Loose Threads: Leafs, Jets and the CHL
Friday · Jul 15 · 2011 | 1:44 AM PDTIt's been a busy week on the blog. We've seen a new logo, two jersey unveilings, and oodles of new sweater numbers for recently relocated NHLers! And there's still more to talk about. I've collected a few items for you in a new edition of Loose Threads.
Berger Talks New Leafs Third Jersey
Maple Leafs concept by Jeff Veilette / LeafsHQThe Toronto Maple Leafs will get a new third jersey next season and that's become a hot topic again.
It's been reported in each edition of NHL JerseyWatch 2011 that the Leafs will replace their current white alternate sweater with a new one. But like the old one, it will borrow from the club's past.
Howard Berger, who covered the Leafs for FAN 590 in Toronto until last month, wrote about it Thursday on his new blog, Berger Bytes. (Hm, clever.) He said it "will look very much like the jersey the club wore at Maple Leaf Gardens on May 2, 1967 — the night it last hoisted the Stanley Cup."
In other words, like this concept (right) created by Jeff Veilette of LeafsHQ in April 2010. You'll notice the distinct watermark. However, despite this, I've been getting tweets and emails telling me Berger leaked the new Leafs sweater. He hasn't.
Don't get me wrong, I fully trust that this design or something similar will basically be what the new third jersey looks like, but don't be confused in thinking that this is an actual photograph of it. It isn't.
For a little background, Berger was a helpful in providing early details of the first Reebok Edge third jersey designs back in 2008. While some of his descriptions were slightly inaccurate — which can be attributed to the low quality images he was describing — he was mostly on the money.
Personally, I was hoping the Leafs would go with the 1970s/1980s look for the new third and, admittedly, my reporting was slanted because of that. But most of the trustworthy rumors I've read have said this 1967 design will be the one. Not that that's a bad thing. We get to bring an old logo back from the dead.
Jets Prepare to Unveil New Logo
It's a sentiment I share with many hockey bloggers, but it feels so strange talking about the Winnipeg Jets in the present tense again. Strange indeed, but also true.
On Thursday, Canada's National Post reported that the Jets were close to completing their new brand and nearing the point of releasing it to the eager public. You can read the article for yourself, but if you just want the bullet points, here you go:
- Final tweaks are being made to the logo and jersey designs.
- The new Jets logo will look "dramatically different" from the old one.
- Anyone who prints anything NHL-related is breathing down True North's neck to finally release a logo. (This includes Upper Deck, who can't print trading cards yet.)
- The new Jets jerseys will be ready by the time Canucks' rookie camp starts on Sept. 11. (Probably with an unveiling a week or so before that.)
So, here's my read of the situation. We'll be lucky to see the logo by the end of July. It's possible, but knowing the way the design process tends to go, it'll be a couple more weeks yet. They don't want to rush and make a mistake with so many eyes watching. I expect we'll see the new Jets logo in early August.
As far as the jerseys, I'm anticipating late August to early September for the unveiling. This is a little trickier than the logo. Most fans are impatient and don't understand what goes on behind the scenes in a situation like this. With so many fans desperate to get their hands on a jersey, a leak would be disastrous at this point. Why? It boils down to knockoffs.
They need jerseys to sell to fans the minute the design goes public. Otherwise, they risk counterfeiters being able to throw together their cheap crap faster than Reebok can manufacture the real thing. The bottom line is they don't want someone else stealing their money. Would you?
If you don't see this as a problem, you may lack critical thinking and reasoning abilities. (Sarcasm, folks.) Just accept it and try to have a little patience. The logos and jerseys will all be out soon enough. It's like Christmas Eve right now. Why not enjoy the anticipation of it all a little bit longer?
Blazing a path to the CHL
The Central Hockey League has welcomed the Bloomington Blaze as its newest franchise for the 2011-12 season. This team is not be confused with the now-defunct Bloomington PrairieThunder, who played in the CHL last season after the International Hockey League merged with it a year ago.
Basically, the PrairieThunder folded after last season and the Blaze are a new franchise with new ownership — though they just hired the same coach. The team has not yet unveiled a logo and doesn't even have a website I can direct you to. I'll try to keep an eye on it, but it is the CHL.
Speaking of the CHL, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees — the only hockey team I know with five words in its name — have unveiled a new logo. And by new, I really just mean simplified. I'll leave you with a before-and-after image as I wrap up today's post.
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees unveil new logo
Reader Comments (20)
Got a crappy logo? Simplify it, put a circle around it with your team name, and voila! You're retro!
"The new Jets jerseys will be ready by the time Canucks' rookie camp starts on Sept. 11. (Probably with an unveiling a week or so before that.)"
I think you ment jets rookie camp.
Who knows how long the delay of the Jets logo will drag on, but I'm sure there will be a Winnipeg Jets logo as well as jersey unlock code in the upcoming EA Sports NHL 12 video game. The middle of July is usually the time of year EA sends the game off for production. Like many fans out there, I really can't wait to see what the Winnipeg Jets logo and jerseys will look like.
Don't you find the new Killer Bee's Logo is a lot like the Sarnia Sting's logo? Even changed the colors to match. I don't like Copy Cats, even though there not cats in this case.
While there may be critics, especially on this site, of the Leafs using their '67 sweaters, I genuinely believe that it will be well received by Leaf fans.
Nostalgia is a powerful force, especially if there is a story behind it.
Consider the CFL, each team has a set of alternative "Retro Week" jerseys that are essentially the same as their modern day counterpart, but sport a simplified, unpolished look, and I love it.
Toronto may be on the same route, and I see it as a great experiment.
No Josh, the Jets are participating in the Canucks' rookie camp which begins Sept. 11 in Penticton, B.C.
I think that this new Leafs jersey will be well received. They currently sell a non-Edge version of it at the Leafs gift shop, and i see a lot of people wearing it. One thing that will be interesting to see is if they add pants with a white stripe down the side. The current alternate was worn using the same pants as the primary, even though it was technically supposed to have a stripe down the side of the pants as well. I wonder if the wealthiest team in the NHL can afford a second pair of pants for it's players.
Josh: In past years, the Oilers and Flames have participated in a rookie tournament with the Canucks prior to main camp. Presumably, the Jets are along for the ride, too, this time.
As for the '67 jerseys, I saw one in my GF's Jersey City for the first time, though obviously just as a CCM Vintage jersey. Still, odd timing that.
I like that Leafs concept but not as much as I liked their 3rd jerseys from last season, which in my opinion were among the best in the league and possibly the best Leafs uniform of all time.
oh ok. Good to know.
i knew that there was a couple of teams who participate in the traverse city tournament, but i was not aware of others.
THE CHL also lost 4 teams including the champs from last season. I would guess the Killer bees have a Ranger's like jersey with a diagonal tettering with either the team name or city name on it. Unfortunately it seems every team in the league has one of them and even more disappointing the Missouri Mavericks Orange 3rd jersey doing that when they could have done something really cool with that jersey.
I agree with Brad, the Maple Leafs alternate jersey which they've been using since 2008 is much nicer than the 1967 vintage design. IMO I would prefer to see them switch to the dark versions of those jerseys rather than use the 1967 design.
As a Leaf fan I NEVER...EVER want to see them wear the 1970/80's era jersey again. Aside from the fact it's the least aesthetically pleasing of all their past designs, it's a reminder of the Harold Ballard era. Pal Hal (as he was called) will go down in history as one of the most evil owners the game has ever seen.
@ Retro,
I TOTALLY agree with you. No one would want a uniform that serves as a reminder of their team's bad era especially when it represents terrible ownership and it's mistreatment of everybody in the organization. I also think it's time for the Leafs to get rid of the "Ballard" Leaf logo and go back to the classic Feathered Leaf(forgot how many points, lol) full-time. The Leafs need a passionate owner who's willing to pay the Smythe family whatever it costs to get the rights to use it full-time. Just like I want my Canucks to get rid of the Orca and replace it with either Johnny Canuck or the Stick 'in Rin(a bad reminder of Orca Bay).
Ballard was definitely one of the most despicable human beings in sports. An angry and bitter old man who took his misery out on those around him. Yes, Ballard was very generous with charities. It meant more tax write-offs for his fat bank account. It's actually sickening that Ballard is in the Hall of Fame while Rick Vaive, the first 50 goalscorer in franchise history(54 in '82, 51 in '83, and 52 in '84) is not. Vaive was the ONLY good thing about the Leafs in the 80s.
I don't think the new Leafs third is very unique... aside from a slightly altered logo and changed stripping, it's nothing different. They need to go off the board. I want to see something new for this storied franchise. They can't progress as a brand if they just constantly go in circles.
While I love the current Leafs alternate it makes a lot of sense for the Leafs to switch to a new, dark-coloured alternate. The problem with a white-based alternate is that the Leafs can largely only wear it on the road. I suspect they'd rather have them on display at home to encourage jersey sales and also so that they have more control in general over when they can wear them. If they want to wear them on the road it means packing an extra set, and if they want to wear them at home it means forcing the opposition to bring an extra home kit as well. I imagine that's a hassle other travelling teams would want to avoid as well.
if it were me, i'd make the 67 jersey set the standard for the leafs...home AND road, and keep the current 3rd. that's just me.
I really don't like the "vintage" Leafs logo. I think I like the '67 more than the modern one, though. And speaking as a non-Leafs-fan with no opinions of the Leafs' ownership from several decades ago, I think the stripe-down-the-sleeve '70s/'80s sweaters are the best look the Leafs have ever had.
Leafs fans will love the new third but I dont. The best Leafs' logo is the one that you see on sweaters from the 40's. Unfortunately the Leafs and the NHL can't even get that right. It's not the same as the 64 logo - which is also great.
That would be so shitty if NHL 12 came out and the Jets jerseys were locked...