Coyotes Confirm Name Change

Arizona Coyotes will have same jerseys, new shoulder patch

The Phoenix Coyotes are dropping the "Phoenix" from their name. The club will take to the ice as the Arizona Coyotes to start the 2014-15 season, according to an official statement made today.

The team confirmed its uniforms will remain the same apart from the shoulder patch, emblazoned with PHX and the Arizona state flag inside a mark shaped like the state. The new mark will be unveiled in September at the first pre-season game of 2014.

Coyotes' secondary logo will be replaced in September

Not addressed was the fact that the wordmark will have to change as well. But that could be as simple as swapping "Phoenix" for "Arizona" in the existing mark.

Anthony LeBlanc — co-owner, president and CEO of the Coyotes — explained the name change:

“Becoming the Arizona Coyotes makes sense for us since we play our games in Glendale and the city is such a great partner of ours. We also want to be recognized as not just the hockey team for Glendale or Phoenix, but the team for the entire state of Arizona and the Southwest.

We hope that the name ‘Arizona’ will encourage more fans from all over the state, not just the valley, to embrace and support our team.”

This change is not at all unexpected. It was part of the agreement with the city of Glendale to keep the Coyotes in town for at least a few more years.

Speculation obviously comes next, so let's not delay the inevitable. What will the new logo look like? Will the team create something entirely new to represent the state? It seems unlikely given how much Arizona symbolism is already baked into the existing logo.

It would therefore make sense that some minor tweaks could settle things. And there may already be a logo in existence that could do the job.

Many NHL teams have a post-game locker room tradition by which an outstanding player is recognized for his on-ice efforts. For the Coyotes, a custom-designed MVP belt is passed from player to player during the season. It was featured in an online video last spring.

Video stills from Phoenix Coyotes

Obviously I'm trying to point out the logo featured on the sides. It's an altered version of the secondary logo, with "COYOTES" in place of "PHX" and the star from the Arizona flag.

I've never seen it in use anywhere else before. However, it could be something the club's marketing department worked up as this belt was evidently designed around the time of the arena agreement that required the team's name to be changed. Probably not a coincidence.

Back to my original question, then. Could this be the new shoulder patch design? Or will the Coyotes take things in a different direction?

Deal Approved for Arizona Coyotes

Late last night, the Glendale City Council approved a deal that will keep the Phoenix Coyotes in town for the foreseeable future — but with a new name. The team will take the ice at Jobing.com Arena this fall as the Arizona Coyotes.

That was part of the agreement with the new buyer, Renaissance Sports and Entertainment. And it's been in the works a while. You can read more about it all here.

As far as logos and jerseys go, I wouldn't expect any major changes before October. Obviously, we'll see a new wordmark — which could be a simple as swapping out Phoenix for Arizona in the existing wordmark. Though there's plenty of time to come up with something entirely new if they wanted.

More interesting is the "PHX" patch on the left shoulder of the home and road jerseys. It's in the shape of Arizona and the design is inspired by the state flag. But will it be changed or removed for next season? My bet is it will. It's pretty late in the calendar for Reebok, but there may still be enough time to get it changed rather than to drop it entirely. One thing's for sure, though. That PHX patch just became a collectible.

I'll keep you apprised of anything I hear as the summer goes on.

And for the record, as a Seattleite, I'm only the slightest bit disappointed by the deal because it means our town will be without the NHL for at least another year. And that's not right. On the other hand, I'm happy for Coyotes fans, who can finally put this mess behind them.

Update on Wednesday · Jul 3 · 2013 | 11:26 PM PDT by Chris

Sounds like the name change may be put off a year. Par for the course, I suppose.

Carl from Five For Howling, @CoyotesDude on Twitter, tweeted earlier today that Anthony Leblanc, head of the new ownership group, said on the radio that it may have to wait until the 2014-15 season.

Given what a name change would mean at this point, it's not surprising. There are so many things to consider even for what seems like such a minor thing. And while you might think the Glendale city council would be eager to see Arizona in the name immediately, you have to remember this is a group comprised of the biggest pushovers the world has ever known — as evidenced by Tuesday night's vote.

I know that last line was a little nasty, but let's call a spade a spade. The approval was great news for Coyotes fans. For residents of Glendale, I'd be worried.

Anyway, I'll be keeping an eye on this whole name change thing. But it sounds like an item for the first edition of NHL JerseyWatch 2014.

Phoenix Coyotes Getting New Name

Arena deal requires team to be called 'Arizona Coyotes'

The Phoenix Coyotes — who haven't played in the city of Phoenix since leaving the America West Arena in 2003 — will have a new name in 2013. The city of Glendale, Ariz. approved an arena management deal on Tuesday that should help keep the team in town for the foreseeable future. Among other things, that deal requires the team to be renamed the Arizona Coyotes.

At the moment, the name change is not quite official. The sale to Greg Jamison still has to be completed and there are plenty of questions surrounding that these days. But assuming that all goes through as planned, I would expect the name changed to be announced as the same press conference as the sale.

Here's the exact wording from the arena agreement (page 40):

The Team Owner shall use commercially reasonable efforts to have the name of the Team changed to the “Arizona Coyotes” as soon as is commercially feasible.

New owner has planned for name change all along

The Coyotes' coming name change isn't hot off the presses or anything. It's been talked about for years (though I haven't really gotten it on the record here until now). In fact — more recently — Jamison has been talking about changing the name to Arizona Coyotes since at least June.

According to a report from CBS Sports:

It looks as if the Phoenix Coyotes will change their name although they will have to wait a year. Jamison wants to call the team the Arizona Coyotes, joining the NHL's Arizona Cardinals and baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks as professional sports teams seeking a statewide appeal.

Could they change more than just the name?

The logical next question I have to ask is whether Jamison would take this opportunity to change more than just the name. Could the team's whole image use a makeover considering the drama it's been forced to endure in recent years?

Franchise logo history: Winnipeg Jets 1979–90 | 1990–96 | Phoenix Coyotes 1996–2003

If so, it would be the franchise's fifth logo in 34 years (not including the WHA). The Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL in 1979 and changed logos 11 years later in 1990. The team then relocated to Arizona in 1996, a move which required a new logo to go with a new name. The Coyotes' current look was introduced in 2003, just seven years after that relocation.

What do you think? Keep the logos and swap out Phoenix for Arizona? Or go back to the drawing board and hopefully find something that could stick for decades to come?

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.

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.