Chrome Logos for Stadium Series

Effected logos to represent seven participating teams

Today, in a bizarre move, the NHL unveiled a collection of what it calls "chrome-treated" logos for the seven teams participating in the 2014 NHL Stadium Series. In essence, it was the result of someone goofing around with Photoshop — a fact eluding exactly no one. But there were some interesting revelations to discuss.

First, a new version of the New York Islanders primary logo was added to the mix — without the map of Long Island, the wordmark or the classic blue circle. The team has never used the NY on its own before. But check out the graphic posted on the front page of the Isles' website today.

It shows us that the new logo — un-chromed — was designed to sit on a blue background. So it appears we should be anticipating a blue jersey for the Isles' Stadium Series appearance.

By the way, said jersey is now on sale to Islanders' season ticket holders — sight unseen, no less. I'm not sure I could bring myself to part with that much money to buy something I've never seen.

The chrome logo for the New Jersey Devils re-introduces an old color palette. Green is back! But does this mean the Devils will simply break out the throwback jerseys they've been wearing in recent years for St. Patrick's Day? Based on what I've been hearing, I'm not so sure. Read on, I'll explain.

The Isles and Devils will both face the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium in late January. And while this chrome-ified shield would indicate a Blueshirts throwback to the 1970s, I understand this logo will be little more than a shoulder patch.

The Rangers are known for the diagonal text across the front of their uniforms, and it may well be "NEW YORK" on the chest rather than the club's nickname — not unlike their Heritage Jersey, which debuted in 2011. Something to keep an eye on as we wait for the unveiling.

Speaking of which, the Rangers' own press release tells us the league will reveal all of the Stadium Series jerseys together "in the coming weeks." When that is exactly is anyone's guess.

The Los Angeles Kings are going back to the crown for their Stadium Series logo. But note the conspicuous lack of purple. Perhaps a sign the Kings could sport a Gretzky-era look? Maybe, but again I'm not so sure. Stay with me here.

The Kings' Dodger Stadium foe will be the Anaheim Ducks. But didn't we hear recently that Mighty Ducks might be making another appearance this season? Not if we assume this logo is the crest of the team's new sweater. On the other hand, I do still expect it to be orange. This would allow the Kings to wear black or white.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins will wrap up the Stadium Series on March 1 at Soldier Field. But their fancy chrome logos give us nothing. They're exactly the same as their existing primary marks — you know except for all that fancy chrome stuff.

I swear I did a logo treatment like this for Icethetics several years back. I'll have to try to track that stuff down. It didn't last long because you guys told me it looked terrible. And it did. Guess no one told them.

Stadium Series aesthetics will not be inspired by tradition

Since 2008, we've become accustomed to outdoor NHL games requiring a certain historical aesthetic. It's right there in the name. The Winter Classic. The Heritage Classic (double there!). Teams wear throwback jerseys and the whole event is designed to evoke feelings of the game's origin out there on the frozen pond in a world that could barely imagine our immense 20,000-seat arenas.

But there's a reason they didn't call this the Stadium Classic Series. (And it's not just the extra syllables.) The word "classic" conjures old-time hockey thanks to the Winter and Heritage Classics. It's my understanding the NHL is going in the opposite direction for these events. In a way, the goofy chrome logo treatment is to get fans out of that retro mindset.

It's right there in the Rangers' press release, actually.

The NHL also unveiled today the NHL Chrome Collection, chrome-treated team logos specifically designed for use in connection with the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™. The Chrome logo designs are unique to the NHL Stadium Series and inspired from the chrome details on the NHL shield, bringing a dynamic and modern perspective to conventional team identities.

We might be wise to read a little more into that last line. Bringing a "modern perspective to conventional team identities." Likely a frightening thought to the traditionalists among us, but probably an important idea to consider.

In fact, someone with knowledge of the Stadium Series jersey designs recently described them to me as "futuristic." Later, another source told me the NHL and Reebok took the lead designing them. The teams were merely "consulted" as opposed to being directly involved.

Think about that as we wait for the league to finally unveil the jerseys. What sort of futuristic ideas could you imagine Reebok incorporating into these new uniforms?

Islanders Will Go Black and White

CEO confirms new third jersey planned for Brooklyn

On Wednesday, Chris Botta — who writes a lot on the New York Islanders — tweeted some very interesting quotes from Isles CEO Brett Yormark on the future of the club's branding. Specifically, what happens when the Isles move to Brooklyn in the next couple years?

First, remember all that talk about the Isles going full-on black-and-white like their NBA cousin, the Nets? Well Yormark heard all the disapproval of that idea.

Brett Yormark: reaction of #Isles fans on Twitter changed his thinking on drastically changing primary jersey. #sbjsms

— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) October 2, 2013

What a relief. But if you're one of the people who hates the idea of the Islanders wearing a monochromatic uniform in Brooklyn, stop reading here. Consider your day made.

For the rest of us, there's this news.

Brett Yormark: #Isles new 3rd jersey in Brooklyn will be black and white. #sbjsms

— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) October 2, 2013

Yormark told Botta that the third jersey will change when the team moves. It's one of those bittersweet things for most readers, I would imagine. Many of you can't stand the black third the team currently wears. You'll be glad to know that's disappearing. On the other hand, they'll still have a black third jersey of sorts.

So what's worse? Black/blue/orange/grey or black/white? Guess we'll find out in the next year or two.

Isles Ready for First Game in Brooklyn

Photo by Joe DeLessio / New York Magazine

Special Brooklyn patch seen on jerseys in team store

For the second time, the New York Islanders will attempt to play an exhibition game at Barclays Center — their future Brooklyn home — tomorrow night.

The inaugural Brooklyn game was scheduled to take place last year during the preseason on Oct. 2. But we all remember the lockout, right? So they're trying again this weekend. Above you can see the variations of the Brooklyn logo the Isles have been using to promote the event.

Interestingly, the newer one can be seen as a jersey patch in the team merchandise store at Barclays Center. The photo was included in a New York Magazine piece by Joe DeLessio. Does this mean the players will be wearing them tomorrow?

A lot of readers have been emailing and tweeting that photo to me so I wanted to get it on the record in comparison to last year's which went unused. The biggest question: Will this be the new Brooklyn shoulder patch when the team moves? I highly doubt it.

This is a marketing logo designed for a specific event. It's essentially the same design we've seen from the Islanders art department for every special event logo over the last few years. When a new shoulder patch is designed, I'm sure it'll be something a little more creative and timeless in style.

Unrelated: Caps to host 2015 NHL Winter Classic?

I don't think it warrants an additional blog post just yet, but the Washington Post and USA Today are reporting that the Washington Capitals will host the 2015 NHL Winter Classic. According to the Post, the announcement will be made tomorrow morning. If that's the case, I'll have a blog post then with all the pertinent facts.

In the meantime, feel free to speculate. What should the Caps wear for their second outdoor game? And who should their opponent be?

Islanders Make Plans for Brooklyn

New third jersey will "speak to Brooklyn"

Everyone here wants to know what will happen to the New York Islanders when they move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Will they keep their name? Keep their colors? Their jerseys? Or will they follow the NBA's Nets who moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn last year?

We may have finally gotten a definitive answer last week. It's an answer which balances the organization's internal desire to give the club a new feel for a new market with the desire among long time fans to avoid another Gorton's fisherman debacle.

Islanders Point Blank and other outlets reported on a press conference held by the team last Thursday as Isles training camp got underway in their future home. CEO Brett Yormark was quoted as saying, "[Owner] Charles [Wang] and I have decided that the Islander colors as they are today will be the same when they get here. The name will be the same."

That's two down. Same colors. Same name. A relief to many fans, for sure. Presumably, the logo will also be the same, but it sounds like the uniforms will undergo changes. This is from Islanders Point Blank:

Fans of the team would most likely agree that he came to the right decision, but the Barclays Center CEO does intend to add a patch to the home and away jerseys that identifies in Brooklyn. The patch would be placed around the shoulder area of the jersey. “We’re working with Charles and the league on that,” he said.

Yormark also intends to revamp the third jersey to appeal Brooklyn.

“What we will do is introduce a third jersey,” he said. “A second home jersey, and that is where we are going to get a little creative. That is where we will speak to Brooklyn in an authentic way.”

He did not, however, go into specific details as to what the new third jersey would look like.

Probably a safe bet it's black, given the rebranding of the Brooklyn Nets. And there has certainly been no shortage of black Islanders jersey ideas on the Icethetics Concepts page. To be fair, their current third jersey is black, but it hasn't really been a hit among fans.

Also, the Islanders' website was recently redesigned with an aesthetic that's more in line with Nets' look — same font and lots of black and white. 

By the way, if anyone wants to mock up a Brooklyn shoulder patch for the Isles, I'd be happy to add it to the Concepts page. Meantime, do you think the Islanders are doing the right thing here?

JerseyWatch Mini-Update

A full NHL JerseyWatch update should be posted within the next two weeks. But there are several items I wanted to touch on briefly right away so we're all on the same page.

Sabres' new third jersey coming Friday, could be gold

A short headline with a lot of new information to digest. But it's true. Yesterday, the daughter of Buffalo Sabres Terry Pegula briefly took over the team's Twitter account for a Q&A session. Among other things, Kelly was asked for details on the forthcoming third jersey.

To which she replied:

I don't know what "sneak glimpse" means exactly, but it sounds like we're getting a look at the jersey on Friday. Will it be prospects modeling it for us? We'll see.

Following that tweet, I heard from a source I trust that Buffalo's new sweater will actually be gold, rather than the blue we've come to expect. Hence the eye-grabbing background color in the graphic above. Is it true? Guess we'll find out in a couple days.

This jersey will replace the royal blue alternate the Sabres wore for two seasons to mark their 40th anniversary. In their four decades, the team has worn blue, navy blue, white, black and red jerseys. But never yellow. That seems to be Nashville territory. Can the Sabres do it without looking like a copycat?

Wild to reveal new road jersey at Minnesota State Fair

Last week, Minneapolis Star-Tribune beat writer Michael Russo let us know that the Minnesota Wild will unveil their new white road sweater at the Minnesota State Fair. He tweeted:

If you're curious, the Minnesota State Fair takes place Thurs., Aug. 22 through Labor Day, Sept. 2. So that's a 12-day span. But obviously late August is a good bet. I'll keep you posted as I learn more.

2014 Heritage Classic announced for Vancouver

The NHL officially announced today something we've all known for a while now. The 2014 Heritage Classic will be held at B.C. Place on March 2 as the Vancouver Canucks host the Ottawa Senators.

I haven't seen the full logo anywhere yet, but the text treatment above has been making the rounds online. It at least gives us a bit of an insight into the type style. That's something, right? Hopefully we won't have to wait long for the full version.

Islanders not changing for Brooklyn. Really!

Chris Botta feels the need to keep reminding us that Charles Wang has no intention of changing the New York Islanders' logo or uniform when the team moves to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in the next couple years. That's probably because of all the conflicting reports.

Last month, Isles CEO Brett Yormark was seen on the Internet talking about realigning the club's brand with its new location. He never said anything specific but it's easy to read "changes are in store." But every time he says something like that, Wang, the owner, fires back about how the existing identity isn't going anywhere.

But reading between all the lines — and there are a lot of them — everything seems to be leaning toward a third jersey change. The current black one is widely disliked (at least on the Internet) and could easilly be replaced with something more "Brooklyn-ized" by 2014 or 2015.

The Sharks could've been the Oakland Blades

Yesterday, the Silicon Valley Business Journal had an interesting piece on the genesis of the San Jose Sharks' identity from the early '90s. The writer spoke with sports consultant Matt Levine, who was brought on in 1989 to help develop the club's branding.

Levine talks about why the colors are teal and black, how S.J. Sharkie was born, and the significance of the triangle from which the shark protrudes in the logo. But more importantly, he explains that the franchise was almost based in Oakland and a name-the-team contest yielded Blades at the preferred moniker.

I highly recommend reading the story.

That's all. Looking forward to the unveiling of the Sabres' third jersey on Friday. 'Til then!