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.

Winter Classic Details Tomorrow

Later this afternoon, the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL will unveil the 2011 All-Star Game logo. Tomorrow we'll get our first look at the Winter Classic mark — even though we've already sort of seen it.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the NHL will hold a press conference at Heinz Field tomorrow, unveiling new details regarding the 2011 Winter Classic, including the official unveiling of the logo and a mockup of the rink inside the stadium.

The announcement was posted this morning on the Penguins' website and included the following:

Among the highlights of Tuesday’s media conference, which will be streamed live on PittsburghPenguins.com in addition to being broadcast nationally on NHL Network, are the unveiling of the 2011 Winter Classic logo and a mockup of where the ice rink will sit on the Heinz Field surface.

NBC and VERSUS play-by-play announcer Doc Emrick will be on hand to serve as the event’s emcee.

The release also mentions that Sidney Crosby, Maxime Talbot and Pascal Dupuis will be on hand for the event. It does not specifically say whether the Pens' Winter Classic uniforms will be on display. Earlier this month, team brass told local papers that the new sweaters would not be unveiled publicly until the fall.

So unless they surprise us, the main thing Icethetics readers will likely take away from tomorrow's presser will be the logo unveiling. And as I mentioned, we sort of already saw it last month. When the 2010-11 schedule was announced, a graphic on NHL.com showed a small, obscured version of the logo.

New Pens Sweater Coming in Fall

The Pittsburgh Penguins will unveil their 2011 Winter Classic sweater early this fall, according to newspaper reports in Pittsburgh. And after its New Year's debut, expect it to replace the powder blue third jersey.

Yesterday, the Tribune-Review and Post-Gazette offered up a few tantalizing details regarding the outdoor game which the Pens will host at Heinz Field on January 1. Let's take a look at what they've got.

Rob Rossi of the Tribune-Review writes the following:

More details about the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field — including ticket information — will be unveiled at a news conference tentatively planned for the final week of this month.

President David Morehouse reiterated that the Penguins will debut a new alternate uniform at the Winter Classic but said details would not be made public until the fall. This uniform will replace the baby-blue look the Penguins wore at the 2008 Classic and for a handful of games the past two seasons.

It's only a guess, but the league may use this opportunity to officially reveal the new Winter Classic logo — which we got a sneak peek at the day the season schedule was released. One detail not expressed here is whether the new WC sweater will take over third jersey duties in 2011 right after the outdoor game, or be pushed to the 2011-12 season.

The Post-Gazette's Dave Molinari may have gotten an answer to that question:

"The new jersey we unveil will be specially designed for the Winter Classic," said Tom McMillan, the team's vice president of communications. "That's become a Winter Classic tradition."

... "It could become the third jersey in the future," McMillan said.

In other words, nothing is set in stone right now. It all depends on fan response. Molinari also confirmed with the team that the powder blues will be worn for "about 10 regular-season games" in the 2010-11 season.

As expected, neither report has any details on the design, but fans have started a number of rumors. The tradition that McMillan spoke of is all about teams digging into their history for a classic look. For the Pens, they have a decent variety to work with.

Rumors suggest these are the Penguins' Winter Classic jersey options

Their history, as showcased by the Hockey Uniform Database, reveals a number of possible sweater designs. The dark blue jerseys, worn from 1977 to 1980 have been rumored as have the black/yellow sweaters used between 1980 and 1992. (Both above.)

Which do you prefer? Drop a line in the comments.

NHL Unveils Classic Logos!

The NHL released its 2010-11 schedule today and, in a graphic posted to NHL.com (above), also unveiled some new event logos for the season. You can see the Ovechkin and Crosby staring deep into each other's eyes with only the 2011 Winter Classic logo between them on the top right. And bottom left, it's Mike Cammalleri facing off against Jarome Iginla on either side of the new 2011 Heritage Classic mark.

Also included in this graphic are the NHL Premiere logos for the games taking place in Helsinki, Prague and Stockholm to open the season. They're nothing more than carryovers from previous European Premiere events. You may also note that one block of the image features only a Carolina Hurricanes jersey, implying that the 2011 NHL All-Star Game logo isn't yet ready for public consumption.

But that's not the only thing I wanted to mention this afternoon. Friday is the NHL Entry Draft, but it's also a day for parties and jersey and logo unveilings.

Islanders to unveil new road jersey

Isles unveiling new sweaterThe New York Islanders will officially unveil their new road sweaters at a draft day party on Friday at 5:30 PM Eastern.

An ad appearing on their website (right) serves as a pre-order form for fans not wanting to wait for theirs. Season ticket holders get 15% off.

I don't think it's any secret that this new jersey will be a white version of their royal blue third jersey — which is expected to become the new home uniform this year.

All will be revealed Friday night. But wait, do you see that in the draft party ad? Is that a logo for the 2010 New York Islanders Draft Party? Join me in the next story...

Draft Party logos? Really?

Islanders 2010 draft party logoYes, it seems at least three teams have kept their graphic artists busy at season's end, designing official draft party logos.

As seen above, the Islanders are all about it. Maybe its intent is to carry over the excitement from last year's draft when they had the first overall pick and everyone went crazy over John Tavares. They're down to 5th this year. All I'm saying is I'm just not sure people are going to be buying their 2010 Draft Party t-shirts in droves or anything.

Rangers and Oilers draft party logosBut as I said, the Isles weren't alone in this. Both the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers are also promoting their draft parties with special logos.

The Rangers came up with something very open and simple. The Oilers pretty much based theirs off of the NHL Entry Draft logo — at least the text part of it.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it and none of these teams made the playoffs, so it's not like the designers have had anything else to worry about since April, but I just found it a little strange.

Other teams hosting draft parties include the Blue Jackets, Predators, Thrashers, Sabres, Blues, Hurricanes, and Coyotes. And of course the Kings are hosting the biggest draft party of the year — the draft itself.

Anyway, that's not all that's going down on Friday...

Greenville to unveil newest ECHL team

The ECHL's newest member, based in Greenville, S.C. finally reveal all on Friday when they unveil the team's name, colors and logo!

The team accepted name submissions from fans but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. This team, formerly the Johnstown Chiefs, was relocated to South Carolina this summer and will begin play in the ECHL's 19-team 2010-11 season. They'll take on my Florida Everblades in their home opener on Oct. 21.

You can of course count on Icethetics for full coverage of the unveilings both on Long Island and in Greenville. So check back for all that late on Friday.

Classic Uniforms of the Future

We kicked off our week with the unveiling of the new Maple Leafs jersey, but there are still more big unveilings to come. Today I've put together a brief rundown.

Caps to unveil Winter Classic uniform

The Washington Capitals will unveil their 2011 Winter Classic uniform at the 2010 Capitals Convention on Oct. 2.

The announcement made on the Caps' website offers no details about the design of new sweaters, but traditionally teams look to past jerseys for inspiration at this event. The Capitals have two distinct design eras prior to the 2007-08 rebranding.

From 1974 to 1995, the Caps wore the red, white and blue they have today, but the logo and uniforms come straight out of the '70s — as you would expect. They are most noted for wearing white pants with their red jerseys early on in their inaugural season. In 1995, the Capitals adopted a darker blue and dropped the red in favor of bronze and black.

My bet is that both the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, who are hosting the New Year's Day game at Heinz Field, will select something from the '70s or '80s for their outdoor game threads. But don't expect to see Washington wearing white pants. (As funny as it might be.)

Flames to don special Heritage sweater

Canada is finally getting its game back! By now, we all know there will be a second outdoor game during the 2010-11 season called the Heritage Classic. The Calgary Flames will host the Montreal Canadiens at McMahon Stadium on Feb. 20, 2011.

On Friday, Flames president Ken King said his team will be donning a special sweater for the big game. Details by way of the Calgary Herald:

A new jersey is a certainty.

“We’re going to have a very special heritage uniform,” King said. “We’re not going to tell you what it is, but I think people will really like it.

“It will be tied to the history of Calgary long before the Flames were here.”

Long before the Flames, you say? Interesting. Major league hockey was first played in Calgary in 1921 when the Calgary Tigers were formed. They won a few WCHL championships, including one in 1924 after which they challenged the very same Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. And lost.

Fifty years later, in 1975, the WHA's Vancouver Blazers relocated to the Stampede City and became the Calgary Cowboys. They were significantly less successful than the Tigers and folded after just two seasons. Calgary developed a proclivity for taking other city's sloppy seconds (just a joke!) when the Atlanta Flames were relocated in 1980. So there's some interesting history there.

The 2011 Heritage Classic will be the first time Canada has hosted an outdoor NHL game since 2003 when the Edmonton Oilers challenged the Canadiens. (Is it just me or should the Flames be playing the Leafs in this one?)

King did not say when this jersey would be unveiled, but one would expect it to be well prior to February.

Update on Saturday · Jun 19 · 2010 | 9:32 PM PDT by Chris

One more thing I just came across. While no logos have been publicly unveiled for either outdoor game, there is a temporary logo being used on the Penguins and Capitals' websites to promote the 2011 Winter Classic.

It's by no means final artwork, but it does bear the traditional look with WINTER in a script type and CLASSIC in something a little more futuristic/gothic. Just wanted to throw that out there. I have no information on when logos for either the Winter Classic or Heritage Classic will be made public. But it shouldn't be long.