Predators New Jerseys Leaked?

It may turn out we didn't have to wait for the new Nashville Predators jerseys after all. Some new photos were posted by On The Forecheck today, which seem to show the team's unreleased sweaters.

Are these the Predators' new home and road jerseys? / On The Forecheck

The blog is now saying that a contact with the team says these are not the final jerseys. Perhaps a prototype then? We'll find out for certain — at least as far as the road sweater — this weekend when it's officially unveiled by the team. Until then, we have this to speculate on.

To quote my tweet from earlier in the day, these are astonishingly good. I'm serious. I've never liked the "space-suit" silver used on the sleeves and this is miles away from that. I like almost everything about these jerseys except for the piping on the back. I think it's used brilliantly on the front.

And kudos to the Preds for stepping outside the box and going with a primary color that no one else has. Gold may not be a common color for a hockey sweater, but it looks great here. 

I'll have more to say on the subject when I have some time to write later. For now, what do you think? Are you hoping they're the real deal or real fake?

Update on Friday · Jun 24 · 2011 | 10:33 AM PDT by Chris

I have some new independent information regarding the legitimacy of the above jerseys. While it's true these are not the final versions of the new design, I'm told spotting the differences would require a close look. Most important is that the colors are accurate. The home jersey will indeed be gold!

What the Predators almost looked likeA uniform overhaul has been in the works a few years, but gold wasn't always the plan. Like the rumors suggested, the original redesign would've been what you see here (right).

The blue and black third jersey was launched during the 2009-10 season. The expectation was that it would become the home sweater the following year and a white version would be added for the road.

Late in the season, that plan was scrapped. The team's brand would go in an entirely new direction. I'm told a number of the white jerseys had been produced by Reebok by the time that call was made. But rather than discard the unused sweaters, they were worn by players to a special event and auctioned off to fans.

So why the decision to go with gold? It's the reason a lot of us marketing-types suspected. The Predators' took a look around the league and noticed that every team was starting to look the same. They wanted to stand out — to "own" a color. And blue was already taken by a number of teams.

The last time an NHL team wore a gold sweater full time was the 1980s when the Penguins and Canucks did. In more recent years, the Bruins had a yellow third jersey and wore the same color at the 2010 Winter Classic. But the Predators saw an opening here and went for it. Good job on them!

And as previously mentioned, the navy blue alternate sweater will not be returning next season.

The official unveiling of the Predators' road jersey happens tonight at the draft. The home jersey will come next month at Nashville's Skate of the Union event.

Predators New Logos Unveiled!

The new and simplified logos for the Nashville Predators were unveiled today in Las Vegas, where the NHL Awards will be held tonight. Here's your first look at the new marks, debuting this fall.

Predators new logos unveiled / Predators

Smashville 24/7 provided its readers with the best look at the marks which now feature only blue, gold and white, dropping the orange, steel blue and silver from the old identity. The logos were officially on display on the Predators' website.

The new primary logo is a simplified version of the mark the Predators have used since their inception in 1998. It's much cleaner and more refined than the previous version. And best of all, it retains the unique identity of the team rather than going back to the drawing board completely.

There are two new secondary logos, including the NP lettermark which we first saw on the side of Pekka Rinne's new mask back in April. The other mark is in the shape of a guitar pick — perfect for a team in Nashville, the home of country music. And perhaps most notably, it honors its home state with the symbol found on the Tennessee state flag.

If we're being nitpicky, the stars aren't technically positioned accurately if they're trying to match the state flag. You can look it up for yourself to compare. Perhaps it will be fixed in time for the uniforms.

Finally, the new wordmark is probably the logo most similar to its predecessor. The text is positioned in the same way, but a new typeface is introduced. I think it looks more... "toothy."

All in all, I have to give this new identity high marks. They're taking their logo out of the '90s, simplifying it, yet not straying too far from the path that's worked for them. Regarding the jerseys for next season, I can't wait to see them.

Several reports have said the new road sweater will be revealed this weekend during the draft. It's worth noting the Predators do not currently own a first round pick, not to say that can't change. These same reports suggest the home jersey will make its first public appearance at the Predators' Skate of the Union event in July. I haven't seen an exact date for that yet.

In addition, RLD Hockey is reporting that Nashville will retire their current third jersey and stick with their two new uniforms next season.

Isles in Black and Other Rumors

I've never been a fan of writing blog posts based on pure speculation with no independent confirmation. Unfortunately, it's May and that's all I have for you at the moment. (The summer should be more fruitful.) So let's dive into the latest rumors.

The most ridiculous thing I've heard yet is that the New York Islanders could launch — are you sitting down? — a black third jersey next fall. Right.

Icethetics readers Jeremy and Marco have linked us to a thread at HFBoards.com in which a user claimed to have a friend at a sporting apparel store with inside information. Honestly, don't we all?

To properly dissect his assertion, let's have a look at the original post.

I stopped into my friend's store ... he sells NHL jerseys, other sports too, but has alot more NHL then anything else. ... Anyway, I was discussing with him about jersey changes for next season, he showed me the reebok catalog ordering book he gets and the Kings, Predators, Panthers and Lightning (already unveiled) are all getting new home and aways, while the Sens, Thrashers, Penguins are all getting new alternates.

...the Islanders are getting a third jersey and he said the jersey will be Black. Apparently they made up 5 different proto-types and all 5 were black jerseys. I was kind of suprised because the Islanders dont have any black in their team colors, so I am kind of afraid that it could be awful.

The mind-numbingly awful grammar aside, there are a few things wrong with this. First, I'm suspicious about Reebok already sending out unreleased uniform designs to retailers. Not impossible, but unlikely. But more importantly, under no circumstances would Reebok include team prototypes in retail planning information.

So it seems as if someone's trying to take us for a ride. I can certainly see the Islanders doing something as silly as creating a black third jersey. But where this "friend" is getting his information is suspect. Either he's making things up to appear to be "in the know" or the person who posted this is.

Guess we won't know for sure, though, until the Isles show it to us.

It's looking more and more like the Nashville Predators will be sporting gold next season. (According to unnamed sources, of course.)

Back in February, a team ticket rep apparently told a reader that a yellow sweater design was being tested. A week later, the club sent out season ticket renewal forms — which were primarily yellow — confirming a new jersey was in the works.

More recently, the unveiling of Pekka Rinne's new mask showed us a logo we've never seen before. Now, we supposedly have new rumors to support these things.

An Icethetics reader — not wanting to be named — again cites a "friend" who works for the team as indicating the following:

• New home and road jerseys are slated for 2011
• Home jersey will be unveiled at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (June 24 in Minnesota)
• Road jersey will be unveiled in July
• Home jersey will be "yellow/gold"

Again, all speculation at this point. And more rumors doesn't make it more true. But now you know what I know when it comes to unconfirmable information.

Kings redesign website without purple / LAKings.com

Last item of the day relates to the Los Angeles Kings, who have almost completely rid their website of the color purple. This fuels the belief that the Kings will swap their home and alternate jersey and add new threads for the road.

Again, not new information but just one more thing that points in the same direction. In March, Kings official blogger Rich Hammond did confirm that a white version of the black alternate would be employed for road games beginning in 2011-12.

If anything, the one new element included in this new look for the Kings is the crown logo sans purple. It's been previously seen only inside the third jersey crest, not standing alone as it now is on the website banner.

Hat tip to Eric P. for bringing the Kings' web redesign to my attention.

Does Mask Design Hint at New Logo?

Pekka Rinne's new mask / daveart.comSwedish airbrush artist Dave Gunnarsson paints goalie masks for some of the best netminders in the world. His most recent work was done for Pekka Rinne and was revealed to the world via his blog this week.

Gunnarsson creates new masks all the time, but what makes this one noteworthy to Icethetics readers is the never-before-seen logo featured on both sides of the freshly painted helmet.

We already know the Nashville Predators are redesigning their home uniforms (presumably, the road ones as well). What we don't yet know is what they will look like.

The NP lettermark on Rinne's new mask does not look like any mark that the Predators have used before. So here's the question: Is it a future Predators logo that has yet to be publicly released? Or did it simply spring from Gunnarsson's mind?

[UPDATE 2:26 PM: For the record, if this is an actual Predators logo, my guess is that it would be nothing more than a shoulder patch or helmet decal or something.]

In his blog post, Gunnarsson talks about the HonkyTonk theme of the paint job but makes no reference at all to the NP logo. Is that because technically it's not supposed to be seen yet? Or are we reading way too much into this?

From what little I've seen of Gunnarsson's work, it seems he mostly adapts existing or past logos rather than creating new ones. This could be a departure from that. Or not. Don't know.

Your thoughts? Is this a sneak peek at a new Preds logo? Or am I making a mountain out of a goalie mask?

For a better look at the design, check out the mask gallery at daveart.com. My thanks to Nick F. and Kevin H. for sending along this information.

Preds Confirm Plans for New Sweater

Predators announce new jersey / Seth WrightThe Nashville Predators have confirmed to season ticket holders that a "newly re-designed jersey" is in the works — and they can have one for free.

Icethetics reader Seth Wright has written in with some solid information. Back in January, he was first to provide a photo of the white version of the Preds' blue third jersey — which was the subject of speculation regarding a new road sweater. The team has since refuted that theory via social media.

Now Seth is sharing some marketing materials sent to Nashville season ticket holders. Specifically, this:

Free Newly Re-designed Jersey

Be the first in "Smashville" to own the new look Predators home jersey to be debuted for the 2011-12 season. This jersey is exclusively available for season ticket holders and those that choose to upgrade to full season tickets by March 19th.

First of all, they reference the "new-ness" of the jersey about five times in that little paragraph, so it's probably a safe bet we're not looking at a promotion of the third jersey. This will be an entirely new sweater.

Second, there's nothing about a new road jersey, though if we pay attention to Reebok, we should be expecting one. But the away uniform isn't necessarily a selling point for your home crowd so why mention it to season ticket holders? We should also probably assume that the third jersey will remain the same.

And finally, let it be said that this note serves as official confirmation from the team that there will be a new home uniform beginning in 2011-12. Will the NHL's uniform changes in the Age of Reebok never end?

Season ticket holder renewal booklet / Seth WrightThe big question remains: What will this new jersey look like? Seth contends that the color of the marketing materials seen here (left) may be an indication. They're yellow.

Paired with last week's report from a fan, via his ticket agent, that a new mustard-colored sweater was being considered, maybe we're on the right track. Or maybe not.

It's obviously too soon to guess at this point and all the "evidence" we have is inconclusive. Still, it's worth noting that this Season Ticket Holder Renewal booklet does not feature the third jersey logo — but rather the same primary mark that's always been in use. It seems the logo won't be changing.

Based on all this, any guesses as to what's cooking in Smashville? Is it okay that I called it Smashville?