Panthers See Red

The Florida Panthers have officially launched their new marketing campaign today: We See Red.

The campaign will culminate on June 24 with the unveiling of their new red home jersey at the NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul. The first player to wear it will be the Cats' first round pick, which currently sits at No. 3 overall. Here's a link to the Panthers' press release on the matter. And an excerpt:

“We See Red” signifies the Panthers’ passion, aggressiveness, new blood, attitude, desire and commitment to winning under the leadership of General Manager Dale Tallon and now, Head Coach Kevin Dineen. Coinciding with the campaign, the Panthers will also unveil a new home jersey at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on June 24. The jersey will feature the Cats’ “true colors” and will be worn by the team’s first pick — currently No. 3 overall.

All right, I may have just said most of that in the previous paragraph, but now you have it from them too.

Personally, I like the idea of the Panthers returning to red. That's how I always think of them. The dark blue just never worked in south Florida. Now, whether this means they'll actually improve the jersey remains to be seen. What I mean by that is they only specifically mention unveiling a "new home jersey," making no reference to a new road sweater to match.

This makes me wonder if they'll simply take the template of the current jerseys and just make a red one. I'd much rather see them go with a design more like their third jersey — or even that original red one from the early '90s. As always, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

So when the Stinkin' Panthers go back to red, they'll be the third team in the Southeast Division to wear that color (Carolina and Washington being the others, of course). The Lightning will now wear blue instead of black. And as we know, red and blue are by far the most common colors in the NHL.

We don't yet know what the Winnipeg team will be named, but if it's the Jets and they go with the blue-and-red color scheme, boy will that be original and will certainly stand out. I'm hoping they go with something in a nice green, honestly — or even purple to make up for Los Angeles dumping it. But that's just because I like variety. Ultimately, I hope whatever is chosen is liked by the fans in Winnipeg.

That's all for today. Coming later this week: Remember how we ranked the Canadian NHL team uniforms a few months ago? Yeah, we're about to start tackling the rest of the league. (Just in time for me to take a nice long vacation. More later.)

Loose Threads: Red and the Rest

Obviously the big news yesterday was the announcement of the sale and intent to relocate the Atlanta Thrashers. But that's not all that went down yesterday. Here's a quick run-through.

Panthers Bringing Back the Red

Panthers 1993-2007 / from Getty ImagesAccording to Miami Herald beat writer George Richards, the Florida Panthers are revisiting the past with new red sweaters starting in the 2011-12 season.

I highly recommend reading his latest On Frozen Pond blog post. But if you can't be bothered, here's some of what he wrote on the subject.

The Panthers are shifting their marketing focus this summer to coincide with their return to their orginal look.

A restyled red jersey will become Florida's primary jersey this season — the first time the red will be the team's primary home jersey since the early 2000s when it was relegated to alternate thirds and then dropped during the Reebok restyle in 2007. I was told Alan Cohen hated the red look, and for parts of his ownership, the team only wore that color on weekends.

I have seen mockups with the new circle logo — which debuted on the Tampa Bay JetBlue thirds — on them although I have been told it will be the leaping cat on the front. Sans stick.

No word on whether the JetBlues will return as the alternate for a third season. Florida may keep the home blue jerseys it has worn since the 2007-08 season as the alternate. When I find out about the thirds, will let you know.

He says the secondary logo — sun with crossed hockey stick and palm tree — will remain on the new sweater, which will be unveiled at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on June 24. The new draftees will be the first to sport the new design.

So look for lots more red from the Panthers this summer. Personally, I think this is great. Always like the Panthers better in red than navy.

Moves Around the Minors

The rest of this post can be done with bullet points and, since I'm up against the clock, that's a good thing.

• The Telegram in St. John's is reporting that a deal has been reached to relocate the AHL's now homeless Manitoba Moose to Newfoundland for the start of the 2011-12 season. With the acquisition of the Thrashers, True North was obviously eager to unload the minor league franchise that filled Winnipeg's NHL gap for the last 15 years. No word yet on what the team's new name will be. full story
• Chicago Express jerseys unveiled / ExpressThe ECHL's newest expansion team, the Chicago Express is set to begin play in the 2011-12 season. So yesterday, they unveiled the jerseys they'll wear. Unsurprisingly, they're based on the Blackhawks' uniform design in the Express' blue and silver color scheme. They grey third jersey steps outside the box a little bit, but overall an unimpressive set. full story
• In other ECHL news, the league approved the membership of the Colorado Eagles, formerly of the Central Hockey League. With the folding of the Victoria Salmon Kings and the addition of the Express and Eagles, the ECHL will begin play with 20 teams this fall. full story
• Joining Victoria and Atlanta in losing hockey teams this summer is Lewiston, Maine. The QMJHL's Lewiston MAINEiacs have folded and the league announced that in 2012, it will expand to Sherbrooke, Quebec — which is actually where the MAINEiacs relocated from in 2003. Ouch. full story

That's all I have for now. Be sure to follow @icethetics on Twitter or keep an eye on the feed in the sidebar for the latest updates. I intend to have more updates on these stories throughout the summer or, at the very least, full coverage in the 2011 Icethetics Season Preview in September.

Thrashers Moving to Winnipeg

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at the Winnipeg press conference / NHL.com

The NHL will return to Winnipeg this fall at Atlanta's expense, as the announcement was officially made this morning that True North Sports & Entertainment has acquired the Atlanta Thrashers.

No Name Yet During the press conference regarding the sale and relocation of the team, it was asked whether a name had been decided. The new owners said it has not yet, though I'm sure a decision can't be more than a week or two away. Logos and jerseys need to be designed and produced by September.

2011 NHL Entry Draft It was also discussed that Winnipeg now has the 7th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft which takes place on June 24. It's too soon to know whether they'll have a jersey ready to give to their pick — or even a name for sure.

Board of Governors still need to approve Worth pointing out also is that the deal is still subject to Board of Governors approval at their next meeting on June 21. I can't imagine that will be a problem. There's a lot of information out there today in the Canadian media so I just wanted to get this on the blog so we could talk about names.

Winnipeg in Southeast Division While it wasn't mentioned during the press conference, reports have said there will be no divisional realignment prior to the season. That's because the schedule has probably already been completed. This means Winnipeg will be in the Southeast Division for the 2011-12 season. Expect realignment next summer.

Stanley Cup & Relocation This is the first time in 14 years that an NHL franchise will relocate — the last being the Hartford Whalers to North Carolina in 1997. Here's an odd stat: Of the four teams that moved south in the '90s, only the team that left Winnipeg has yet to win a Stanley Cup. The Stars, Avalanche, and Hurricanes each won a championship after moving, but never prior. (And for that matter, the Thrashers never won one either.)

I know most of you don't need me to say it but I'm sure there are a lot of younger readers here. This is the second time that Atlanta has lost an NHL team to Canada. The Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary in 1980.

Update on Tuesday · May 31 · 2011 | 10:57 AM PDT by Chris

Once of the features launched on the blog last summer was league Logo Maps. And just like with the Jersey Galleries, I plan to make some improvements and re-launch it this summer. Now there's been a significant change on the map, here's a sneak peek at the new series.

View NHL Map 2011— in a larger map

The map is completely interactive. You can zoom in or out and move around it as much as you like. You can even change to satellite view and zoom right down to each club's arena. Enjoy!

The NHL and the Emerald City

My recent relocation from sunny Florida to rainy Seattle is no big secret to regular readers.

It's a great city where I landed a great job. But more important than that, as a hockey fan, I want to know if it could someday soon be home to an NHL franchise?

That was the subject of a news report on a local TV station — where I found that great job, by the way. One of our reporters headed up to Vancouver, B.C. where he'd lined up an exclusive interview with NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly to talk about the future of the NHL in Seattle.

One quick note about the clip above before the comments explode. Our anchor mistakenly says the the Canucks won the series in six games instead of five. I don't know if it was a typo in the script or what.

Daly was in Vancouver for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals — which saw the Canucks clinch their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 1994 (on the strangest goal ever). He says the league has been in contact with a group in Seattle about purchasing a franchise but wouldn't go into anymore detail.

Clearly, I'd love nothing more than to have an NHL team in town — Vancouver is an irritating three-hour drive north (that's not counting the border crossing). It's worth it when the Lightning are visiting, however, such as the 5-4 OT Tampa victory I enjoyed back in December.

In our rundown meeting at work this afternoon, the question came up: Is the NHL looking to expand? Obviously not right now while several teams are struggling financially. And even if the deal is all but done to send the Thrashers to Winnipeg, Phoenix could be an option in 2012. But Quebec City is already licking its chops over the prospect of snatching the them away.

None of that really matters, though. Seattle still has no hope. The problem is the shocking lack of a proper arena here. KeyArena sits in the shadow of the Space Needle but seats only 11,000 for hockey. It's too big for the WHL. Too small for the NHL. And as Daly points out, obstructed views are a problem.

So for now, while the city lacks a building, the NHL is a long shot. And it doesn't look like there are any plans to change that in the foreseeable future. At the very least, I'll keep hoping for an NHL exhibition game or two at the Key to get Seattlites excited about the sport. Until then, I'll cheer on my Bolts from afar.

(And thank you for putting up with one more post about hockey in Seattle. I'll make it up to you.)

Update on Thursday · May 26 · 2011 | 1:43 AM PDT by Chris

Wednesday brought another day of speculation with regard to the possible future of the NHL in Seattle — this time, bad news.

Just a day after Bill Daly said publicly that the league has been in contact with a group interested in bringing a team to the city, comes a new wrinkle.

KING 5 reporter Chris Daniels learned that a deal to buy a piece of land in nearby Bellevue to build a new arena had fallen through. This is unfortunate news but is by no means the end of the Seattle hockey story, I'm sure.

If you haven't watched the package above, you should. Chris tracked down former NHL defenseman Jamie Huscroft — a member of my Tampa Bay Lightning for parts of two seasons (the Vancouver Canucks too, by the way). He runs two hockey rinks in the area. He likes the idea of a Seattle-Vancouver rivalry just like many commenters on this post. (Though he's apparently misjudging the distance between the two cities.)

I'll keep you updated on this as more details trickle out. It's definitely not happening next season and you'd have to be extremely optimistic to think 2012-13 — and heck, the world might end by then, right? But if it doesn't, I'm eyeing the 100th anniversary of the formation of the old Seattle Metropolitans in 2015.

One more thing. A couple of you have asked about my team allegiance if, say, the Stinkin' Panthers were to relocate to Seattle. Would I still root for them? As long as they're not the Stinkin' Panthers, sure. But only because they'd be closest geographically and would bring the Lightning to town at least once a year. Nothing will change the fact that the Bolts are my team. I've said it before: You don't pick your team, it picks you.

And lastly, as far as naming ideas go, I think Metropolitans and Totems are equally terrible. In the comments, Erik brought up the Seattle Breakers — the Thunderbirds' old name. (Another team Jamie Huscroft played for, by the way. No kidding!) For more about Seattle's hockey history, check out SeattleHockey.net.

Breakers would get my vote all the way! Fits nicely with the Mariners and Sounders theme. And speaking of the Sounders, I wouldn't mind borrowing their colors too. Their official names are Sounder Blue, Rave Green and Cascade Shale. Yes, yes and yes.

Atlanta to Winnipeg: The Unfolding Story

Despite passing the midway point of the Conference Finals this weekend, the hot topic seems to have been the future of the Atlanta Thrashers and whether or not it will be in Canada. Winnipeg, specifically.

My inbox is filling up with questions about the situation. I'm not an expert on this particular subject so I'd like to defer to those who are. Like many of you, I've been reading a lot about what may or may not be going down.

To make this easy, I've assembled a list of articles from well-repected sources to paint a picture of all that's going on with regard to this subject. But first I should say something.

Thrashers fans protest relocation / TSN.caAs I've reviewed my post from Friday about the Thrashers' imminent move, my bias is clearer to me. As a fellow hockey fan from a southern state, I feel for Thrashers faithful who are on the brink of losing the team they love.

I'm bothered by the apparent heartlessness of Winnipeg residents who should know what it's like to have a franchise ripped right out from them. But it's not heartlessness, is it?

If we step back and look at the numbers, it's hard to argue with them. How can we expect them to feel bad for Atlanta when all they've wanted for 15 years is to have their team back?

Add to that, the hundreds, even thousands of diehard Thrashers fans are dwarfed by an entire city of more than a half-million that would live and die by the team. That's awfully hard to deny.

If it's a question of who deserves it more — and it shouldn't be — who wins out? Atlanta has the team now. They've supported it (mostly) for 12 years. But from everything I've read, it sounds like the ownership, Atlanta Spirit, has let them down. So it's hard to blame the fans in Georgia. And it's just as hard to tell the folks in Manitoba to subdue their excitement.

I still have no patience for any Canadian who innately thinks their geography makes them more deserving of hockey. (Remember, you keep coming back to read a hockey blog written by a Floridian.) But I recognize the predicament both cities are in. Now, having said all that — which I'm sure most of you didn't bother to read — here are the bullet points from the weekend.

• Deal! On Thursday night, Stephen Brunt of the Globe and Mail (Toronto) reported the deal was done and the Thrashers are moving to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season. He said an announcement would be made Tuesday (tomorrow). details
• No Deal Everyone else, including TSN, reported that, in fact, no deal had been done — yet. But that it's just a matter of time. details
• Moving Day On Friday, TSN reported that some players had been told to start working on new real estate plans for the fall. details
• Contingency Plan On Saturday, the St. John's Telegram said the AHL's Manitoba Moose will be announcing their relocation to Newfoundland on Friday. This assumes a deal to move the Thrashers is completed by then. details
• Inching Closer As of this morning, things are still looking grim for Atlanta as, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, True North Sports and Entertainment continues to close in on a deal. It has become highly unlikely anyone will come along to keep the team in Georgia. details

Part of TSN's online coverage of the NHL's possible return to Winnipeg has included what they call the Jets Meter — a subjective scale based on the likelihood of it happening. As of today, they're five rungs from dropping the puck. So they're pretty positive about this.

For the longest time, it looked like the Phoenix Coyotes were the most likely victim, set to return to their Winnipeg Jets glory — until the city of Glendale took action to squash that dream. Now it's become the Thrashers. Only they wouldn't be called the Jets since that's part of the Coyotes' heritage. So for the rest of this post, we'll assume the deal goes through this week. What happens then?

• Last month, SportsLogos.net reported that the only way the Jets name would come back is if the Coyotes did too. Because it looks to be the Thrashers, that's probably out. Instead, TNSE, the likely new owners, would bank on their existing hockey brand — the Manitoba Moose. details
• Last Tuesday, TSN pointed out that whatever the name, it would likely be preceded by Manitoba rather than Winnipeg this time. They then asked what the team should be named. It yielded a variety of responses from readers including Monarchs, Boomerangs, Rebels, Lakers, and yes, even Thrashers. But Jets remains the most popular. details
• On Thursday, TSN writer Dave Naylor discussed the love for that Jets name in Winnipeg. In particular, he wondered why the Thrashers couldn't take on that moniker even though it is part of the Coyotes' history. After all, it wouldn't be a first in pro sports. Just ask the Cleveland Browns. details

Whatever happens, I'll keep an eye on it — especially as far as the name and logo are concerned. And keep an eye on the Icethetics Twitter feed in the sidebar as I frequently post or retweet useful links there.