Hockey Talks Across Canada

Canada's seven NHL franchises are taking part in a mental health initiative throughout the month of February. Among other things, it involves the players wearing special helmet decals for select games throughout the month. Each team will host a Hockey Talks game night, led by the Vancouver Canucks back on Feb. 1.

The Toronto Maple Leafs picked up the torch the following night on Feb. 2.

Last Wednesday, it was the Montreal Canadiens doing their part on Feb. 6.

The next night, on Feb. 7, it was Hockey Talks night for the Winnipeg Jets.

The other three teams will host their Hockey Talks nights next week, beginning with the Calgary Flames on Thursday, Feb. 20.

The Edmonton Oilers follow up with their hosting duties on Feb. 21.

And finally, things wrap up in Canada's capital city on Feb. 23 when the Ottawa Senators host the Leafs for the final Hockey Talks game night of the month.

By the way, take a close look at each of these seven logos. They're not as generic as they seem. The type is all set in the same font the Vancouver Canucks use for their wordmarks and jerseys. And the hockey stick in the middle, it's from the Canucks' secondary logo.

I know this campaign has a lot to do with Rick Rypien, so it makes sense the Canucks marketing team would take the lead on designing the logos. It's just interesting to see Canucks branding incorporated into that of all the other Canadian clubs.

Not that any of that matters. This is an important issue and it still would be regardless of any silly logos. It's nice to see Canadians trying to take care of their own. We could learn a thing or two about that down here.

More on the Millionaires Tribute

We received some surprising news last Friday when the Vancouver Canucks revealed how they'll be honoring the old Vancouver Millionaires on their uniforms this season. Since this is actual jersey news in a season where we weren't expecting any, you can bet this will be a frequent topic of discussion.

Vancouver Canucks official website

On Friday, the Canucks' alternate jersey made its season debut with a new addition — the blue Vancouver Millionaires patch on the chest. It only improves upon a jersey that's already outfitted with some pretty awesome logos. (That Johnny Canuck V mark needs to become the primary logo. What are they waiting for?)

By the way, I'm not ignoring that Hockey Talks logo. All seven Canadian teams will have a version that they'll wear as a helmet decal at various points during the month of February. I'll have a post on that later this week.

Vancouver Canucks via Twitter

But back to the Millionaires. If you're looking to deck yourself out in that classic logo, clearly gear is not in short supply. This photo was posted to the Canucks Team Store Twitter account on Friday. They're even selling the five-year-old third jersey with a new patch. Pardon the pun, but millionaires indeed.

Of course we can't leave out the new sweater that's at the center of all this exciting news. As modeled by Ryan Kesler in photos released by the team last week, this is the Vancouver Millionaires jersey the team will wear at least once during this shortened season. All indications point to March 16 when the Red Wings are in town.

Photos by Severin Samulski via Fort Nucks

Believe it or not, the Red Wings as an opponent for this game isn't as random as it seems. This requires a bit of a history lesson to understand why.

In 1912 came the formation of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), of which the Millionaires were a founding member along with the New Westminster Royals and Victoria Senators. In 1913, Senators became the Victoria Aristocrats. (Honestly, after four lockouts in 20 years, can you imagine any NHL team today being named the Millionaires or Aristocrats and still having fans? Yeah, the naming thing gets worse...)

Before the 1916-17 season, the Aristocrats left Victoria for Spokane, Wash. where they were renamed the Canaries. (Told ya.) But no one in eastern Washington cared to attend games and the club folded before the season even ended.

Victoria, B.C. returned to the PCHA scene in 1918 with a brand new team — also called the Aristocrats. (Think Winnipeg Jets, except with fewer relocations.) In 1922, the club was renamed once again to the Victoria Cougars. That might actually be a name you recognize if you're at all familiar with Stanley Cup history. (Also, the Millionaires became the Maroons.)

Two years later in 1924, the Seattle Metropolitans folded, leaving just two teams in the PCHA. The Cougars and Maroons moved to the Western Canada Hockey League where the Cougars promptly won their first and only Stanley Cup championship against the Montreal Canadiens!

The Cougars played one more season in the newly renamed Western Hockey League where this time they lost the Stanley Cup Final. It also spelled the end of the team as the WHL was unable to compete financially with the NHL. The teams were disbanded and players' rights were sold to NHL clubs.

Guess who bought the rights to the Victoria Cougars in 1926. Yep, a group from Detroit, who named their new team the Detroit Cougars. The Cougars became the Falcons in 1930. And ultimately, in 1932, they became the Detroit Red Wings we know today.

So you see, the Canucks are really trying to stir up a century-old rivalry. Can't wait to see it. Now if only someone could convince them to wear their 2009 Winter Classic jerseys — which were in fact Cougars jerseys!

Then we'd have ourselves a hockey game.

Canucks Celebrate Millionaires

Photos by Severin Samulski via Fort Nucks

How long have we been waiting for this?!

The Vancouver Canucks revealed some great news today. As part of their season-long tribute to the 100th anniversary of pro hockey on the west coast, the Canucks have unveiled a Vancouver Millionaires jersey — modeled above by Ryan Kesler.

So when will this jersey see game action? That's not entirely clear, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, the reason this unveiling came today is that the Canucks will wear their third jersey tonight — a third jersey that will feature a special Millionaires patch on the front.

Here are some details from the press release:

The Vancouver Canucks are proud to announce they will celebrate 100 years of hockey on the West Coast by wearing the Vancouver Millionaires “V” patch on their sweaters for select home games in the 2013 season beginning tonight versus the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Vancouver Millionaires were the first professional hockey team on the West Coast, playing in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1912 through 1922. The Millionaires won the Stanley Cup in 1915 against the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association, which later became the NHL. The Millionaires played at the 10,500 seat Denman Arena built by Frank and Lester Patrick at the corner of Georgia and Denman and were the first Canadian team to play hockey on artificial ice.

The Canucks will wear the “V” on the front right chest of their sweaters in honour of Vancouver’s original hockey heroes such as Fred “Cyclone” Taylor, who was a member of the Stanley Cup winning Vancouver Millionaires squad.

To my knowledge, the Canucks have not yet released their third jersey schedule.

Now back to that Millionaires jersey at the top of the post. A line in that press release may indicate that the Canucks are planning to wear it in a game next month.

Check back often for more exciting Millionaires news as the Canucks continue to honour Vancouver’s hockey roots, particularly in-game March 16th as the Canucks host the Detroit Red Wings.

There's no reason Reebok would produce this jersey if there was no intention to wear it in a game. Looks like we may get it sooner rather than later. Mark your calendars for Sat., March 16. That could be one nice looking hockey game if true!

Canucks 2011-12 Third Jersey Sked

The Vancouver Canucks will sport their stick-in-the-rink third jersey 15 times according to the schedule posted on the team's website.

The current alternate uniform, entering its fourth season, has been in use since the 2008-09 season — the first year of third jerseys after Reebok took over in 2007. Last year, the Canucks introduced a replica of their original 1970 white jersey in honor of their 40th anniversary. It does not appear they will continue to use it this year.

Alex BurrowsHere's an overview of the 15 nights they plan to put the blue thirds to work during the 2011-12 campaign:

• Tues., Oct. 18 – vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Oct. 22 – vs. Minnesota Wild
• Tues., Oct. 25 – at Edmonton Oilers
• Sat., Oct. 29 – vs. Washington Capitals
• Wed., Nov. 16 – vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Mon., Dec. 26 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Mon., Jan. 2 – vs. San Jose Sharks
• Sat., Jan. 21 – vs. San Jose Sharks
• Thurs., Feb. 2 – vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sat., Feb. 18 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Sat., Mar. 3 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Thurs., Mar. 8 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Sat., Mar. 10 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Fri., Mar. 30 – vs. Dallas Stars
• Sat., Apr. 7 – vs. Edmonton Oilers

The lone road game for the alternate jersey is on Oct. 25 in Edmonton. The rest are at Rogers Arena.

I think someone pointed out the other day that is seems the Sabres are showing up on a lot of other teams' third jersey schedules this season. And here they are again. What's up with that?

One last note. Burrows gets a special look here for one reason: He's on my Tampa Bay Barracudas IceHL fantasy team. Go Cudas! (Seriously, the IceHL should be a blast this year!)

Worth a Thousand Words

The Icethetics-related news really tends to dry up this time of year, but I hate to let the blog dry up with it. So I'm declaring today Picture Day. Later this week, I'm planning an update to NHL JerseyWatch 2011. But for now, I'm just offering some things to look at. Feel free to add your comments at the end.

Canucks sport new practice threads at SuperSkills / Vancouver Canucks

For those that missed the Facebook post, over the weekend the Vancouver Canucks were wearing special practice jerseys at their SuperSkills competition, featuring the updated Johnny Canuck logo. It was Team Blue vs. Team Green and these sweaters made it clear that logo doesn't belong on the front. Maybe the shoulders. But definitely the helmet, where it already is on the alternate uniform.

2011 NHL Winter Classic / Pittsburgh Penguins

It's a shame I haven't posted pictures from any of the outdoor games yet. Way back on New Year's Day, we all saw the Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on their home turf. (Haha, turf.) If you've been following along with the Jersey Gallery updates, you've seen the Caps' uniform, but I haven't gotten around to the Penguins yet.

I'm torn on it, by the way. Dark blue just doesn't work for the Pens. I think I like the '08 version better. Still...

Dan Bylsma coaching at the 2011 Winter Classic / Pittsburgh Penguins

Nobody rocks a hat like Dan Bylsma. 

2011 Heritage Classic / Calgary Flames

You know what, I'm only all right with this because it was one game. But let's not do this anymore, Calgary. Let's not look like a skating advertisement for a Big Mac. It wasn't a good look a century ago and it isn't now. Even more disappointing than what the Flames wore was what Montreal wore. They're the Habs and they're classic but they've got an entire arsenal of throwback jerseys from a hundred years ago. Why not?

Miikka Kiprusoff in a cloud of snow / Calgary Flames

So many thoughts on this one: Is there supposed to be a goalie hiding in there? ... This is what I imagine to be the Canadian version of walking around with a raincloud over your head. ... If any player could just manifest a cloud of snow around himself, it would make cherry-picking a lot easier. ... Goalies are not born; they simply appear after a snowstorm. ... Should I stop now? ... Abominable goalie? ... Yes, stop? Okay.

WHL's outdoor game / Dylan Lynch

The WHL's Calgary Hitmen and Regina Pats borrowed the temporary ice rink at McMahon Stadium just prior to the Heritage Classic. And like their NHL counterparts, they sported retro-style sweaters. They're pretty much the same jerseys, just in different colors. Spooky.

Canucks' hall of sweaters / Vancouver Canucks

And we'll finish where we started — Vancouver. I'm sure Canucks fans are well aware of the sweaters hanging outside the team's locker room, so you can ignore this. For everyone else, how cool is this? From the Vancouver Millionaires on through to the orange third jersey from the '90s, they have a very rich and very colorful uniform history and it's nice to see they don't bury it and pretend it never happened.

That's all. If you've got any pictures you'd like to share, shoot me an email.