First Look: Senators Heritage Jersey
This one is an Icethetics exclusive! We've known for some time that the Ottawa Senators will launch a Heritage Jersey for their upcoming 20th anniversary season. Folks, here's your first look at it.
Take your first look at the Senators' new Heritage Jersey / Icethetics
An Icethetics reader was kind enough to pass along the above image along with several others I'll get to in a moment. I'm playing the anonymous card here so as to keep from getting anyone in trouble. So I guess you'd have to call it a leak.
Now what are we looking at exactly? I'm told the above image originates from a Senators alumnus. It's black and white because it's a photocopy, but I think it's safe to say you can mentally replace the grey with red. It's part of a packet that outlines the club's grand plans to celebrate its heritage this season. And the plans sound just as great as this uniform looks!
I'll get to all of it shortly but first, the jersey design itself. It's very close to the concept Jacob Barrette designed some years ago. The key difference is the striping around the waist. Plus, the above image fully lines up with the sneak peek the team showed us back in March, right down to the new shield logo on the shoulder — though we're not getting a good look at it in this image, obviously.
My take? Absolutely brilliant. This is precisely what the Senators needed to do with a Heritage Jersey. They recognized that and executed it deftly. I can only imagine how good it will look in action this fall. I'm a huge fan. And to be honest, I can't imagine we'll hear from any true dissenters. Who could really dislike this? It will be the perfect replacement for one of the ugliest third jerseys in the NHL.
What I've cropped off the top of the photo for aesthetic purposes is the following text: "New Heritage Jersey" in bold at the top; followed by "Worn at all 11 home heritage games and 2 national broadcast away games."
Now onto the rest of the packet. As I said, it basically talks about what the team is planning for this season in terms of marketing. Below you'll find transcripts of the photos I received. (Rather do it this way than posting a bunch of blurry photos. Spelling and grammatical errors attributed to original text.)
The Game Everything starts with the game and we'll celebrate the game over the entire season as well as having specific focus on some key areas for 10 games.
- All-Star — games leading up to All-Star game recognize Ottawa All-Stars, All-Star moments
- Legends Nights — Orr, Howe, Potvin, Lemieux, Yzerman
- Team Canada 72 — Henderson, T. Esposito, Cournoyer
- Women's Hockey — Cassie Campbell
- World Juniors — 2009 Gold Medal win
- Minor Hockey — tell the stories of the passion that kids have for the game, recognize the volunteers that give so much to our game. Bell Capital Cup.
Heritage Other heritage elements will include:
- Jerseys worn for away game in Montreal and Toronto on National TV. Have team travel by train in heritage look (fedoras) and sell packages for fans.
- Hockey Hall of Fame displays at Scotiabank Place at NHL All-Star Fanfest and at Governor General's Residence (leading up to and during All-Star)
- Citizen special pages tied to each heritage game
- Tickets for heritage games designed with heritage look/images
- New heritage merchandise location at section 328
In Arena
- Opening Week — luncheon with 92-93 team at Aberdeen Pavilion
- Opening Night — celebrate 92-93 team
- Game Nights — 20th Anniversary, Heritage, The Game
- Fan and player stories — game, team
- Interior / Exterior Exhibits and Installations
20th Anniversary 4 Key games to highlight significant moments in the modern era. Programming to include pin or handout, alumni/VIP appearances, luncheon, special merchandise.
- 1992-93 Team — Boschman, Marsh, Turgeon, Brady, Shaw, Archibald, Lamb, Loewen, Smail, Sidorkiewicz, Rumble, Peluso, Murphy, McBain
- First playoffs — Duchesne, Tugnutt
- Wayne Gretzky's last game in Canada
- 2007 Stanley Cup Finals
That's what has been sent to me — unofficially, of course. Sounds like there's a lot for Sens fans to get excited about this season — their new sweater especially. I can't get over how great it is that an NHL team is actually doing something that all of us jersey geeks have been hoping for.
The two road games in which the Senators will sport the Heritage Jersey are against the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. A quick glance at the schedule tells us the Sens are in Toronto on Oct. 8, Nov. 12 and Jan. 17 and in Montreal on Jan. 14, Mar. 14 and Mar. 23.
Their home opener is on Oct. 11 against the Minnesota Wild, which is when the Heritage Jersey is likely to make its game debut. That should be the first of 13 total games in which it will be used during the 2011-12 campaign. I'm guessing the full schedule will be released at a later date.
If you've got questions, feel free to ask, but I've pretty much exhausted my knowledge on the subject with this post. If it's not here, I probably don't have an answer to give. I suspect my inbox will start filling up with concepts based on the above image, so it won't be long before you'll be able to see it in full color.
Related: Check out these Senators concepts from early March. I think you'll find Tex Fischer's is the closest to the striping pattern seen in the actual design. But they're all very similar to the real thing.
Chris
I've got some replies to questions that have come in via email, Twitter and the comments below.
Heritage defined This Heritage Jersey has nothing to do with the Heritage Classic outdoor game. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has already said there will not be one this season. "Heritage," in this sense, refers to the Senators' 20th anniversary celebration during the coming season. In fairness, it's not only about their own two decades of existence but the old Ottawa Senators from the 1920s as well.
Vintage white Back in March the Senators gave us a sneak peek at the new sweater. From the photo, it appeared to be true white, not this beige color that's been called "vintage" white. But then we were looking at a projector screen image so I can't say the colors were spot on. Then more recently, I was told that it would be vintage white on this uniform. Once again, nothing has been made official yet, so I can't speak with any certainty. And the above image is black and white, so that doesn't tell us anything.
If you have any other questions I can answer, I'll do so here.
Reader Comments (45)
Absolutely amazing. Sign me up, day 1 purchase for me!
Looks good! So do we assume the white is the trendy "Vintage White" on this jersey?
As a senators fan, having to suffer through the awful "SENS" 3rd jersey I am very excited that they are redeeming themselves with this beaut of a sweater. No way even a Leafs fan could hate on this.
Jersey looks okay, my only issue is they should have made the "O" look more like the letter O so as to not look like a zero. The zero invites ridicule.
That "O" always reminds me of the old Opera browser logo.
I really like this...when do you guys think it will be released for sale? ;D
I dont believe this it looks JUST like my concept!!!!
Home run for the Sens and a definite jersey buy for Sens fans. I don't think you can get any better than what they designed here.
The two teams I despise most of all are the Senators and Ducks (so just imagine what I was going through in 2007!), so maybe my words don't carry much weight. But to go from god-awfully-atrocious-and-dumb to boring, bland, and uninspired isn't really that remarkable an improvement. Though I concede there aren't many powerful images to be conjured with a name like "Ottawa Senators" aside from the ubiquitous pissed-off Julias Caesar-lookin' dude.
And on the subject, who really wants to cheer for "the federal capital unelected politicians" anyway?
b-O-ring
Are they going to be using the "vintage white" like Tex's concept or regular white?
The only actual differences I can see between Tex's submission and the leaked version are the font of the numbers, the secondary logo and the piping at the bottom. (Red and white colours are switched and extended to the bottom on the leaked version) Which is to nitpick really.
That is incredibly close though, do the Sens watch Icethetics regulary?
It's pretty cool...im not really a fan of the O logo tho - never have been...but too nad theyre not gonna wear in in Detroit for our home opener!
I loved the SENS alternate jersey. People seem to talk as if it were universally despised but that's not true. More and more teams seem to copy templates from each other and jersey all look the same, but that one stood out. Their had never been anything even similar. It was cool, fresh, and unique. While I don't hate this new jersey, I'm not a huge fan, either. I understand and respect that it's look is primarily in tribute to the team's history, but it is still boring (in my opinion). This just sums up that unique and original designs are continually denied the support and appreciation they deserve in today's jerseys (see: Atlanta Thrashers). All that being said, I hope it's vintage white and not plain white. I like the off-white color.
its alright, nothing to really get excited about, but certainly better than what they had. I'd give it a 6/10
Well, there was no known logo at the time when I made it. I don't know.
I knew I came here for a reason. ;) I've been waiting a while to see this, and am overall rather satisfied. It'll be interesting to see how it looks with "vintage white" if they go that route. Hopefully with the all-star patch getting on there somewhere it'll be a day 1 purchase for me as well.
Amazing. Can't wait for this to become the regular jersey. How soon can we hope to see Ottawa jettison it's current (dreadful) ones?
The uniforms are fine really... but I'm not a fan of the "O"... never was...
First of all it looks like a Zero
Second... it's just a bland circle... I know it looks "classic" but it shouldn't mean it's good... especially for people so concern by graphics like us
Big thumbs up for the new jersey design, probably will be one of the best thirds in the entire league when debuted.
And sorry if I'm missing something here, but the design looks nothing like the sneak image you posted from a few months back. I just don't see the shield on this one and there looks like there's a big red section in the preview image that's not in this jersey design.
SOLD!!! sign me up to buy as soon as they are released.....
glad they added the striping at the bottom, was concerned if they hadnt that it would have been too plain, yep reckon the sens have got this one just right!
It looks exactly like the sneak peek from March except that they had the jersey awkwardly folded in that photo. And take a look at the shoulders of the jersey above. Clearly a new shield logo on each side. Lines up perfectly.
hopefully they go with true white for a sharp clean look.
First of all the shield looks like it has "20" (for 20 years) but in the sneak peak version it shows an "A" which will most likely be "OTTAWA" in the shield. This is nice but I think this is the real version.
Hopefully it is vintage white; that'll make it a fine replacement for the apparently late, lamented Hawks thirds.
I didn't mind the SENS jerseys, either. I don't really get all the hate for wordmarks.
Nice! All I need to say. TOP10 material. It's hard to say from a black n white picture if it's gonna be white or vintage white, but judging from the sneak peek, it's gonna be white.
I'm really excited for this! I remember how disappointed I was when I first saw the leak for the "SENS" jersey and how badly I wanted something like this. Barring any last minute changes, I will be lining up to get one of these babies. Now, if only the team would replace those generic looking cookie cutter jerseys and bring back the old 2D profile logo for a home/away set like before the Edge era.
very nice. just the pants need some stripes on the side
I'm actually not a fan of this design at all. I think the Sens red and white jerseys are among the best looking in the league, but this ranks down at the bottom as one of the worst looking jerseys. Luckily, it won't be worn much.
vintage white would explain the retiring of the hawks 3rd. someone calling the shots could be thinking that the new ottawa 3rds and existing hawks 3rds would be confusingly similar.
Can't wait to get me one of those!
Classy. Among the league's best jerseys instantly.
If you don't like this, you probably like the Preds jerseys, or anything with orange accents, and vertical or diagonal stripes. Classic ALWAYS wins.
Bravo to the Sens.
As a fan of 29 teams ahead of the Senators, I heartily welcome a jersey with a big NOT A ZERO on their chest. I hope this becomes their home, their away, AND their 3rd jersey. Then, the NOT A ZERO could be alternatingly red, black, and 'vintage white'.
If only the NOT A ZERO could be larger! much much larger!
this jersey has made me very happy - THANK YOU OTTAWA!
Jersey Looks Great! The Previous 3rd looked just awful! Now they need to get rid of their home and road jersey's which are amongst the worst in the league!
this is an awesome jersey! Not sure why its 'boring'? As for the leafs fan wondering what kinda 'powerful images' are behind the name Ottawa Senators, try 11 stanley cups (during which time Toronto only won 2...), and 33 Hall of Famers....I'm shocked, aren't most leaf fans stuck in the past as well? lol....if you wanna talk about current Ottawa Senators, I guess we can point out that Frank Mahovlich will be retiring as an 'Ottawa Senator' lol (lame, I know!)
I think its good that Ottawa rebrands itself, by updating its heritage look. Too many logos nowadays are loud, and easily forgettable. The classics always endure (see the Red Sox, Habs, Bruins, Packers, etc).
Perfect Give them a couple years, a white version and these will be the home jerseys.
They should have been wearing these since their (re-)inception.
I'll agree with Brenthrax. I don't like it. I don't like it at all.
I understand it harkens back to the days of the original
Senators but the 'O' looks like a zero to me. I much
prefer their alternate 2D Senator logo.
Looks like the Senators might be unveiling these jerseys tomorrow. I live in Ottawa and, on the radio this morning, they said the Senators were set to unveil their new 20th anniversary logo tomorrow. They then said that "it's the one with the barber poles like the 67's". Sounds just like these jerseys. So we're getting something tomorrow, either just a logo as first mentioned or the actual jersey.
I think the whole "zero" thing is so overused that anyone who uses it as an actual attempt at an insult would get an eyeroll at best. The fact is that it's a heritage jersey, and the "O" is their classic logo from the past. The jersey is clean and solid from a design perspective. Disliking that it looks like a zero to you is fine - using it as an actual attempt at an insult is lame. Heck, you can go poetic with it if you want, rather than insulting, and say that it's a zero because the Sens are starting from scratch this year. ;) I'm excited for the season and don't even think they'll necessarily make the playoffs. You know, because I like the sport of hockey, and don't focus on silly rivalries.
Information-wise: The Sens are having a press conference tomorrow to launch the 20th anniversary, so hopefully that'll be our first proper look at the jersey.
Pretty sure the shoulder badge says "World Champions 1927" in commemoration of the last Stanley Cup. They started using it on t-shirts and other promo items last year.
I like it, but I think it could be tweaked to be even better. The O logo doesn't really do it for me. I've always thought they should add wings to it or just use their original 2d logo. I'm getting a little tired of teams using a lace-up collar on every single jersey too. The lace-up has only been around since the 50's. When a team does a retro sweater based on the 20's or earlier it looks gratuitous. I'd personally like to see a round collar. I think it would look better with two thinner stripes on the bottom of the jersey as well. It would draw more attention to the awesome band around the middle.
Take my money now
I like it. But for some reason the SENS third is really popular in Ottawa. I went to Scotiabank Place the year the jersey came out and alot of people were wearing them.
Sadly the Sens have come out and said they aren't releasing/showing the jersey until closer to the season opener, which is annoying since they had their press conference today. The wait continues!
Oh BTW! The Sens have revealed when they are showing their new heritage jersey! When you go on the website and click on the first page to view the 3 game packs or 5 game packs, the have at least 8 games listed as Heritage Jersey Night.