Sabres' New Owner Keeping Look

No changes to Sabres uniforms in 2011 / SabresThe Buffalo Sabres will retain their current home, road and alternate uniforms for at least another season, according to the club's new ownership.

This is old news but it deserves a place on the blog for posterity. Sabres blog Die by the Blade recently did a write-up on an online chat between fans and new president Ted Black, speaking on behalf of owner Terry Pegula. Among the topics were two that will please Icethetics readers.

Quoting Die by the Blade's Andy Boron:

• The slug will be taken off the scoreboard, and they team is considering some sort of fun "Slug Appreciation Day" for that event. He did not mention whether this would involve the proposed jersey trade-in/discount program.
• There will be no changes to the primary or third jerseys for next year.

Despite the sweeping uniform changes this season (back to something a little more traditional), the slug has persisted in some places, most notably, the arena. Totally unacceptable, right? Sounds like the new brass will be doing some house cleaning.

And of course, it's great to see that the current uniform set will remain unchanged. As it should be. But don't count out the possibility that the new owner may want to put his stamp on the club with a new third jersey in 2012-13 or beyond.

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Related: A Look Back at the Infamous Buffaslug | Sabres Debut New Uniforms

Uncertainty in Nashville and Tampa

The "limited edition" jersey / Nashville PredatorsDon't bet on this jersey. (Pun.)

The Nashville Predators hosted the GnashVegas Casino Gala and Auction on Thursday night. It's one of those events teams put on to let rich fans rub elbows with players in a casual setting. And it's only noteworthy here because of what the players showed up wearing.

The jerseys they sported for the event, fully customized with their surnames and numbers (even on the sleeves), are nothing they've ever worn on the ice. Nor will they.

Last month just prior to the inaugural edition of NHL JerseyWatch 2011, we got our first look at what might've been the Preds' new road sweater next season. Only there were many indications that it wouldn't be.

GnashVegas Casino Gala / Nashville PredatorsRumors had circulated for some time that the Predators wanted to simplify their color palette and exile their present home and road uniforms in favor of their current alternate along with a white version of it.

Said white version showed on a silent auction table during a game recently. It fanned the flames, feeding rumors about jersey changes. As did the fact that every player was wearing one on GnashVegas night. But the club's Facebook folks threw a bucket of cold water on that theory.

They posted a photo album from the event and the first person to comment on it asked, "Any mention about these jerseys becoming the new away uniforms next season with the current 3rds [sic] the new home uniforms?"

The direct reply from the Predators: "These jerseys are limited edition jerseys that were auctioned off at tonight's event."

But the ensuing commenters weren't deterred, one asking, "why do I get a feeling that we will be seeing a lot more of these amazing, fantastic awesomely cool jerseys?"

The team's Facebook operator tersely reiterated, "These jerseys will not be used next season."

Of course that leaves the door open to indeed using new jerseys next season, just not these. Which we already know to be the case, thanks to Reebok. If you'd like to see more pictures of the players sporting their "limited edition" jerseys on casino night, there's an additional photo gallery on the team's website.

And the point of all of this is that we still aren't quite sure what to expect from Nashville in 2011. By the way, I must've gotten more than a dozen emails about this so thanks to all of you who sent in links.

The other bit of news has to do with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who just unveiled their rebranding plans a couple weeks ago to mixed reviews. Turns out, those plans may not necessarily be set in stone. Or they are and some don't want to believe it.

On Friday, the always reliable Uni Watch posted a note in the ticker that I have to question as more wishful thinking than actual fact. But if it's good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me.

Very interesting NHL news from Cork Gaines, who writes: “One of the Lightning radio broadcasters was on a local station in Tampa talking and mentioned that what they unveiled last week may not be exactly what they wear on the ice next season. He mentioned possibly adding a lightning bolt to the shorts and some other unspecified tweaks. This makes me think we got a mid-season unveiling just so the team could gauge reaction and make adjustments — a concept I’m surprised we don’t see more often.”

First of all, can anyone corroborate this? The Lightning have two radio guys — Dave Mishkin, the PxP dude, and Phil Esposito who provides color for home games. I don't see Mishkin stepping outside the lines on this — unless it was a clever attempt by the team to drop a hint to fans unhappy with the recently revealed changes. Either that or Espo spilled the beans. Which would not surprise me in the least.

I'm not sure I agree with Cork that the midseason unveiling was a way to gauge reaction. That's what focus groups are for. I take Leiweke at his word that the timing was all about making sure they got the new logo out there the way they wanted, rather than some crappy website (like this one) leaking it before the summer.

Management said they expected some resistance from fans as it's a pretty sweeping change. But I think they may have gotten a little more than they bargained for. And one thing they've reiterated since the beginning is their intent to listen to the fans. If tweaks are being considered, I'd chalk it up to that.

Lightning customize logo for social avatarsOne more thing. I know the last time I talked about the Bolts, I referenced the makeover of their web presence but I didn't really offer much outside of the background image from the website. They also added new social website avatars, customized versions of their new secondary logo.

On the actual logo, it reads HOCKEY CLUB between the two mini-bolts at the bottom of the circle. It's replaced by Facebook and Twitter in these versions. It's not a big deal, just kind of a cool branding thing.

And in case you haven't checked out the Lightning's website lately, here's how it looks in the new colors:

Inside the Lightning's New Identity

Just when you thought there was nothing more we could say about the recent rebrand of the Tampa Bay Lightning, we get an embarrassment of riches from the New York Times.

Times writer Jeff Z. Klein got the inside scoop on the Bolts' new look straight from the source, Ed O'Hara, the chief creative officer of SME Branding. SME is the creative force behind the branding of many NHL teams. And while reading this article, I was surprised to discover that, for as much work as they do, they only employ 15 people.

The article delves into details, including why an oval was used instead of a circle and how TV tests factor into the decision-making process. Even if you don't care for the Lightning's new identity, it's still worth a read just for the insight into how it all works.

Along with the article, the Times produced a video littered with some of SME Branding's conceptual work that ultimately led to the final design. I recommend watching the video, but here's some of what's in it.

Conceptual work for Lightning identity by SME Branding / New York Times

The whole process took six months and yielded a lot of interesting work. So what do you guys think? Are any of the early designs better than the final product?

New Bolts Logo Already All Over

The Tampa Bay Lightning are wasting no time in getting their new branding out there. It started with the arena, of course. From what I understand, as of Friday, you can barely find the old logo in the St. Pete Times Forum anymore, including center ice.

Despite that, the team cannot wear their new uniforms and logo until next season. They also can't sell jerseys until after this season ends. But that's not stopping the marketing machine. And they've already got FOX Sports building brand new broadcast graphics.

Today's Super Sunday game against the Blues was not televised by Sun Sports today, so I had to watch on FOX Sports Midwest. And they already had the new logo built into everything but the animated wipes.

New Lightning logo already built into TV broadcasts / FOX Sports Midwest

It looks great, but why not use the version without the TAMPA BAY text? Isn't the point of the new logo to be an iconic symbol on its own? Guess that'll take a little time.

Now I don't know if this is a new development or if the new logo was in use on Friday night when the Lightning faced the Capitals. It was blacked out on GameCenter Live because NHL Network carried coverage. I won't be able to take a look until later tonight.

Meantime, here's a look at another graphic. You can also see here that the new logo is painted at center ice and even on dasher board advertising. So there's no turning back now.

And lastly, here it is on the FOX Sports scoreboard graphic. It features a darker blue than we saw on the uniforms when they were unveiled.

The Lightning wore their blue third jerseys for today's 4-3 OT win in Tampa. According to the team CEO Tod Leiweke, the BOLTS sweater will be retained next season. He didn't get into specifics as to whether they'll keep the black and gray, but I assume they'll at least put the new primary logo on the shoulders.

By the way, I realize NHL marketing rules prevent the team from changing uniforms midseason, but there's actually a precedent for NHL teams unveiling a new logo before summer. Graham Y. wrote in with this:

I was in Minnesota during the final days of the North Stars and remember an issue they had while changing their logo and uniform scheme.

With some obvious foresight to the move to Dallas, then owner Norm Green commissioned a new logo with just "Stars" across the front. They announced the new identity late in the season before the change just like the Lightning did.

Late that season the training staff on the bench began wearing windbreaker jackets with the new logo and the team was notified by the league that they would have to wait until the next season to begin using the new logo. I am not entirely positive but I think they were even fined for the early use.

Neither Graham nor I could track down any confirmation for the story, so I wondered if anyone else knows anything about it. The logo changed for the 1991-92 season, so presumably this all went down during 1990-91. I'm sure Icethetics readers would love any additional information.

Lightning rebrand web presence / TBL.comBy the way, I mentioned on Twitter last week that the Lightning have already started the brand transformation of their online presence.

Their website now features the new colors and logo as well as this background image (right) of Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis in the new sweaters.

Presumably, those photos were taken on Monday when the jerseys were unveiled. The players skated around in them a little bit.

The new marks can also be found on the club's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

So they're going all out here — or "all in," you could say — and certainly committing to the new brand. It's just surprising to see that commitment coming so soon.

This should be the last Lightning post for a little while — unless they get permission to change uniforms midseason too. At this point, I think we get it.

And the February update to NHL JerseyWatch 2011 should be coming in the next day or two.

Lightning Unveil New Logo, Uniforms!

St. Louis, Lecavalier and Stamkos model the jerseys / TBL.comThe Tampa Bay Lightning officially unveiled their new logo and uniforms at a press conference today.

The new logo is one color... white on the blue home jerseys and blue on the white road jerseys, which includes the TAMPA BAY wordmark.

While it's a not a huge departure from the basic idea — a lightning bolt in a circle — it has been stripped down to its simplest elements.

We have a clean, iconic symbol here which is exactly what the new management was going for.

The uniforms are blue and white, and I hate to say it, but the striping is awfully derivative of the Detroit Red Wings'. It's understandable as it's a classic look but it's the one spot where the new brand fails to meet its goal of individuality and being unique. Outside of that, it's a traditional look that stands apart.

And it looks nothing like the Toronto Maple Leafs, as some worried. Unless, of course, you don't have your glasses on and every shade of blue looks the same to you.

At the press conference, we heard from owner Jeff Vinik and CEO Tod Leiweke. Even core players Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos were on hand to discuss it. And they loved the new look, which will take over starting in 2011-12 season.

Here are the renderings of the new logos and uniforms as displayed on the Lightning's website:

As a Lightning fan, my first impression is very good. I love the simplicity of the logo. We always talk about how a good logo is one you'd find a kid doodling on his notebook. This one's easy to draw. I've thought for a long time the Lightning should have a blue home sweater — and just more blue in their uniforms in general. They certainly have that now.

But there are some things I don't like. The lightning bolts on the pants were always a unique element that's now disappeared. The "championship stripes" underneath the arms were used by no other teams and don't appear on these jerseys. Neither of these elements would've taken away from the simplicity of the design. Instead, the character they added is gone.

New logos, uniforms unveiled / Tampa Bay LightningThat said, I already know what the reaction is going to be from most readers: You don't like it. It's change and many of you are averse to that as a rule, no matter what the end result. You'll come around. And unlike the last few uniform designs, I can see this one being around for decades to come. Vinik, Leiweke and Yzerman have done a tremendous job rebranding this franchise.

The team said the jerseys will not go on sale "for a while" but that they wanted to be the ones to reveal them, rather than seeing it leaked before the summer. And I think that is awesome. Also noteworthy, only the home and road jerseys will change. The alternate BOLTS jersey will be retained next season, according to CEO Tod Leiweke — presumably with the black and gray elements.