Wild Mulling New Road Sweater?

There's another possible jersey redesign in the pipeline for 2013-14 — that's assuming the NHL has finally resumed by then. This lockout is well beyond absurd.

Report: Wild getting fan feedback on potential redesign

Recently an Icethetics reader emailed in to report that the Minnesota Wild are in the process of getting feedback from fans regarding a possible new road sweater design. I'm told that during a tour a couple of Wild fans were invited to take a look at two different concept designs and give their input.

The reader provided descriptions but got the information secondhand so the details are somewhat sketchy. I'm relaying them here but take them for what they're worth.

One was a white sweater with the large, Wild head crest on the front, vertical stripes are gone. Replaced with 2 horizontal green stripes on the arms. He said the "red was gone" from the shoulder yoke, but didn't specify whether the shoulders had any color left.

The other option was basically a reverse of the current alternates. Antique white base with the Minnesota Wild Script and green accents.

I'm eager to see what the Wild come up with if they do redesign the road sweater, if for no other reason than their current road uniforms are my least favorite. They just don't fit in well with the club's home and alternate jerseys. Very different look and feel. But it's one that was carried over from the team's inception in 2000 to the Reebok Edge league-wide redesign in 2007.

If this report pans out, what would be the timeline? As we've learned in the past, teams generally have until the end of December to make uniform changes for the following season. Check out the calendar. Assuming the team has its new design picked out this week, a change could certainly happen in time for next fall.

Another one to keep an eye on. Think we may need to get JerseyWatch 2013 started in the coming weeks to keep track of what's on the way because it's starting to add up.

More Third Jersey Schedules for 2011-12

The Icethetics Season Preview will continue, but news has been taking precendence for the last couple days. Today, we have a handful of official third jersey schedules that a few teams have released for the 2011-12 season (in order of their jersey ranking).

The Minnesota Wild are set to bring back the NHL's only green sweater for its third season. The club recently released the third jersey schedule for the 2011-12 season and it's the first of five I have to share with you today.

The Wild's alternate uniform, unveiled in 2009, came in at 30th overall in the Icethetics NHL Uniform Ranking for 2010-11, which came out on Monday. The team will use it 15 times this season, the league maximum for third jerseys.

John MaddenHere's a look at all the dates you can expect to see them:

• Sat., Oct. 8 – vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
• Tues., Oct. 18 – vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• Sat., Oct. 29 – vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Fri., Nov. 25 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Mon., Nov. 28 – vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Wed., Dec. 14 – vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Sat., Dec. 17 – vs. New York Islanders
• Sat., Dec. 31 – vs. Phoenix Coyotes
• Sat., Jan. 21 – vs. Dallas Stars
• Thurs., Feb. 16 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Sun., Feb. 19 – vs. Boston Bruins
• Sun., Mar. 4 – vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Sat., Mar. 17 – vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Tues., Mar. 27 – vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Apr. 7 – vs. Phoenix Coyotes

All of these dates are home games.

And you'll notice the schedule includes St. Patrick's Day (March 17). As I mentioned, the Wild are currently the only NHL club with a green sweater in their arsenal.

The Buffalo Sabres are keeping their new third jersey around a little longer. In our NHL Uniform Ranking, the sweater finished 34th out of 90. Not bad but not great either.

On Wednesday, the Sabres confirmed that the sweater will be back for at least another season as they released a schedule of when it's to be worn during the 2011-12 season. It was launched last year as part of the club's 40th anniversary celebrations.

Jason PominvilleAccording to the team, the royal blue uniform will be seen in eight games this season, six at home and two on the road.

• Thurs., Oct. 27 – vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
• Sat., Nov. 5 – at Ottawa Senators
• Wed., Nov. 16 – vs. New Jersey Devils
• Sat., Dec. 3 – at Nashville Predators
• Fri., Dec. 9 – vs. Florida Panthers
• Tues., Jan. 3 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Fri., Feb. 10 – vs. Dallas Stars
• Wed., Mar. 14 – vs. Colorado Avalanche

It's surprisingly limited use for a third jersey. The NHL limit is about 15 games a season and most teams stick pretty close to that. Plus it was a pretty popular jersey last year.

In addition to these dates, the Sabres also said they'll wear their white road jerseys at home on Fri., Jan. 13 to accommodate the Maple Leafs sporting their new alternates that night.

By the way, one of the features of this jersey last year was the logo that was used as the club's anniversary mark — the classic Sabres logo with 1970 between the crossed swords. I assume that's staying as it's generic enough to not necessarily refer to the 40th anniversary. But I'll keep an eye on it anyway.

In 45th place in the Ranking — dead center — was the black Carolina Hurricanes third jersey, which is entering its fourth season in use.

The Canes recently released their third jersey schedule for the 2011-12 season. It includes 14 dates — all at home — one of which was just this week.

Jiri TlustyHere's when you can expect to see the black sweaters thoughout the new season:

• Wed., Oct. 12 – vs. Boston Bruins
• Tues., Oct. 25 – vs. Ottawa Senators
• Fri., Nov. 4 – vs. Washington Capitals
• Fri., Nov. 18 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Wed., Nov. 23 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Tues., Nov. 29 – vs. Florida Panthers
• Thurs., Dec. 1 – vs. New York Rangers
• Thurs., Dec. 15 – vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Wed., Dec. 21 – vs. Phoenix Coyotes
• Thurs., Dec. 29 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Fri., Jan. 6 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Fri., Jan. 20 – vs. Washington Capitals
• Mon., Feb. 20 – vs. Washington Capitals
• Sat., Feb. 25 – vs. Florida Panthers

Again with the Sabres on everyone's third jersey schedule. And it looks like the Capitals won't be seeing the Hurricanes' red jersey at all this season.

If I'm being cynical, I'd say this schedule may have something to do with selling jerseys for the holidays. Rather than being evenly spread out over the season, 10 of the 14 occasions are bunched up before or near Christmas. Just saying.

Coming in at 60th in our Ranking was the new third jersey launched by the Columbus Blue Jackets last year around Thanksgiving. This will be its second season in use.

On Wednesday, the team released its schedule for the special uniform during the 2011-12 season. It will see action in 12 games this year — 10 at home and two on the road. The first time will be against the Ducks on Halloween weekend.

R.J. UmbergerHere's how all of the Jackets' third jersey nights shake out:

• Sun., Oct. 30 – vs. Anaheim Ducks
• Sat., Nov. 5 – at Philadelphia Flyers
• Sat., Nov. 12 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Fri., Nov. 25 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Sat., Dec. 10 – vs. Boston Bruins
• Sat., Dec. 17 – vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sat., Jan. 14 – vs. San Jose Sharks
• Sun., Feb. 12 – vs. Anaheim Ducks
• Sat., Feb. 18 – vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Sun., Feb. 26 – at Pittsburgh Penguins
• Sun., Mar. 11 – vs. St. Louis Blues
• Wed., Mar. 28 – vs. Detroit Red Wings

Both times the Blue Jackets will sport their thirds on the road will be in neighboring state Pennsylvania. Interesting. Anyone want to talk about realignment? (Kidding!)

For the record, the Jackets still have their original third jersey launch page up on their website if you want more details about its design and such.

We finish with one of the lowest-rated jerseys in our 2010-11 Ranking. The Phoenix Coyotes alternate is 79th of 90. Ouch.

On Friday, in the Desert Dog Blog on the Coyotes' official website, it was announced that the team will wear the third jersey for every Thursday home game as well as the Friday after Thanksgiving. This will be be its fourth season in use.

Derek MorrisThey don't actually list the dates on their website, but based on the days they mention, here's how it all works out:

• Thurs., Oct. 20 – vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Thurs., Oct. 27 – vs. New Jersey Devils
• Thurs., Nov. 3 – vs. Nashville Predators
• Thurs., Nov. 10 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Fri., Nov. 25 – vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Thurs., Dec. 15 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Thurs., Jan. 19 – vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Thurs., Feb. 9 – vs. Calgary Flames
• Thurs., Mar. 1 – vs. Calgary Flames
• Thurs., Mar. 8 – vs. Minnesota Wild
• Thurs., Mar. 22 – vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Thurs., Mar. 29 – vs. San Jose Sharks

The Devils and Canadiens are the only Eastern Conference teams set to see the black thirds in action. The Flames will be the only team to see it twice.

The leaping coyote sweater is entering its fourth season in use by Phoenix, despite its unpopularity with Icethetics readers.

That's all I have for today. This post was supposed to go up on Thursday, but I just haven't had time to get it all assembled. I've also been aiming to wrap up the Icethetics Season Preview which has been a pretty spectacular cluster this year. I'll get there but...

All of that is taking a backseat next week to the launch of the IceHL Jersey Design Contest. We need to get that off the ground sooner rather than later. So I'll probably spend the rest of the weekend getting that ready to open up early in the week.

Update on Sunday · Oct 16 · 2011 | 6:02 PM PDT by Chris

I initially left the Tampa Bay Lightning out of this post because they haven't officially released a third jersey schedule that I know of. That said, over the last few years, they've typically used the blue BOLTS jersey exclusively for weekend home games.

The team has said the jersey will carry over following the recent rebranding, but obviously the shoulder patches — which featured the old primary logo — are going away. I'm not sure if they'll be replaced with the new logo or if they'll just be removed completely. The third jerseys now for sale online have no shoulder patches at all. But we'll have to wait for a game to know for sure.

Again, this 13-game schedule is only theoretical. It's based on what the Lightning have done in the past, so I can't guarantee accuracy.

• Sat., Oct. 22 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Sat., Oct. 29 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Sat., Nov. 19 – vs. New Jersey Devils
• Sat., Nov. 26 – vs. Florida Panthers
• Sat., Dec. 3 – vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Dec. 31 – vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Sun., Jan. 15 – vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• Sat., Feb. 4 – vs. Florida Panthers
• Sat., Feb. 18 – vs. Washington Capitals
• Sat., Mar. 10 – vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Sat., Mar. 17 – vs. St. Louis Blues
• Sat., Mar. 24 – vs. New York Islanders
• Sat., Mar. 31 – vs. Winnipeg Jets

Like I said, this isn't official, but obviously I'll be keeping an eye on it as the season progresses. I'm especially curious to see what changes they make to make it part of the new look (current blue pants or black shells, for instance).

By the way, it'll be another couple of weeks before there are enough photos out there for me to update the Jersey Galleries, but it will happen. That's easily my favorite section of Icethetics.

If the Wild Weren't the Wild...

If there's one thing apart from new uniforms and logos that gets Icethetics readers excited, it's what was left on the table. We love concept art, especially when it's in the form of professional designs once considered by NHL teams. We've actually had a chance to see a lot of that recently with the Lightning, Kings, Blue Jackets, Ducks, Panthers, and even the Coyotes way back in 2008.

Now the team we know today as the Minnesota Wild has revealed what might've been in a new image gallery posted on their website.

Did you know that among the names considered early on were the Blue Ox, Freeze, Northern Lights, White Bears and Voyageurs? You may have. Those names have been floating around for a while, so now as they celebrate their 10th anniversary season, the Wild have hooked up with Minneapolis creative firm called The Shinebox to give us a visual representation of how the club might have otherwise looked.

Note: The following artwork doesn't truly fit in with the other teams discussed at the beginning of this post. Those were actual concepts the team considered once they had their name selected. In this case, the Wild turned to SME Branding to create their bear head logo only after a name was settled on.

Minnesota Blue Ox / The Shinebox

Minnesota Northern Lights / The Shinebox

Minnesota Voyageurs / The Shinebox

Minnesota Freeze / The Shinebox

Minnesota White Bears / The Shinebox

All rather interesting concepts, but none beats the Wild. And just like the logo, even the name Minnesota Wild is one of the best in the NHL. (Second only to, say... the Tampa Bay Lightning?) It's kind of interesting to see some personality added to the names that were considered for the team.

The Wild name was revealed to the public on Jan. 22, 1998 and the logo still in use today was unveiled Nov. 18, 1999. I highly recommend reading the article on the Wild's website as it talks a bit about the process of choosing the name and the trepidation the higher-ups felt upon its unveiling.

Wild Third Jersey Schedule

The Minnesota Wild have posted on their website the dates when they plan to sport their green alternate uniform. It will only be used at home.

Icethetics reader Ryan wrote in with a link to the team's Promotional Schedule, which notes each of the nights that the Wild will be wearing the third jersey, which debuted a year ago. The only difference this season is that the sweaters will have the Wild's 10th anniversary patch sewn onto the front.

The alternate jersey has already been used twice this month. Here is the complete 16-night schedule:

• Sat., Oct. 16 - vs Columbus
• Mon., Oct. 25 - vs Los Angeles
• Tue., Nov. 2 - vs San Jose
• Wed., Nov. 17 - vs Anaheim
• Fri., Nov. 26 - vs Nashville
• Thu., Dec. 16 - vs Ottawa
• Sun., Dec. 26 - vs Detroit
• Sun., Jan. 2 - vs Phoenix
• Sun., Jan. 16 - vs Vancouver
• Sat., Feb. 12 - vs St. Louis
• Sun., Feb. 20 - vs Detroit
• Mon., Feb. 28 - vs Chicago
• Tue., Mar. 8 - vs Colorado
• Sun., Mar. 20 - vs Montreal
• Tue., Mar. 22 - vs Toronto
• Sat., Apr. 2 - vs Tampa Bay

The Lightning are the only non-Canadian team in the Eastern Conference that will face the Wild in green. The Red Wings are the only team to face the green twice this year.

It's also worth noting that the Wild are planning to wear the third jersey 16 times this season. Previously, we were under the impression that the NHL set a limit of 15 games for an alternate uniform. Perhaps that's merely a suggestion.

All right Wild, WTF?

Wild shoulder patches, now and thenWhat's going on, Wild?

There was a time not too long ago when I considered the Minnesota Wild to be the pinnacle of NHL uniform and logo design. Among the very best the league had to offer.

But I'm quickly losing confidence in that.

As indicated by EA Sports' NHL 11, it seems the Wild do, in fact, have a new shoulder patch on their white road sweaters for the 2010-11 season. I've thrown together a quick side-by-side comparison in the photos to the right. Additional photos on the Wild's website.

It's rather disappointing considering what they had been wearing. The old logo was relevant to the name and had a distinct and recognizable style — despite the idea that it perhaps didn't fit with the faux retro style the team exudes.

The new patch is still a wordmark, but it's been watered down into oblivion. For a better look at the logo itself, SportsLogos.net is always happy to help.

By the way, if that nonsense wasn't bad enough, check out the pants. Where'd the stripes go, guys? Minnesota, I'm disappointed. That is all.

Update on Saturday · Sep 25 · 2010 | 8:33 AM PDT by Chris

Bill posed a good question in the comments today:

Could the stripe-less pants be nothing more than a "pre-season" quirk...sorta like the Red Wings Arch-less names, or the steelers front numeral free helmets?

Here's why I think that's not the case. For the Red Wings, it's almost certainly a cost-/time-saving measure. I wrote about this subject exactly a year ago yesterday. In a nutshell, the Red Wings' arched nameplates require every letter to be specially cut so it fits perfectly within the player's name. That's a lot of work with so many players. It gets easier when the roster is cut down.

But back to the Wild, it could be a preseason thing, but it actually started last year when the team wore stripe-less pants with their third jersey. Clearly, we'll have to wait until the season starts to be sure, but I think we'll find both of the aforementioned changes to be permanent.