The Elusive Penguins Jersey

A couple of things happened over the weekend. First, the Capitals officially unveiled their Winter Classic jersey. Second, I got a sneak peek at the Penguins' jersey.

Despite my previous post, which would indicate otherwise, I am now prepared to say with some certainty what the Pittsburgh Penguins 2011 Winter Classic jersey will look like. In the past I've only been able to offer up a text description. Now I have something visual.

This is a rendering of the Penguins 2011 Winter Classic jersey.

There you have it. Your first look at the sweater everyone's clamoring to see. This is as close as I can get without having an actual photo of the unreleased jersey. I've left off the Winter Classic logo on the chest as well as the numbers on the sleeves, but otherwise it's right on the money. What do you think?

It's just what UniWatch first reported and very close to the concept that Hockey Week did based on that description. The only difference being vintage white rather than real white. (Also, I may have gone a little thick with the powder blue stripes.)

Also to help this rumor along is a picture that was posted on the Penguins' official website today. Remember about a week and a half ago when I wrote this:

...the story does say the new sweater will "resemble uniforms worn by Mario Lemieux's son's local youth team."

Mario Lemieux's son's hockey teamEvidently, they won the local championship and that was enough to get their photo posted on the team's site.

The photo isn't the highest quality but you can see how it resembles the jersey design above. Just swap out the black with navy blue and gold with powder blue in your mind.

Looks like all these little bits and pieces of information are finally coming together. We still have to wait for an official unveiling to be sure, though. Can't tell you when that's going to be. But I'll bet money it'll be closer to Black Friday!

By the way, for those of you paying attention, I did promise a Kings post. That is on its way, but I thought this was more newsworthy at the moment.

The Uncertainty Principle

The more we think we learn about unreleased jerseys, the more we find we really don't know a thing. I mean absolutely nothing.

Another Winter Classic rumorAs a follow-up to yesterday's post about the Winter Classic rumors, it's been pointed out that UniWatchBlog had its own plausible speculation for the Pittsburgh Penguins. This new information found its way onto Paul Lukas' site on Thursday:

A little birdie tells me that the Penguins’ Winter Classic jersey will look like this: “Take the 1967 jersey (the diagonal Pittsburgh), flip the navy and powder blues, and put the circle logo with the ‘scarfed’ fatbody penguin on the front instead of the diagonal lettering. The numbers on the jersey will be rounded, as on the 1967 jerseys. It sounds like a hot mess, but in my opinion they’re very sharp.”

Almost immediately, Hockey Week put together the concept to the right. And just within the last 24 hours, Icethetics' own "little birdie" corroborates with the following note:

I wanted to give you a heads up that the powder blue jersey you just posted isn't the actual jersey. It's correct as far as the logo and number style goes, but the jersey body itself is identical to the 1967 jersey, only the body is navy blue and the trim is powder blue. ... The first thought is how similar it may look from a distance to Florida's alternate jersey. All in all, it's still very sharp.

What it really comes down to is this: we have to have patience. We'll wait and see what the Penguins unveil — now some saying it could be as late as November before that happens.

If that doesn't have you scratching your head, this should.

All summer, Icethetics JerseyWatch 2010 has been reminding you that the Nashville Predators will have new home and road uniforms this year — elevating the third jersey and adding a white partner.

Then on Sept. 10, Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net tweeted this:

@sportslogosnet Nashville Predators back off on new unis for 2011, pushed back to '12 #nhl #nashvillepredators

He cited an anonymous source previously used by Icethetics but try as I might, I haven't been able to dig up any other confirmation. By the way, to clarify, I assume he means they're backing off plans for 2010-11 (this season), pushing them back to 2011-12 (next).

THN says Preds are changingWell that wasn't the good news we were hoping for but it was all well and good until Max B. posted on the Icethetics Facebook page The Hockey News was still reporting a change in the works on page 52 of their latest issue.

No. 6 NEW JERSEYS: Toronto and the New York Islanders revealed new duds this summer, while Anaheim is closely guarding its new third sweater, to be revealed in late November. Vancouver and Buffalo celebrate their 40th anniversaries with new gear, while Columbus and the New York Rangers also have new third jerseys coming down the pipeline. Also, look out for a purple and gold throwback from the L.A. Kings and a change in Nashville.

Now, if we're being honest, the Preds' mention does seem a little like an afterthought. But be that as it may, this is the current issue of THN and Creamer's news came more than two weeks ago. Who's got it right?

Here's the tally: Creamer says status quo, both Reebok and THN say a change is coming. That's 2-1 for the rumor. Nashville opens the season on Oct. 9. We'll know by then.

Update on Sunday · Sep 26 · 2010 | 6:23 PM PDT by Chris

This story just keeps taking twists and turns. The Winter Classic jerseys posted yesterday in drawing form have turned up in photo form on a disreputable website that sells fake, cheap knock-offs of NHL products. I've blocked out the name of the site because I don't condone trademark infringement. Still, the pictures are worth a look.

Knock-off jersey: Penguins

This is the alleged Penguins jersey. And our buddies at The Pensblog point out the design first appeared on the web about a week after the announcement of the 2011 Winter Classic. So that's not suspicious or anything.

There are so many reasons why these jerseys stand out as being counterfeit knock-offs; most notable is the lack of a Reebok label inside the back of the collar.

Still, if there's a chance they could have the design right, I wouldn't want to keep it off the blog. But like I've said, plenty of other sources say this is NOT the jersey. Who do we believe? No one. We just wait for something official.

Knock-off jersey: CapitalsThis would be the alleged Capitals jersey. As I said before, anything else would be an utter shock. They may have details wrong and their reproduction of the Capitals' logo is horrid, but we get the idea.

And anyway the Washington Capitals will officially unveil their Winter Classic jersey on Oct. 2 so we'll know for sure within a week at least.

And once again because I want to be absolutely clear about this, THESE PHOTOS SHOW KNOCK-OFFS. They are NOT the actual Winter Classic sweaters. The designs, however, remain in question.

Penguins Winter Classic Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins are preparing to unveil their brand new 2011 Winter Classic sweater, according to the Tribune-Review.

An article published this morning goes into little detail about the new threads, except to say that they're blue and the scarf-wearing penguin will finally see its way onto a sweater. The story is more of a retrospective on Bob Gessner, the man who created that original Pens logo.

First, the good bits in a quote box:

A new blue-colored alternate uniform is soon to be unveiled by the team. It will debut at the outdoor game against Washington, and the Penguins plan to adopt it next season as a "third" uniform. Also, the first day of 2011 will mark the first appearance of the Penguins' original logo on a uniform.

If you managed to catch my radio interview last weekend, you heard me make a bold prediction I didn't have much basis for. That being, my guess is the Penguins will go with a mish-mash jersey, like the Bruins did at the last Winter Classic.

Rather than recreating a past look, I wouldn't be surprised if they combined elements of several looks and got a little creative with it. Based on this article's assertion that the 1967 scarfed penguin will be on the jersey, it sounds like I could be right. How rare.

There's no date set for the unveiling, but the story does say the new sweater will "resemble uniforms worn by Mario Lemieux's son's local youth team." If anyone reading is involved with that team, maybe you have a photo or two you could provide to give us an idea of what to expect.

For the record, a quick Google search turns up this photo of Austin Lemieux's team in action from February 2008. They are wearing the Pens' current third jersey — which debuted in the NHL just a month earlier at the 2008 Winter Classic. Perhaps they've redesigned their uniforms since?

Anyway, this post is already getting long so I won't harp on the last bit. If you want the inside scoop on the design of the Penguins' logo, you should really read the rest of the article. Gessner says he never liked the scarfed penguin and he doesn't think he'll be impressed with the new sweater.

Update on Saturday · Sep 25 · 2010 | 3:19 PM PDT by Chris

After this post went up, I got an interesting email from Icethetics reader Jeff S. who tells me a site called NHL Snipers posted what it claims will be the 2011 Winter Classic jerseys — for both the Penguins and the Capitals.

Penguins' Winter Classic jersey?The post featuring these images gives no details as to where they came from, who designed them or even whether they're believed to be real or not. Still, I can't help but feel like there's an inkling of plausibility to the designs.

Perhaps I'm leaning in that direction because they fit my predictions perfectly. This powder blue Pens sweater borrows from a number of eras in team history. And it comes together spectacularly.

The sleeve stripes and shoulder number placement call back to the black-and-gold look of the 1980s. The dark blue in the uniform was part of the 70s design. And the numbers match the original sweater worn in 1967.

Capitals' Winter Classic jersey?The Washington Capitals will officially unveil their Winter Classic sweater a week from today. There is no one who thinks it will look like anything but this design.

It's the Caps' original sweater from 1974. And seeing Alex Ovechkin wearing it will be surreal. It's littered with red and blue stars and features the retro logo previously unveiled at the announcement of the 2011 Winter Classic.

The only real question is whether the players will sport the criminally hilarious white pants for the game.

Anyway, these drawings are all well and good to give us an idea of what we might expect on New Year's Day, but it doesn't really matter until we see photos of the actual uniform.

Remember, the Caps unveil theirs a week from today. The Pens... "soon." Maybe we'll get theirs in the next week or two as well.

“P” is for Patches & Primary Logos

So it's been a good seven days since the last blog update. I feel really bad about that, but then I was on a cruise for at least four of them — so, I don't feel that bad. But I do have a bunch of updates to get through now — dealing with all three NHL teams whose names start with "P." Total coincidence!

Penguins Put Out New Arena Patch

Pens' new commemorative patchOver the weekend, the Pittsburgh Penguins started selling a new jersey patch that commemorates the inaugural season of the team's new arena.

Season ticket holders got their first look at the patch and the new CONSOL Energy Center at an open house event this past Saturday.

I don't have any information as to whether the patch will be worn on the uniforms, but why wouldn't they be? If you're wondering what that might look like, Steve Z. has been kind enough to share a photo. Though my guess is we'll see it on the front rather than the shoulder, if it's used on the sweater at all.

Also special thanks to Jeff S. for the above photo of the patch itself. Got lots of emails about this while I was gone. Thanks to all of you!

And if you're in Pittsburgh and dying to see the new building for yourself, here's a useful link.

Panthers Mulling a Reduction of Red?

Miami Herald writer and Florida Panthers blogger George Richards posted an article on Monday mulling the possibility that the team may drop the red, not this season, but the next.

He says the Panthers are considering using their new third jersey design as a base for new home and road sweaters, while keeping the same leaping panther primary logo. But he says it more colorfully:

Word on the street is the Panthers are likely going to keep the leaping Panther as their primary logo in 2011-12 while changing the team's colors from the H. Wayne picked blue-gold-red to the Tampa Bay Rays scheme we saw last year.

The blue-on-blue color scheme (what do we call it? The JetBlues? The Sunrise Rays?) apparently will be the Panthers uniform look by that season.

In 2011-12, the current thirds would become the home jersey with a new white/blue/light blue coming for the road. The third jersey — if the stick breaking panther is indeed the primary logo — could incorporate the head crest. If there is a third jersey. Probably won't [be] for the first few years of the redesign.

I'm sure there are people hard at work on this as we speak. Here's hoping they fix the dopey FLA logo... And leave the palm tree/hockey stick shoulder patch alone...

There's a lot more to the article, very much worth reading, but I don't want to copy it all here. Richards does say that he has yet to confirm these "plans" with team brass and that the stick-biting panther is the "logo of the future."

Meanwhile, the team's official website was recently redesigned to highlight the two-tone blue and gold color scheme. Red is still a key accent color, but it does appear the Cats are headed in a new direction with their marketing efforts. We'll keep an eye on all this.

Related: Panthers Reworking Primary Logo?

Predators Sending Out Mixed Messages

Taking bets now. Which logo will the Predators use this fall?

In the spring, it was all but confirmed by Reebok that the Nashville Predators would have new home and road jerseys for the 2010-11 season. The assumption being that the Preds would give the spotlight to their third jersey — along with a white version of it.

Lately, we've heard lots of reports from Nashville-area hockey retailers that nothing is changing with regard to the Predators uniforms. But at the same time, notice the redesign of the team's website to accentuate the dark blue and silver — the colors of the logo on the alternate sweater.

New Logo on Social LinksCheck out the graphics they use to link fans to their Twitter and Facebook pages right there on the home page! Where's the orange and gold? Gone, that's where!

I know it's getting late in the summer, but the Sabres are waiting until the start of the preseason before they give up their new look. Who's to say the Predators aren't doing the same? — just much more quietly.

In fact, if you remember back to the draft a couple months ago, the Predators only handed out hats with the recolored primary logo. Then again, they've still been handing out the current jerseys all summer.

When Shea Weber was announced as captain, he got one. As did the club's new bosses just last week. So I don't know.

It seems like an obvious choice, but we'll really just have to wait and see. The suspense is just killing you, I know.

Winter Classic Logos Unveiled!

At a press conference this afternoon, the NHL unveiled the logo for the 2011 Winter Classic along with the retro logos to be used by the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The outdoor game will take place on New Year's Day at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The logos were revealed on giant digital screens at the football stadium, which is normally home to the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

Unlike past Winter Classic logos, which have typically used a neutral color palette, the 2011 mark seems to feature only the colors likely to be found on the Penguins' Winter Classic throwback uniforms. To be fair, though, these are the colors most associated with the city of Pittsburgh itself.

And based on the news conference, it seems everyone in Pittsburgh is very excited to be playing in the NHL's most publicized regular season game for the second time since 2008 — though this is Crosby & Co.'s first time hosting.

A staple of the Winter Classic since its inception has been retro logos and uniforms. Every team involved has looked into its past for something special to wear. This year will be no exception.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will call back to their inaugural season, 1967-68 — for the logo at least. The uniforms won't be revealed for either team until the fall. The mark features the original skating penguin wearing a scarf, all set on a "vintage" white.

The use of this logo suggests the Penguins will also wear their inaugural uniforms, which were light blue with PITTSBURGH in diagonal text across the front. Again, we'll have to wait for the fall, but this is probably a fair assumption.

The Washington Capitals will also look back to their inaugural season, 1974-75. The logo is the original script mark used from the team's inception until 1996. The Caps' current logo, in use since 2007, is call back to this mark.

With the expection of the first Winter Classic in 2008, the host team typically wears the dark uniforms, with the visitors in white — as is standard in the regular season these days. That means the Capitals will likely wear their original white sweaters.

Of course talk about Winter Classic uniforms is speculative and premature, it's easy to make educated guesses based on history. I'd really be surprised if we get anything different — though I was definitely surprised by the Bruins last year!

The Capitals will officially unveil their Winter Classic uniforms on Oct. 2 at the Capitals Convention. The Penguins have said theirs will also be unveiled some time in the fall — no specific date just yet. You can read more about today's event at NHL.com.