used by Icethetics but try as I might, I haven't been able to dig up any other confirmation. By the way, to clarify, I assume he means they're backing off plans for 2010-11 (this season), pushing them back to 2011-12 (next).
THN says Preds are changingWell that wasn't the good news we were hoping for but it was all well and good until Max B. posted on the Icethetics Facebook page The Hockey News was still reporting a change in the works on page 52 of their latest issue.
No. 6 NEW JERSEYS: Toronto and the New York Islanders revealed new duds this summer, while Anaheim is closely guarding its new third sweater, to be revealed in late November. Vancouver and Buffalo celebrate their 40th anniversaries with new gear, while Columbus and the New York Rangers also have new third jerseys coming down the pipeline. Also, look out for a purple and gold throwback from the L.A. Kings and a change in Nashville.
Now, if we're being honest, the Preds' mention does seem a little like an afterthought. But be that as it may, this is the current issue of THN and Creamer's news came more than two weeks ago. Who's got it right?
Here's the tally: Creamer says status quo, both Reebok and THN say a change is coming. That's 2-1 for the rumor. Nashville opens the season on Oct. 9. We'll know by then.
Chris
This story just keeps taking twists and turns. The Winter Classic jerseys posted yesterday in drawing form have turned up in photo form on a disreputable website that sells fake, cheap knock-offs of NHL products. I've blocked out the name of the site because I don't condone trademark infringement. Still, the pictures are worth a look.
Knock-off jersey: Penguins
This is the alleged Penguins jersey. And our buddies at The Pensblog point out the design first appeared on the web about a week after the announcement of the 2011 Winter Classic. So that's not suspicious or anything.
There are so many reasons why these jerseys stand out as being counterfeit knock-offs; most notable is the lack of a Reebok label inside the back of the collar.
Still, if there's a chance they could have the design right, I wouldn't want to keep it off the blog. But like I've said, plenty of other sources say this is NOT the jersey. Who do we believe? No one. We just wait for something official.
Knock-off jersey: CapitalsThis would be the alleged Capitals jersey. As I said before, anything else would be an utter shock. They may have details wrong and their reproduction of the Capitals' logo is horrid, but we get the idea.
And anyway the Washington Capitals will officially unveil their Winter Classic jersey on Oct. 2 so we'll know for sure within a week at least.
And once again because I want to be absolutely clear about this, THESE PHOTOS SHOW KNOCK-OFFS. They are NOT the actual Winter Classic sweaters. The designs, however, remain in question.
Reader Comments (14)
I have a friend in the Preds organization that a couple of months ago said there would be no changes in their uniforms this year. Expect to see the switch next season.
the predators should not change their unis. their current jerseys are sooo much nicer. i love colors in the current logo too
really like the latest possible new pens winter classic, was wondering why they would have another light blue one (that looked way too similar to the first one), the dark blue makes more sense & looks better anyway.
A shame to hear about the Preds. I was looking forward to seeing their new duds this year. I hope they still go through with it this year.
I love the current Pens thirds... many do (although I do think the white shoulder yoke looks wrong, on any jersey, and it's weird with the light-blue).
I like teams going with light colors, instead of the dark blue that we're seeing all over the place (Blues, Panthers, and "previously" the Oilers), but here is a case where I think that darkening the blue would be an improvement. Although, then people would say they're basically copying the Panthers (who copied the Penguins first, ironically)
The stripes are a bit much. But I never understood why the Penguins had gold, anyway. And the cyan (a shade of light blue, for those who never use it) was always something that was theirs, like Dallas' green. But I think it'd be better if it were an accent color. A STRONG accent, not just a couple stripes here or there (again, like FLA's jersey).
Take this with a grain of salt,
EA NHL 11 has no locked new uniform for Nashville nor any changes, but all the other mentioned above are reflected accurately on NHL11 via their locked uniforms.
White shoulder yokes rock and are not used enough. Sucks that washington has to be in the whites for the winter classic, because their old red jersey with the white yokes was one of my favorite jersey looks. Same with the old lightning duds, they need to bring back the yokes!!!
Sounds like we are discussing egg health here.... >.>
That's a little bit of a letdown; I like the lighter blue better. Too much dark blue in the league already.
The Preds website shows the yellow/orange logo being painted on center ice
If it's any more help to the navy blue jersey's case, is that at Consol Energy Center and other various Pittsburgh merchandise locations, they are selling shirts/hoodies/etc with the Winter Classic logo on them. The catch however is that the logo is on white/gray and NAVY blue apparel. Not powder blue. May help lend a hint.
I'd be personally upset if the Caps use a stitched on patch for the winter classic uniform. We never saw them in a game before, I hope I never see them.
What's interesting is that the Pittsburgh KO looks like it has white trim, instead of the off-white shown in the NHL Snipers concept.
At least we only have to wait until Saturday to confirm the Caps' uniforms... we can only hope the Pens won't wait too long to unveil theirs and clear up all the misconceptions.
"Your jersey is once again free of mustard stains" That's right! The Slug is gone!
The bootleggers got burned! :) Caps' jersey has the Winter Classic patch on the shoulder, not the collarbone area: http://plixi.com/p/48352765