Stars Seeing Green in 2011?

The Dallas Stars are mulling the possibility of adding a green third jersey for the 2011-12 season, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.

It sounds too good to be true, but in a brief article posted online Thursday morning, Heika gave us the following tidbits to drool over.

The Stars are currently pondering a third jersey that could debut as early next season, and the early word is that it will be green and it will have an old school NHL look. There's no word yet on whether the green is "North Stars" green or the more traditional Dallas forest green.

The final decisions have not been made, but if the team wants to get NHL clearance for use in the 2011-12 season, it will have to present a finished sweater to the league before the end of December. One highly-place insider did mention that cows and fallopian tubes have already been ruled out.

I've been eager to see Dallas bring back the green sweater ever since they ditched it in 2007. Normally, I would say just throw the primary logo on it — and run away from it (as my boss would say). However, the Stars are in such dire straits regarding uniforms that I'd recommend taking another stab at a brand new logo.

Indeed, the last time they tried this it was 2003 and we ended up with the all too unforgettable "Mooterus." (Hockey fans are nothing if not creative when nicknaming things they don't like.) Still, the primary logo is fine, but if we're going to do an alternate jersey, let's do one.

Which brings me to the topic of conversation in the comments: What do you think the Stars should do with their next third sweater?

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By the way, I know the cobwebs are starting to show here on the site and I appreciate you guys not harassing me about it. Moving is a pain, but getting to live/work in Seattle will be worth the trouble in the end. I'm doing my best to stay on top of important/NHL news and notes here on the blog, but some of the other stuff might get put on the back burner for a little while. Should all be back to normal by Christmas time.

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.

Sabres Hide Hints in Plain Sight

By far, the new Buffalo Sabres third jersey is the most highly anticipated of this year's crop. I'm sure it has to do with the "slug" finally being "salted," but it's given fans passionate about the logo a reason to be happy again.

Many are just dying to see the new sweater — unwilling to wait for the magical date of Sept. 18 when all will be revealed. No wonder the rumors are running rampant.

Time for Icethetics to join the fray. I read a lot — A LOT! — of speculation from all sorts of places. The way I see it, it's my job to wade through it all and provide you guys with the most (hopefully) accurate information. I only write about what I believe has any validity. How often have I steered you wrong?

Having said that, here's my take on Buffalo. They've been hiding hints in plain sight. Have you noticed? Look closely, as the graphic above comes from the Sabres' website splash page about ticket sales. And it's telling us a lot.

The latest, most reliable rumors say the Sabres' new alternate sweater uses these three colors: Royal blue, gold (yellow) and vintage white (dingy white). The jersey itself will be royal blue, allowing us to assume the navy blue will remain on the home sweater.

Number styling on Sabres 3rd jersey?The back — this is where it gets interesting. See the strange stitching pattern on the years (enlarged, right) in that above graphic?

Apparently, that's how the numbers will be styled on this new sweater — vintage white with blue stitching inside the numerals. A bit odd perhaps, but it's one of those cool little details you'll only notice up close.

What about the nameplate? Blue block letters on gold material — on a blue sweater. Think of it as similar to what the Flyers have done with their home and road jerseys with the untraditional nameplates.

The Sabres did tell us this one would be different.

I'm not comfortable calling it yet, but the most widely held rumors say the old Buffalo Bisons script will be emblazoned across the front of the sweater. I'm happy to wait for better details.

One final note. It appears that, unlike their past anniversaries, will not have a specially-designed 40th anniversary logo. Instead, it looks as though they're going with the classic primary logo with "1970" added inside the blue — also as seen in the image above — to mark anything celebrating their first 40 years.

I hope this will tide you guys over until either more information comes out or the jersey is revealed 24 days from now.

Pens Sticking with Powder Blues?

A new report from a Pennsylvania-based retailer says the Pittsburgh Penguins are dropping plans to launch a new third jersey for the 2010-11 season.

House O' Hockey in Monroeville, Pa. sent an email to customers today, claiming that the Penguins will be sticking with their current powder blue third jersey for at least another season. Here's a pull from the actual email:

Breaking News! The NHL Pittsburgh Penguins have decided not change their 3rd Jersey for the 2010/2011 season but will wear the light Blue 3rd Jersey (Columbia blue) again for another season.

Here to stay at least another year?As reported on Icethetics, it was first revealed in December that the Penguins were planning to ditch their current third jersey in favor of another alternate uniform, also based on a past design. 

These rumors were then confirmed by Reebok. While the manufacturer offered no specific details, they did say the Pens' third jersey was "TBD" for 2010-11, alluding to a new design in the works.

So if this report from House O' Hockey is true, what are the implications? Could it be a response to fan outcry? The jerseys are very popular and this rumor of a redesign has been churning for months. Plus, if the team were to stop wearing them, wouldn't fans who just spent their hard-earned recession money on one be annoyed?

My sneaky suspicion has to do with the next Winter Classic. Another report recently said that the Penguins and Capitals could be meeting for the next outdoor game on 1/1/11. If that's true, it might make more sense for the Pens to hold off and debut a new alternate uniform then. Of course the NHL has released absolutely no information on a Winter Classic in 2011, so this is just speculation on top of speculation.

What's your theory on the Pens scrapping plans for a new third jersey?

Thanks to Gary P. for passing along this information.

Update on Wednesday · Apr 21 · 2010 | 7:02 PM PDT by Chris

Just watching the Boston Bruins come back against Sabres tonight on Versus. How I do love overtime playoff hockey! But I saw something funny during the broadcast.

Bruins or Killer Bees?After one of the Bruins' goals, they showed some cutaways of cheering fans. I'm not sure who this guy was actually rooting for.

He was holding a poster that said Killer B's. What was odd was that it had a "killer bee" on it. And not just any bee. Take a look at the screenshot to the right. (Click to enlarge.)

That's the logo of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League. So that's weird. And random.

And it's not just that he's using another team's logo to cheer on his team. It's that it's a logo that doesn't represent his team at all. I know that fans often call the Bruins the B's, but they don't mean the insect.

Anyway, I just thought it was funny. And kudos to the Killer Bees for getting their logo on national TV.

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Collect them all!Also worth checking out if you're bored, there's a new board game out by CSE Games in which the goal is to collect various historic Hockey Canada jerseys. 

RPS 27: Rock-Paper-Scissors Jigsaw Battle (Hockey Canada 2010 Edition) — yes, that's the name of the game — is a puzzle game for kids.

Basically, you play rock-paper-scissors to collect pieces from your opponents to complete a puzzle. And the pieces have hockey sweaters on them.