Leafs Reviving the '30s This Winter?

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be resurrecting their 1930s-era jerseys for a second time when they hit the ice for their first Winter Classic next January, according to one report.

The usually-reliable Howard Berger posted details yesterday on his blog, Berger Bytes, citing a "merchandising source" who tipped him off to last season's new third jersey as well.

Berger refers to it as the 1931 jersey, but according to the well-researched Hockey Uniform Database, it actually debuted in 1927 when the Leafs first changed their colors from green to blue. However, in 1930, shoulder stripes were added to the design.

The look, featuring 12 white stripes down each sleeve, was retired in 1934 in favor of just two white stripes at the elbows. But the Winter Classic will, in fact, be the second time fans will get to see these sweaters in action since 1934.

They were worn at least twice during the 1996-97 season. Berger even has dates and newspaper clippings with photos (Nov. 2, 1996 and Feb. 22, 1997). The team wore the throwbacks to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Maple Leaf Gardens.

So what do you think? Should the Maple Leafs go with this look for their first outdoor appearance? Or is there something else they should consider?

By the way, it's August 2, and not only have jerseys yet to be unveiled for Detroit or Toronto, but we still haven't seen an official 2013 Winter Classic logo. I can't imagine we'll have to wait too much longer for any of it to be unveiled.

Wings and Leafs to Meet Outdoors in 2013

The rumors are true. The Detroit Red Wings will host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium — known as The Big House — in the 2013 NHL Winter Classic. There's no logo yet, but the graphic above was provided by the league and used during today's announcement.

The game returns to New Year's Day — January 1 — which will fall on a Tuesday next season. The event will also mark a couple firsts. It's the first time a Canadian team will be involved in what has traditionally been a TV event between popular American-based franchises. It's also the first time Winter Classic opponents have been from different conferences.

In addition, the Winter Classic event itself will actually be much bigger than it's been before — requiring two separate venues for all of the planned festivities. Comerica Park (home of the MLB's Detroit Tigers) will host the alumni game and more ahead of the Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium (home of the University of Michigan's Wolverines football team).

In the NHL's press release there was no specific mention of the specialty uniforms for the big game. And as you can see, the current primary logos for both teams were on display. But it's still early. We'll keep an eye on it. Perhaps we'll get a summer press conference to unveil the jerseys.

But then, predicting when the NHL will make announcements about the Winter Classic has become difficult lately. Here's how the timing has worked out in the past.

• 2008 Sabres/Penguins: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo — Game announced Sept. 17, 2007. Jerseys for both teams unveiled in early November.
• 2009 Blackhawks/Red Wings: Wrigley Field, Chicago — Game announced July 16, 2008. Jerseys for both teams unveiled Oct. 25, 2008.
• 2010 Bruins/Flyers: Fenway Park, Boston — Game announced July 15, 2009. Flyers jerseys unveiled Sept. 11, 2009; Bruins jerseys unveiled Sept. 17, 2009.
• 2011 Penguins/Capitals: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh — Game announced July 27, 2010. Capitals jerseys unveiled Oct. 2, 2010; Penguins jerseys unveiled Oct. 28, 2010.
• 2012 Flyers/Rangers: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia — Game announced Sept. 26, 2011. Flyers jerseys unveiled Nov. 21, 2011; Rangers jerseys unveiled Nov. 28, 2011.
• 2013 Red Wings/Maple Leafs: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor — Game announced Feb. 9, 2012. Jerseys to be announced.

So basically, until this season, we could expect the game to be announced in the summer (July) followed by jerseys in the fall, right before the season or just after the start of it. With the Flyers/Rangers game, everything got pushed back. Today's announcement threw everything off again. So, while we can presume the jerseys will still have to wait for the fall, it's really anyone's guess. 

Leafs Officially Unveil Third Jersey

Leafs unveil new 3rd jerseyMonths of rumors were validated last week when the Toronto Maple Leafs new third jersey was mistakenly leaked. Then two days ago, the team made it official.

Last we heard, the Leafs were planning to "officially" introduce the new sweater on October 6, opening night. Instead, they decided to do it a couple weeks early — probably since it's already out there.

Real Sports Apparel in Toronto was the site of Friday's unveiling event. Current Leafs Luke Schenn and Colby Armstrong were in the house to model the new look alongside ex-Leafs Darryl Sittler and Wendel Clark.

The design is based on the jersey that was worn the last time the Maple Leafs lifted the Stanley Cup in 1967. In fact, here's the story as the team tells it:

First introduced at the start of the 1967 NHL playoffs, the Maple Leafs captured the Stanley Cup that spring and went on to wear it for the following three campaigns.

Some of the attributes of the sweater include; a solid, snow white, wool-felt, 11-point Maple Leaf crest similar to the Maple Leaf on the Canadian Flag as the country celebrated its centennial year in 1967, felt fabric numbers and lettering, one set of thin-wide-thin stripes adorning the waist and both elbows, no shoulder patches, and a six-eyelet lace at the front of the neck.

Pants adorned with a new white vertical stripe along the sides will also be worn by the hockey club for games in which the third sweater will be used.

I should use this opportunity to clear up a mistake I made when talking about the jersey earlier this summer. I originally reported that the crest had a silver inner-outline, which it clearly doesn't. The photo I had at the time was causing my eyes to play tricks on me. Turns out its just white embroidery on the wool-felt logo — which in itself is pretty awesome! Now that's what I call retro.

A faceless mannequinThe Maple Leafs also announced their third jersey schedule for the 2011-12 season. It'll be worn on 14 occassions during the regular season:

• Thurs., Oct. 6 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Sat., Oct. 29 – vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• Sat., Nov. 5 – vs. Boston Bruins
• Sat., Nov. 12 – vs. Ottawa Senators
• Sat., Nov. 19 – vs. Washington Capitals
• Sat., Dec. 3 – at Boston Bruins
• Mon., Dec. 5 – at New York Rangers
• Sat., Dec. 17 – vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Sat., Jan. 7 – vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Fri., Jan. 13 – at Buffalo Sabres
• Sat., Feb. 4 – at Ottawa Senators
• Wed., Feb. 29 – at Chicago Blackhawks
• Sat., Mar. 24 – vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Mar. 31 – vs. Buffalo Sabres

So that's five of the 14 third jersey nigths on the road against Original Six foes or geographical rivals. And if you want to see this jersey in action, seems your best bet is to show up to a Saturday home game.

Oddly enough, the Nov. 12 game against the Senators was one I had initially marked as a Heritage Jersey game for Ottawa based on information not directly from the team. Obviously this is incorrect as you cannot have dark blue versus black in Gary Bettman's NHL. I'm adjusting the Senators' schedule accordingly.

If you check out the rest of that press release, it talks about how the team polled more than a thousand fans while trying to determine which retro design to go with for this season. I'd bet the green St. Pats jerseys were on the list but that no Icethetics readers were polled. Shame.

For more pictures from the unveiling, click here. 

Now if you thought that was it for third jersey news today, you were quite mistaken...

Panthers Dying to Ditch Those Blue Thirds

I always thought the Florida Panthers looked best in red and, despite all the other teams that have added dark blue third jerseys in recent years, I never disliked theirs as much as other people did. Now I find out that "other people" group includes the Panthers' own management!

Stephen WeissThis is also from last week, but Miami Herald beat writer George Richards quoted Panthers assistant GM Mike Santos saying some terrible things about what have become known as the "JetBlue jerseys" among fans.

The Panthers have brought back their original look by wearing predominately red jerseys at most home games this season. Florida has a contractual obligation to the league to wear its alternate light/dark blue jersey for 13 games this season.

It's apparent this will be the final year the Panthers wear that jersey. Santos is obviously not a fan of the look. He hopes to burn off some of the mandatory dates by wearing the third jersey in select road games. "As soon as we can rid ourselves of those things," Santos said, "we'll be a happier bunch."

The Panthers are going all out when it comes to bringing back the red color scheme. Seats in the lower bowl of the BankAtlantic Center are being reupholstered in red.

"We're connecting to a time when this organization was successful," Santos said. "A big part of that success is the color red. Red is our color, is a Panthers color. It's not light blue, baby blue or all these other silly colors. They have nothing to do with us. We were successful in red and will be again."

Based on this, it doesn't sound like the Stinkin' Panthers will be releasing a third jersey schedule, so we'll see them when we see them. But for the record, they've been wearing them for all of their home games during the preseason. According to Lightning radio play-by-play announcer Dave Mishkin, the team is waiting until the regular season to debut the new red sweaters.

For what it's worth, the Jets are also holding off on wearing their new home jerseys until the regular season. They've been wearing their white jerseys only throughout the preseason. The Predators and Lightning have each been wearing both of their new jerseys in exhibition play.

But back to the Panthers a moment. Since this will be the last season with the current third jersey, we have to wonder how long before they get back into the alternate uniform fray and what direction they'll go. Seems like blue is their best option, but maybe not the two-tone thing.

While we're on the subject of all these new jerseys, I'm already starting to put together new galleries. They'll start getting posted once the season gets started and there are more photos out there. (By the way, if anyone would like to help out with finding decent photos of pre-Edge jerseys, I'd love to expand even more.)

Housekeeping: Jets Contest & IceHL Project

I'll make this part quick. Since no one correctly predicted the unveiling dates of the Winnipeg Jets' logos and uniforms, I regret to say no one won the prize. I'm currently trying to think up another contest so I can give that board game away (preferably to a Canadian).

Also, if you haven't been keeping up with the IceHL Project, now is the time. I just published the IceHL 2011 Yearbook, a free digital book now availble to download here at Icethetics. It's the perfect way for new readers to catch up on everything you may have missed since the project began in 2008.

We have two fantasy leagues going this year, one with our Eastern Conference teams, the other with the Western Conference. But more importantly, you'll be able to get involved when Jersey Design Competition launches later this fall. And as if that weren't enough, we'll be expanding the league by two teams later in the winter or spring. So we'll need all you talented logo designers to help out!

Don't Forget: Winter Classic Announcement

Last thing, I swear. The NHL officially announces the 2012 Winter Classic from Philadelphia tomorrow at 1:30 PM ET (10:30 AM PT). It's no secret the Philadelphia Flyers will host the New York Rangers at Citizens Bank Park on January 2, but that's not stopping the league from pretending like it is anyway.

The real secret, actually, is the uniforms. In the past, the Winter Classic uniforms have sometimes been unveiled at the press conference that announces the event. That wasn't the case last year, but I don't recall there ever being a big press event at Heinz Field last year. I could be wrong about that. (Bad memory, you know.) But either way, both the Penguins and Capitals waited until October to unveil their throwback jerseys last year.

This time around, there's a bigger question about the uniforms. We all know the Winter Classic is used as an excuse to make money and new jerseys mean more of it. However, neither the Rangers nor Flyers have made a lot of uniform changes over the years, so we may not see anything dramatic this time around.

Having said that, let's not forget that the Penguins' 2011 Winter Classic jersey, while based on historical elements, was a brand new design. Similarly in 2010, the Bruins designed a new look that incorporated certain features from past uniforms.

It's entirely possible that either one of the 2012 opponents (or both) could simply rewrite history and sport retro-style jerseys that are unlike anything they've ever worn before. Hopefully we find out tomorrow. 

Store Leaks New Sens, Leafs Jerseys

Finally, I have photos of unreleased jerseys that I'm able to share with you. A reader wrote in today to tell us that the Buffalo Sabres' team store at the First Niagara Center (formerly HSBC Arena) is already selling Premier version of the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs forthcoming jerseys.

First, here's the Sens' Heritage Jersey which, the team announced the other day, will be officially unveiled on October 1. You get to see it now.

Ottawa Senators' Heritage Jersey leaked / icethetics.info

And as previously reported here, you can see it bears bilingual shoulder patches. A recent photo released by the team had us questioning whether that would actually be the case.

The other unreleased sweater on the store's rack was the Leafs' new throwback third. Take a look.

Toronto Maple Leafs' new third jersey leaked / icethetics.info

One detail previously reported here on Icethetics was the silver inner-outline inside the crest. You can just barely make it out in this photo. We're looking at photos taken by a cell phone camera in what's not the best lighting conditions. I've done my best to tweak these photos.

So now that you have something more than my renderings to look at, have your opinions changed on these two sweaters? Are they at all what you were expecting/hoping for?

Update on Tuesday · Sep 20 · 2011 | 5:59 PM PDT by Chris

I've been enjoying a nice, long four-day weekend, and as such have also been keeping my distance from the internet. But I thought I'd check in with some updates on Saturday's leaked jerseys.

First, it seems every media outlet in the universe has picked it up. Which is cool. Nice to see Icethetics getting a few extra mentions around the web. But most notably, both the Senators and Maple Leafs have been forced by the media to react the leaked designs.

On Sunday, the Ottawa Senators posted an article on their website that confirmed their new Heritage Jersey had been prematurely revealed online. Yeah, sorry about that. But some of us don't like waiting and an opportunity presented itself. 

The Sens are not blaming Icethetics or even the store where the photos were taken. They're placing the blame squarely on Reebok, as they should. The jerseys were simply shipped out too early. NHL teams launching new uniforms are supposed to get a five day window of exclusivity in their own market from the day of unveiling — which should be Oct. 1–5. So it was a mistake. A big one.

The Senators are still planning the "official" introduction to fans at Puck Drop on Oct. 1. But in the meantime, they did reluctantly offer some details about the design:

“While we are very disappointed to have our new jersey revealed in this manner, we are pleased to see the early comments from fans are extremely positive,” said Jeff Kyle, Senators vice-president of marketing. “We believe that this jersey will be a top seller in the National Hockey League this season, especially as fans learn the story behind how it was designed.

The heritage jersey pays tribute to the early Senators teams that won 11 Stanley Cups and was one the franchises that founded the NHL in 1917. The early Senators were considered the NHL’s first dynasty, with accomplishments so great that in 1950, sportswriters voted the Ottawa club as the team of the first half century in Canada.

“We have spent over two years developing this uniform and one of the most interesting aspects is that we did it in conjunction with a Senators fan,” added Kyle. “We look forward to telling the story of how a fan helped us develop a uniform that incorporates elements of the early Senators teams into what we feel will become a truly iconic symbol of Senators hockey.”

I do look forward to the story of the fan who helped develop the uniform. If they're talking about the guy I think, then we know him as Jacob Barrette. It's certainly been years in the making for him.

Then yesterday, the Toronto Star took the other photo to the Toronto Maple Leafs for comment. They also confirmed the design and expressed disappointment at not being the first to show it to their fans.

Additionally, the Star learned that the jersey will be "officially" unveiled during their regular season opener on Thursday, Oct. 6. It's not clear if they plan to wear them for that game against the Montreal Canadiens, or simply show them to fans that night. If I had to guess, I'd say they're wearing them.

Here's what the team told the Star about the leak:

"Yes, the Leafs organization is aware that its third sweater was unexpectedly revealed," Rajani Kamath, MLSE’s director of corporate communications, said on Monday. "While our organization is disappointed that we did not have the first opportunity to reveal our third sweater, we are looking forward to ‘officially’ introducing it to our fans later."

On a personal note, I think the Sens' Heritage Jersey looks fantastic. I wouldn't want to see it more than 15 times a season, but it's definitely a great alternate uniform. So well done to them. With the Leafs, I like the design of the new third, but it's just not different enough from the home jersey to satisfy me. Not much they can do about that though if they wanted to revive something from their past.

Piece of Jets Uniform Revealed

Photo tweeted by Blake WheelerAs we wait for the Winnipeg Jets to unveil their new uniforms, it seems Blake Wheeler is there for those dying for a leak.

Today, the Jets forward tweeted a photo of what are presumably his new uniforms pants. They're dark blue with the alternate wordmark which was officially unveiled a month ago by the team.

The photo was posted today at about 1 PM Central time to Wheeler's Twitter account, @BiggieFunke:

Here it is...What do you guys think? http://lockerz.com/s/132236390

We still haven't seen the jerseys yet despite the numerous reports of leaks. I'll say it again. Any online retailer claiming to be selling the unreleased jerseys is a fraud. That's really all there is to it.

And you don't have to believe me. The Jets have repeatedly stated that the alleged "leaks" are "not even close" to real thing. This article from Sun Media goes into detail with the club's management.

Here's a good excerpt regarding the third jersey questions:

The Winnipeg Jets will have only two uniforms this coming season: home and away.

Although it’s become common over the past several years for NHL and other pro sports teams to don third jerseys for some games, it doesn’t look like the Jets will follow suit, at least not this year.

“There will likely not be a third alternate jersey this year, just due to the process of getting the main two done,” said Scott Brown, director of communications for True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Jets. “We’re going to hopefully focus on the main logos and the main jerseys.”

As far as when you'll be able to get your hands on the actual jerseys, you have more waiting to do:

“The authentic jerseys won’t be available until October, and replica jerseys likely not until November. That comes from the manufacturer,” said Brown. Nevertheless, photos purporting to be leaks of the new Jets jerseys have been circulating on the Internet for weeks.

Brown said a common one showing a dark blue jersey with the main plane logo in the middle is “not even close” to legitimate. The same goes for any other supposed sneak previews.

Over the weekend, I posted graphic representations what all of next season's jerseys will look like, even the unreleased ones — except the Jets. They're the most tightly-guarded jersey designs in history, I think. I'm very impressed with True North, Reebok and the NHL for keeping this under wraps until they're ready.

Speaking of fakes...

Fake Leafs Third Hits the Web

Fake Maple Leafs jersey / LeafsHQThis morning, Jeff of LeafsHQ posted a photo of what appears to be the Toronto Maple Leafs' new third jersey (right). I can assure you this is a counterfeit job.

Even if I hadn't already seen the real jersey myself, it would be quite obvious that this is a phony. I suppose over time you get pretty good at spotting the red flags. For example, the Reebok vector on the sleeve will not be on any new jersey in 2011.

But since I'm able to tell you which details are wrong, I will. First, and most obvious is the crest. On the real jersey, it's a modernized version of that 1967 logo. There's a silver inner-outline and more spacing between the letters in TORONTO.

The top and bottom stripes on the sleeves and waist are thicker here than they should be, and the piping around the wrists doesn't exist on the actual sweater.

Obviously, we're looking at the work of a counterfeiter who's read multiple online reports of the fact that the Leafs' new third will resemble the 1967 jersey. So while this design is on the right track, it's still all wrong. Just thought you should know.