Sens Talk Black

There are a couple of new items on the Ottawa Senators' official web site regarding their new black third jersey. I posted a leaked picture of the new sweater last night.

The Senators have announced that the new alternate uniform will be unveiled to fans on Saturday at 3:04 PM when the Sens take to the ice against the New York Rangers. Hm, two jerseys with only text on the front.

An excerpt from the team's announcement outlines their third jersey past:

This is the club’s third alternate jersey. The first, which was primarily red, was introduced in November 1997 and then became the official away jersey for the 1999-2000 season. The second alternate jersey featured an updated version of the black road jersey and was first used during the 2000-01 season.

Sens alternate captain Chris Phillips had some interesting comments about the sweater.

"I think they look great," said alternate team captain Chris Phillips. "Simple – I love the black. I think they're doing a great job on them. Last year they sat the whole team down, had some different options to look at. They took input from the players and everyone around the organization from what they thought looked best, and this is what they came up with and they did a great job of it."

See? Not everybody hates black.

Along with the above news item, a feature was posted on the Senators' web site talking more about the jersey. The team's marketing VP had a little more to say about the decision to go back to black.

"We looked at a couple of different colours in terms of considering designs," said Jeff Kyle, the Senators' vice-president of marketing. "The feedback we received indicated black was the preferred choice, so we went in that direction." ...

New this time, though, are laces that tie together at the collar — a Senators first. It’s the ultimate in retro jersey styling.

"Doing that distinguishes it from the other jerseys that we’ve had in the past," said Kyle.

The Sens also confirm the jersey will be worn 15 times at home throughout the season, including the next four home games.

I'll be updating the sidebar calendar in the next day or so to reflect all the new third jersey schedules that have been released.

Coyotes To Unveil Third Saturday

The Phoenix Coyotes have announced their intentions to unveil their new alternate sweater on Saturday, November 22. It will happen during the first intermission of the television broadcast of the Coyotes-Flyers game on AZ-TV.

From the official release:

The Coyotes will debut the new third jersey at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale on Friday, Nov. 28 when the team hosts the Colorado Avalanche at 2 p.m. The new third jersey will also be available for purchase at the Coyotes Den team store at the Nov. 28 game.

Icethetics broke the original leak last month and we've since come across many more pre-release photos.

This weekend is going to be the busiest yet in terms of third jersey news. On Friday, we've got the Sharks doing their unveiling. On Saturday, they're debuting it along with the Kings and Senators. On Sunday, the Lightning are likely unveiling theirs. And the final official unveiling will be the Bruins' alternate on Monday.

So it's not like we'll be running out of new content anytime soon.

New Sens, Kings, Sharks Third Leaks!

The leaks just keep coming. The big news tonight is that I can now provide you guys with pictures of the actual jerseys that were leaked during Icethetics Live Chats over the past several days. And I know you're excited about that.

We'll start with the Ottawa Senators. A new photo I have of a replica more clearly depicts the text on the front as well as the striping on the sleeves. You can also make out the tie-up collar.

Next, the Los Angeles Kings, whose leak was the most difficult to discern details from. This photo clearly shows the prominence of silver in the sweater design, especially the new logo.

It's obvious the Kings had their Gretzky (and for that matter Melrose) days in mind when when putting this one together.

In the image to the right you get a close-up of the new crest. Silver is all over it, trimming the banner as well as the LA. You can even find some in the crown.

Surprisingly, the silver really helps to keep this jersey from looking boring. I think it would've looked very flat just in white. Wait until you see the Kings on the ice with all the bright arena lights reflecting off the silver. They're going to look good.

If you can't make it out well in the picture above, there's silver piping running the length of the sleeve from the collar to the wrist. It's broken up however by a broad white stripe that wraps around the elbow. That stripe is trimmed in silver. And the thin stripe at the base of the jersey appears to be silver as well.

Overall, I think the Kings really got one right. It looks nothing like what they're wearing now, but it totally looks like the L.A. Kings.

Finally, let's have a look at the San Jose Sharks.

It's a little plain if you ask me. But that's no different from their previous black third jersey. I will say that I'm a huge fan of the full-body shark on the front. That's what needs to be on the regular jerseys. In this picture you can see the teal, white-trimmed stripes around the elbows and the lack of striping at the base.

Another thing to note is the absence of vertical piping that some of us thought we saw. Can't say for sure it's not on the back since we can't see it, but I highly doubt they'd do it on the back and not the front. Symmetry seems to be a common theme on these new sweaters.

The last thing I want to show you is the shoulder patch of this Sharks jersey. There was some question as to whether the SJ-fin logo was in black and white or color. Now it appears we have our definitive answer.

The SJ is in white and the fin is in color. Glad to see that logo make it onto the uniform. And in case you're confused by what you're seeing, the sleeve has been folded over the front of the jersey in this picture which is why you see the full shark logo.

I'll have the unwatermarked images in the Third Jersey Central galleries at some point in the next few days. And don't bother asking where these pictures came from. You know I'm not going to say. But when have I ever failed you?

So that's it. You've seen them all; pictures of all 18 NHL third jerseys. I'm glad to have been of service to you guys all this time — scratching that jersey itch. And I plan to continue doing so. I'll have complete coverage of each official unveiling through the Bruins next week. Technically, we still have six teams to go.

By the way, I'm still waiting on confirmation that the Coyotes are doing their unveiling during their game on Saturday. Look for more information on that right here tomorrow morning.

Flyers Unveil Third Jersey!

The Philadelphia Flyers became the 12th team to unveil their new third jersey for the 2008-09 season. They did so before season ticket holders tonight in Philadelphia — and then later on their web site.

The unveiling confirms Icethetics' previous leaks. The Flyers will go with an orange retro-style alternate sweater with a special white nameplate on the back. Even the striping pattern of the sweater is modeled after the classic '70s uniforms.

Along with the above picture, the Flyers posted a special tribute video on their web site. The throwback jerseys have caused nostalgia to run rampant! And I don't know any fan that isn't loving it.

Great video even if you're not a Flyers fan.

And another great third jersey to look forward to.

Update on Tuesday · Nov 18 · 2008 | 8:53 PM PST by Chris

The Flyers have added some photographs from the event they held tonight for season ticket holders where they unveiled the new sweater.

There you can see captain Mike Richards proudly posing with his new orange sweater. And here we have Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn and Glen Metropolit signing autographs.

Other pictures in the gallery show Marty Biron, Antero Niittymaki, Luca Sbisa, Ossi Vaananen and Jeff Carter were also meeting with fans. These pictures will all be added to the Flyers gallery at Third Jersey Central.

Stars Unveil Third Jersey!

Today the Dallas Stars officially unveiled their new alternate sweater for the 2008-09 season. As rumored, it's essentially a white version of their current black jersey.

It features DALLAS in text across the chest in green with the sweater number beneath it on the front. You can read more on the Stars' web site. But first thing's first. Here's a picture.

It pains me to think Brad Richards will have to wear that. So disappointed we let him go.

Anyway, here's how the Stars describe their new threads.

The new third jersey is the same basic design as their current dark sweater, but white. This look was introduced last season as a new design for the Dallas Stars — a word-mark as the primary emblem on the front of the jersey, as the team’s home of “DALLAS” is cleanly presented across the chest accompanied by the respective player’s uniform number centered underneath. The traditional Dallas Stars logo is featured on each shoulder.

According to their web site, the Stars will wear this sweater for the next four straight games. They also released a complete schedule for the rest of the season.

I'll add more pictures as they become available.