2013 NHL Third Jersey Schedules

A handful of NHL teams have released their third jersey schedules for the abbreviated 2013 season. I'm collecting them all here, so if you know of any others floating around, drop me a line.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins will sport their alternate sweater 7 times this season — including its season debut on Monday night.

• Mon., Jan. 21 — vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Tues., Jan. 29 — vs. New Jersey Devils
• Tues., Feb. 12 — vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Mar. 2 — vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sat., Mar. 16 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Mon., Apr. 8 — vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Fri., Apr. 19 — vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

All third jersey nights this year are home games at TD Garden and there are no repeat opponents.

The Bruins unveiled and debuted this third jersey during the 2008-09 season. This is its fifth season in use.

Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes fans will have to wait a while to see their team's third jersey again. It's not set to make its 2013 season debut for another month. But once it does, the black sweater will be used 7 times, including once on the road. 

• Sat., Feb. 23 — vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sat., Mar. 2 — vs. Florida Panthers
• Thurs., Mar. 7 — vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Thurs., Mar. 14 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Tues., Mar. 26 — vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Sat., Apr. 6 — vs. New York Rangers
• Sun., Apr. 21 — at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Canes' third jersey will see action against all four Southeast Division opponents this year.

The sweater was unveiled and debuted during the 2008-09 season. It's now in its fifth season of use.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche will also wear their third jersey 7 times this season. Starting to see a pattern here? All 2013 occasions will take place at home.

• Mon., Feb. 4 — vs. Dallas Stars
• Wed., Feb. 20 — vs. St. Louis Blues
• Sun., Mar. 10 — vs. San Jose Sharks
• Sat., Mar. 16 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Sat., Mar. 30 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Fri., Apr. 8 — vs. Calgary Flames
• Tues., Apr. 19 — vs. Edmonton Oilers

From Colorado's press release:

The Avalanche initially unveiled the third sweater to the public on Nov. 12, 2009 and wore it for the first time two nights later against the Vancouver Canucks.

The third jersey design is a collaboration of ideas from the Colorado Avalanche (including Kroenke Sports Enterprises Creative Imaging), the National Hockey League and Reebok.

The third jersey has a predominantly blue color scheme with a diagonal COLORADO type, laces at the neckline and stripes on the sleeves. Two rounds of sweater prototypes were tested and ran on ice before the final version was made.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets will also wear their third jersey 7 times this season — all home games at Nationwide Arena. Here are the actual dates, as released by the club.

• Sat., Feb. 2 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sun., Feb. 10 — vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Tues., Feb. 26 — vs. Dallas Stars
• Thurs., Mar. 7 — vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Tues., Mar. 19 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Sun., Apr. 7 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Fri., Apr. 12 — vs. St. Louis Blues

The Blue Jackets introduced their third jersey on Nov. 24, 2010. This is its third season in action.

Here's more from the team's website:

The phrase "We Fight, We March!," which appears on the interior of the jersey's collar, was first introduced during the 2008-09 season to describe the Blue Jackets’ first-ever march to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The expression continues to represent the team's intention each year to fight and march throughout the regular season and into the playoffs. Below "We Fight, We March!," 10 stars commemorate the introduction of the jersey in the club's 10th season.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild are breaking the mold, wearing their green third jersey a whopping 9 times during the 2013 season. All dates are home games.

• Sun., Jan. 20 — vs. Dallas Stars
• Wed., Jan. 30 — vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Sat., Feb. 9 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Sun., Feb. 17 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sat., Mar. 23 — vs. San Jose Sharks
• Sat., Mar. 30 — vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Tues., Apr. 9 — vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Sun., Apr. 21 — vs. Calgary Flames
• Fri., Apr. 26 — vs. Edmonton Oilers

It's always great seeing the Wild wearing green and they'll be doing that a lot this season.

My search has only turned up third jersey schedules for these five teams. If you've come across any others, drop me a line and I'll keep adding on to this post.

Update on Wednesday · Jan 23 · 2013 | 6:01 PM PST by Chris

New York Rangers

According to their online beat writer, this season the New York Rangers will sport their third jerseys on home dates that take place on Sunday or against an Original Six opponent. Here's a look at those 9 games:

• Wed., Jan. 23 — vs. Boston Bruins
• Sat., Jan. 26 — vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Sun., Feb. 10 — vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sun., Feb. 17 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Tues., Feb. 19 — vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Sun., Mar. 3 — vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Sun., Mar. 24 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Wed., Apr. 10 — vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Sun., Apr. 21 — vs. New Jersey Devils

The above dates are based on a tweet from Jim Cerny on Tuesday morning:

@JimCerny Yes, Heritage jerseys tomorrow and for all home Original 6 games and Sunday home games RT @BR19MG10: @JimCerny 3rd jerseys tomorrow?

The Rangers' home opener was this past Sunday, but they did not wear their alternate uniforms.

Thanks to @faz8218 for tipping me off on the Rangers' tweet. If you've spotted any other third jersey schedules I've overlooked, please let me know.

Update on Wednesday · Jan 23 · 2013 | 10:52 PM PST by Chris

Ottawa Senators

More third jersey schedules! The Ottawa Senators have announced 7 dates during the 2013 season when they'll sport their heritage jersey.

• Tues., Jan. 29 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Sat., Feb. 9 — vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Tues., Feb. 19 — vs. New York Islanders
• Sat., Mar. 23 — vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sat., Mar. 30 — vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Tues., Apr. 16 — vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Mon., Apr. 22 — vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The black alternate sweater made its debut last season during the Sens' 20th anniversary celebration. It replaced the black "SENS" jersey that launched in 2008.

This uniform has the distinction of being the first in NHL history designed by a fan following an online campaign to have it adopted by the team. Obviously I like retelling that story. Congrats again to Jacob Barrette!

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks will bring back the "BlackArmor" for another season, according to the team's executive VP of business operations, Malcolm Bordelon. He tweeted that the third jersey will be worn on Saturdays and Thursdays, leaving us with these 9 dates.

• Sat., Jan. 26 — vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Sun., Jan. 27 — vs. Vancouver Canucks*
• Thu., Jan. 31 — vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Sat., Feb. 2 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Sat., Feb. 9 — vs. Phoenix Coyotes
• Thu., Feb. 28 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sat., Mar. 9 — vs. St. Louis Blues
• Thu., Mar. 14 — vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Thu., Mar. 28 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sun., Apr. 7 — vs. Dallas Stars*
• Thu., Apr. 18 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Sun., Apr. 21 — vs. Columbus Blue Jackets*

Here's that tweet from Bordelon:

@MMB52 Sharks will wear Black Jersey every Thurs & Sat game (except opening night ... Teal). Go Sharks!

Yeah, technically he said "every" Thursday and Saturday game, but I think it's safe to assume he meant to include "home game" in there since it's a dark jersey. Plus, if they wore it on the road, they'd go well past 9 dates and I can't imagine the NHL would be thrilled with that.

Thanks to @Puckguy14 for the tip on the schedule — and for being the guy to elicit it from Bordelon on Twitter. *UPDATE (1/26): After the Sharks hit the ice today in teal instead of black, Puckguy14 tweeted to say that the Sharks apparently changed the schedule to Thursdays and Sundays now.

Update on Monday · Jan 28 · 2013 | 6:22 PM PST by Chris

Phoenix Coyotes

The Coyotes are slated to sport their black alternate jerseys 6 times during the 2013 season — or so says the team's Senior Director of News Content. Dave Vest tweeted this morning that thirds would be worn tonight and for all other Monday home games this year.

• Mon., Jan. 28 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Mon., Feb. 4 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Mon., Feb. 18 — vs. Calgary Flames
• Mon., Mar. 4 — vs. Anaheim Ducks
• Mon., Mar. 25 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Mon., Apr. 15 — vs. San Jose Sharks

Here's that tweet, by the way:

@davest4yotes #Coyotes will wear black sweaters tonight vs. Preds. They will wear black sweaters for ALL Monday home games, actually.

So far, this is the shortest of the third jersey schedules we've seen for this season.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals' white retro jersey will return late in this shortened season — but the home crowd won't get a chance to see it in person. Today, Washington announced 7 road dates for the throwback sweater. Here they are: 

• Sat., Mar. 16 — at Boston Bruins
• Tues., Mar. 19 — at Pittsburgh Penguins
• Thurs., Mar. 21 — at Winnipeg Jets
• Fri., Mar. 22 — at Winnipeg Jets
• Sun., Mar. 24 — at New York Rangers
• Thurs., Apr. 18 — at Ottawa Senators
• Sat., Apr. 20 — at Montreal Canadiens

Interesting how all of the third jersey dates are clumped together. Basically, the Caps have a 4-game road trip in late March where the regular white sweaters will simply be left at home.

By the way, that road trip begins in Pittsburgh so you can't help but wonder if there's a chance of a rematch between the 2011 Winter Classic jerseys. The Penguins haven't released a third jersey schedule that I'm aware of.

Since Washington is only planning to wear their white alternates for road games — where they'd be wearing white anyway — none of their visiting opponents have to worry about carrying an extra set of dark jerseys.

Update on Thursday · Feb 7 · 2013 | 10:20 AM PST by Chris

Anaheim Ducks

The third jersey schedule fun continues today with the Ducks. Anaheim will sport their black alternates for a third season, including 9 home dates (two of which have already passed).

Take a look:

• Fri., Jan. 25 — vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Sat., Feb. 2 — vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Fri., Mar. 1 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Fri., Mar. 8 — vs. Calgary Flames
• Fri., Mar. 22 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Fri., Apr. 5 — vs. Dallas Stars
• Sun., Apr. 7 — vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Mon., Apr. 8 — vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Sat., Apr. 27 — vs. Phoenix Coyotes

For what it's worth, the first two games in the thirds turned out like this: The Ducks got creamed 5-0 by the Canucks and beat the Kings 7-4 the following week. Take from that what you will.

The Ducks' third jersey was launched in 2010.

At Work on Columbus' NHL All-Star Logo

Since I'm in the process of reinvigorating the Concepts page here at Icethetics (with new concept posts daily!), it seems only fitting that this latest blog update features a number of professional concept logos that have been created for the NHL.

It all comes by way of a video posted on the Columbus Blue Jackets' website — the first in a series chronicling the development of the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend.

In the video, the guys who will be designing the All-Star logo talk about the process. It's all very fascinating to people like us.

Bill Frederick of the Frederick & Froberg Design Group and NHL Senior Design Director Paul Conway arrived in Columbus Tuesday to meet with Blue Jackets marketing and creative team members and begin planning the art for the 2013 All-Star celebration. Conway and Frederick have been a part of several NHL sanctioned event logo designs, most recently working on the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa.

NHL All-Star 2012 logo developmentPerhaps the best part of the video is the B-roll in which we see the logo designers leafing through their incredible portfolio. Getting to see the logos that didn't make the final cut is very cool.

On the right are three screen grabs from the video that show the early development process of the 2012 NHL All-Star logo. Interestingly, it was the design labeled Concept A that appears closest to the final version.

Concept B is pretty nice, but it makes sense the overall shape of an All-Star logo is more of a — you know — star. And I guess the Peace Tower was kind of the obvious choice as far as a central design theme.

As the designers say in the video, the first thing they do is try to determine what makes the host city iconic — if anything. The goal isn't to rework the host team's primary logo with some stars in it — despite the fact that that's basically what happened with the 2011 game in Raleigh.

As Conway says:

“Some cities are more challenging than others, and Columbus certainly is one of those. There’s not that one key iconic aspect of the city that stands out, which makes this research phase and interview process even more critical.”

Columbus is a beautiful city, but I'm not sure the skyline is recognizable enough to cut it here. It'll be interesting to see what they go with since the Blue Jackets' primary mark is basically tailor-made for an All-Star logo — what with it being a giant star and all.

I hope the Blue Jackets continue to release videos throughout this process. It'll be fun to follow along with the development of an NHL logo. It's something we rarely get an inside look at — and something no Icethetics reader can get enough of.

Conway says the process can take about four to six weeks from start to finish. But that doesn't necessarily mean the official logo will be unveiled in April. It may not come until late summer. We'll obviously be keeping an eye on it.

One more thing. In the video we see someone thumbing through a Blue Jackets logo portfolio. It appears to share a glimpse of elements of an unused third jersey design.

I would guess the logo we see there was probably an intended shoulder patch. Beneath it we can see the numbers and letters that are actually used on the current third jersey — only in different colors. Bet it would've been a neat look. (UPDATE 2/26: After the initial post, Avi Stein put together a hi-res rendering of what we can see in that video frame.) And if you feel like putting together a uniform concept featuring this logo, maybe you can take some inspiration from some other Blue Jackets third jersey prototypes seen here last year.

For what it's worth, the NHL is currently promoting the 2013 All-Star Weekend with graphics like the one seen here. But it's merely the Blue Jackets' custom font. Nothing special — or permanent.

My thanks to Mike R. for letting me know about the video.

---

While we're on the subject of logo development, Denver Post beat writer Adrian Dater posted a podcast he did with Dan Price, the creative director for the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 when the team moved from Quebec. He was responsible for the logo, but credits Michael Beindorff with actually designing it.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the interview to me was learning that the franchise was originally going to be named the Rocky Mountain Extreme. The name was actually leaked early by Dater in the Post but Denver hockey fans revolted and the marketing guys went back to the drawing board. Price points out that before the organization settled on Avalanche, they also considered naming the team Cougars and Black Bears. Glad they went with Avs.

Price is currently the head of a local marketing firm called Adrenalin. They are responsible for rebranding the Phoenix Coyotes in 2003 when Wayne Gretzky got involved with the team. Anyway, the podcast is a good listen if you've got a half hour to kill. But a necessity if you're an Avs fan.

Loose Threads: Jets, Pens, Avs & Sens

I'm working on a huge Icethetics side project right now that should be released in the next few weeks. So while there are a number of things to cover today, I'm going to make this post quick.

Jets Hold Real Jerseys a Week

Young Jets get practice unisWinnipeg Jets players took the ice competitively for the first time yesterday in the Young Stars Tournament, though not wearing their new jerseys as we expected. Instead they donned practice jerseys with some extra patches sewn on.

So after weeks of listening to the team say the new uniforms had to be unveiled before the tournament so the players could wear them, we still have to wait a week to see them in action.

The following comes from the game recap on the Jets' official website:

The young stars did not debut the new Jets sweaters, instead wearing practice jerseys. The Winnipeg Jets will wear their new jerseys for the first time on September 20th against Columbus.

We've waited this long. What's another week?

Some of you have written in asking about the sock design — as if that could single-handedly change the entire look of the uniform. But as you can see in this photo, the sock stripes appear to match the sleeve stripes from the real uniforms.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm surprised that a week after the jersey was unveiled, only one person has asked what I think of it. Don't get me wrong, you'll still get my take eventually — just not yet. I was going to write something up last week but I'm holding off to see the jerseys in action before I dive in with my critique. It may surprise you, actually. May.

For now, though, I have a couple of third jersey schedules to share.

Penguins Officially Announce New 3rd

We've kind of taken for granted all summer that the Pittsburgh Penguins would be switching their third jersey to their most recent Winter Classic sweater. It was never really official until today.

The Pens said in the release that fans told them "they love the new look, the new shade of blue, and the blending of different eras of Penguins hockey." Based on what I've read from Penguins fans on this site, it sounds to me like you've been telling them you love the black and gold from the late 1980s. But they can't seem to hear that for some reason.

Sidney CrosbyNo matter. I think it's a great looking uniform. And  came the schedule for the new third jersey in the 2011-12 season. We'll be seeing it for 12 home games:

• Sat., Oct. 15 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Thu. Oct. 27 – vs. New York Islanders
• Tues., Nov. 15 – vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Fri., Nov. 25 – vs. Ottawa Senators
• Tues., Dec. 27 – vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Fri., Jan. 6 – vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Jan. 7 – vs. New Jersey Devils
• Fri., Jan. 20 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Sat., Feb. 11 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Sun., Feb. 12 – vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Wed., Mar. 7 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Thu., Mar. 22 – vs. Nashville Predators

Nice spread over the course of the season. I like that they're wearing them on a couple of back-to-back nights, and of course, against my Tampa Bay Lightning. That'll be one good-looking hockey game.

There's another third jersey schedule floating around out there...

Avalanche Set 2011-12 Third Jersey Dates

The Colorado Avalanche recently posted the game schedule for their blue alternate jersey, which will be entering its third season in use.

Interestingly, they even included details about the design that I don't remember reading when it was unveiled in 2009. They include information about the designers and prototypes. Have a read:

The third jersey design is a collaboration of ideas from the Colorado Avalanche (including Kroenke Sports Enterprises Creative Imaging), the National Hockey League and Reebok. ... Two rounds of sweater prototypes were tested and ran on ice before the final version was made.

Milan HejdukNow here are the 12 home dates in which the sweater will see action during the coming season:

• Fri., Oct. 28 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Wed., Nov. 2 – vs. Phoenix Coyotes
• Wed., Nov. 23 – vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Fri., Dec. 2 – vs. St. Louis Blues
• Tue., Dec. 13 – vs. San Jose Sharks
• Tue., Dec. 27 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Wed., Jan. 18 – vs. Florida Panthers
• Thu., Feb. 2 – vs. Minnesota Wild
• Mon., Feb. 27 – vs. Anaheim Ducks
• Sat., Mar. 10 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Tue., Mar. 20 – vs. Calgary Flames
• Thu., Apr. 5 – vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Panthers will be the only true Eastern Conference team to see the Avs sporting blue this year. They have Stanley Cup Final history together. (Though I guess strictly speaking, the Jets are still in the East for this year.)

One final item for today...

Sens Give Another Glimpse of Heritage

One final item for today. A reader tweeted a link to a page on the Ottawa Senators website, offering the new Heritage Jersey for sale without really showing it to us.

From what I can tell, this is the same photo that was used in the team's own sneak peek way back in March. Only difference is now we get it in full color without any distortion from projector screens or compressed Flash video.

First, you can see that vintage white is, in fact, in use. And second, the shoulder patches seem to contradict my earlier report which said that they were bilingual, English on the right shoulder, French on the left.

I'm staring at a photo (which I can't show you until after the official unveiling) that clearly shows one patch is in French, so what's the deal? One of two things: either 1) there was a change made between this photo and that one, or 2) we're actually looking at two jerseys laying side-by-side in this photo. It's hard to tell for sure on that.

Meanwhile, the Senators say the Heritage Jersey will be available on Oct. 1, meaning the official reveal will have to take place on or before that date. I'll be keeping an eye on it, obviously.

Update on Wednesday · Sep 14 · 2011 | 11:55 AM PDT by Chris

And with a definitive answer to question above, today the Senators announced that the Heritage Jersey will be unveiled on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Specifically, it will be shown to fans at the Puck Drop event at Scotiabank Place. Even more specifically, the unveiling itself will happen at 10:30 AM.

If you've been keeping an eye on the blog, you already know what the jersey will look like, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how it looks on the players.

I'll be sure to share pictures with you that morning. And to any Sens fans that will be in attendance, feel free to send along any photos of your own.

The Best Sweaters in the West

Back in February, we conducted a series of polls asking readers to rate the jerseys of all six Canadian NHL teams. We ended up with a complete ranking revealed just in time for Hockey Day in Canada. It was a popular post so now we're going to take it to the rest of the league.

We'll do them in groups of six, split up by geography. This set of polls will feature the teams out west: Anaheim, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Jose. You can rate each jersey individually with a 10, 5 or 1. (You can either love it, hate it, or be on the fence.)

After all the votes have been cast, an average rating will be determined. These polls will remain open for two weeks, ending Thurs., June 23. When we've voted on all the teams, I'll assemble a complete league ranking of every uniform worn for the 2010-11 season. Happy voting!

Sorry, no comments on this post. Just vote!

Blog note: I am leaving for vacation on June 11. I'll be out at sea and likely without an internet connection for most of the time I'm away. I should be back on June 21 just in time for the NHL Board of Governors meeting — when everything in Winnipeg is expected to become official and final. However, if the team's name and logo are announced before that time, I'll probably be delayed in posting it here. Sorry.

But fret not, there will be other updates to the site in my absence. I'm currently preparing concept posts that will auto-publish on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday while I'm gone so keep checking back throughout the week.

Avs Set 3rd Jersey Schedule

The Colorado Avalanche have posted their third jersey schedule online for the 2010-11 season.

Our buddy Glen C. has been hard at work digging up these schedules and sent in the link from the Avs' website. The blue alternate sweater was launched last fall. It features a burgundy shoulder yoke and COLORADO written diagonally down the front.

The jersey will be worn for 12 home games this season on the following dates:

• Sat., Oct. 30 - vs Columbus
• Mon., Nov. 15 - vs St. Louis
• Fri., Nov. 19 - vs NY Rangers
• Tue., Nov. 30 - vs Atlanta
• Tue., Dec. 21 - vs Los Angeles
• Sun., Jan. 2 - vs Vancouver
• Sat., Jan. 8 - vs NY Islanders
• Thu., Jan. 20 - vs Nashville
• Thu., Feb. 3 - vs Minnesota
• Wed., Feb. 16 - vs Pittsburgh
• Fri., Mar. 11 - vs Anaheim
• Sun., Apr. 3 - vs Calgary

The dates have been added to the Icethetics sidebar calendar. Looks like we may have the Los Angeles Kings schedule shortly, including the three additional dates when they'll sport the purple retro sweaters this year.