Specialty Sweaters in Excess

First, a big thanks to all the readers helping me out with all the specialty jersey news lately. You guys are great. That being said, there's a lot to cover today so I'll try to keep it brief.

On Tuesday, January 26 the Toronto Maple Leafs wore special throwback sweaters during warm-ups.

Leafs' throwback jerseyIn this photo, you see Francois Beauchemin, who usually wears #22, likely wearing Borje Salming's #21 sweater, as Icethetics reader Chris points out. Salming's sweater was honored (not retired) on October 4, 2006.

The following information was posted on the Leafs' web site:

As part of a pre-game tribute to better times, retired fan favourites Dave "Tiger" Williams, Lanny McDonald and Norm Ullman were invited to conduct the ceremonial opening face-off. Toronto players had worn throwback uniforms from the 1970s in their pre-game warm-up.

A reader named Michael, a Rangers fan, asked if this could be a sign of things to come. While obviously I can't say for certain, I do know I like it better than their current home jersey. But maybe they could use a dark third as well?

But don't get your hopes up. Don't forget, these were only worn during warm-ups, not even for an actual game. But it is still nice to see them every now and then. There are a couple more pictures in this Leafs' photo gallery.

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In less-awesome jersey news, the San Jose Sharks are auctioning off special edition Valentine's Day jerseys through the Sharks Foundation.

Sharks' Valentine's jerseysThey're white practice jerseys, autographed by the players, featuring names in red and small red hearts on the jersey numbers on the back. In fact, this photo to the right depicts very clearly what they look like.

Fans can bid on them in a silent auction format. The first half will be available during tonight's game and the other half go up on Tuesday night.

If you're a collector or just a fan who wants more details, click here. Of course this isn't the first or last time the Sharks Foundation will hold a special edition jersey auction. Details here.

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Now we move into the minors where all the real fun starts.

My local team, the ECHL's Florida Everblades, will hold their Pink in the Rink Night on Saturday, February 20.

Everblades' Pink in the Rink NightPlayers will wear these pink-infused jerseys when they take on the Kalamazoo Wings. The jerseys will then be auctioned off immediately following the game.

Icethetics reader Ian writes in to point out a neat element of the jersey's design. Normally, interlocking alligator teeth make up the middle stripe at the bottom of the sweater. For this special edition breast cancer awareness jersey, alternating pink ribbons give the same effect.

Having said that, if you enlarge the image, you'll notice that the right sleeve reads "2009 Pink in the Rink." Presumably, this is the jersey design used last season, or meant for use before January 1.

I imagine the jerseys worn next month will feature the updated year. I'll also try to grab some game action photos to share.

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Another ECHL club, the Johnstown Chiefs, announced plans on Wednesday to wear special jerseys for their Pink in the Rink Night event on January 29.

Credit: The Tribune-DemocratThey did so to the tune of a 5-2 defeat last night at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers.

The Chiefs have been holding their annual Pink in the Rink night since the 2007-08 season, and as always the jerseys were auctioned off after the game. This year's event will benefit the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center.

Chiefs' pink jerseyHere's a better look at the special edition sweater. It's basically a Boston Bruins home jersey with gold swapped out for pink. 

The wordmark is a nice touch, with the attached pink ribbon.

That wraps things up for now. There's a lot of other minor league jersey news that I'll be getting to later on. So check back soon for that.

Special Jersey Caps 35 Seasons

A week from Friday, the Washington Capitals will celebrate their 35th anniversary with a special one-game-only commemorative jersey.

The details of the big night — which is February 5 — were just released yesterday via the team's official web site. However, the release does not go into particulars with regard to the jersey itself. Only that it's red (probably meaning it's the regular sweater with a special patch).

Caps 35th Anniversary LogoThe Washington Capitals will be wearing a special, one-game-only set of red jerseys containing a unique 35th season commemorative patch when they take on the Atlanta Thrashers Friday, Feb. 5 at Verizon Center. Fans attending the game can leave the arena that night with their favorite Capitals player's one-of-a-kind, game-worn jersey.

It will be Game-Worn Jersey Night in Verizon Center, as MeiGray and the Capitals will be hosting a special exhibit at Section 119 in the concourse: 35 Seasons of Capitals' Game-Worn Jerseys. 

On display will be jerseys worn throughout the years by the Caps, including jerseys worn during the team's inaugural 1974-75 NHL season, jerseys worn during the 10th anniversary and 20th anniversary seasons. There will be jerseys on display that were once worn by Bob Carpenter, Mike Gartner, Dale Hunter, Rod Langway, Scott Stevens and many more.

I imagine that is going to be one kick-ass display. If you've got tickets and a digital camera, we'd love to see what they have set up. And we'd be forever in your debt.

I plan to set up a jersey gallery in the Specialty Jerseys section over the weekend following the game if you're interested in seeing what it looks like. Speaking of which, let's start the speculation. What will this red jersey look like?

If the Caps are going for the "heritage" look, they don't have many options. They spent their first 20 years in the original red, white and blue and never really changed the jerseys. It's probably safe to assume that 1974 sweater with the white shoulder yokes will be making a one-time-only comeback  (however, let's hope they don't opt for white pants).

Or could they be planning something entirely different? You'll notice that 35th anniversary logo (above) contains only the secondary Weagle logo that we love so much. Could this special jersey be more of a tribute to the next 35 years? Perhaps hinting at a future where the wordmark is a thing of the past?

We'd love to hear some more theories. Post yours below.

Update on Saturday · Feb 6 · 2010 | 8:57 PM PST by Chris

Yeah, so this didn't happen as scheduled. Postponed to March 6. Want to know why? Click here.

Habs 100th Gets Early Exile

Much to the dismay of us jersey geeks, the Montreal Canadiens have abruptly ended their Centennial celebrations — meaning no more 100th anniversary jersey nights.

Scott Gomez #91The news comes by way of Habs Inside/Out and the Montreal Gazette (via a link provided by Dave MC). It was a short, simple post that went up on Saturday morning. It read as follows:

Don't look for the Canadiens to be wearing their replica 1909-10 blue C-crested jerseys tonight or Feb. 13 vs. Philadelphia, as announced at the beginning of the season. The club says its on-ice 100th-anniversary celebrations ended with the Dec. 4 Centennial Game vs. Boston.

Wonder when they made that decision. It's a little strange to see them going back on something like this. My only guess is that the specialty jerseys did not get a favorable response from the fans. Reading through the comments on the Habs Inside/Out post only substantiates that idea.

So while it's awfully disappointing to see the Centennial Jerseys go by the wayside, it sure was fun while it lasted. Maybe they'll do it again for the Bicentennial. (But I'm sure Icethetics won't be around by then.)

As I mentioned before, I'm working on Jersey Galleries for these five sweaters. However, I am having some trouble finding decent game action photos. If you know where I can find some, please drop me a line.

Jersey News You Can Use

We're going to continue our run of weird minor league jersey news in just a minute — and trust me when I tell you this one's a doozy — but first I have a few NHL items to get to.

The Boston Bruins wore their Winter Classic jerseys yesterday afternoon (January 23) in front of the indoor home crowd as they faced the Ottawa Senators.

Bergeron #37 and Alfredsson #11Interestingly, going into that game the Bruins hadn't won a home game since the Winter Classic itself when Marco Sturm netted the overtime winner. Yesterday, the jersey did not, in fact, bring good luck and simply extended the Bs' losing streak.

Anyway, watching this game only cemented the notion in my head that these gold sweaters need to Boston's third next season. They look incredible — especially when compared with the current black alternates.

They have what may well be the best home/road jerseys in the NHL. To have such an awful third is just below them. Fingers crossed, Bruins fans!

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The Flyers also wore their Winter Classic jerseys in front of their fans in Philadelphia when they hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 6.

Schenn #2 and Hartnell #19They looked great as well but I think it's a foregone conclusion that these will be given regular use as the club's road jersey beginning next season. Hopefully then we'll get to see it without the Winter Classic patch.

It's strange they wore that patch for a normal regular season game but it may just have been to indicate to fans that this was a special sweater, and isn't yet ready for full-time use.

And if it is used on the road next year, I sincerely hope they fix the nameplate. It works on the orange ones, but not the white ones.

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As part of their 100th anniversary celebrations, which have been going on since the beginning of the 2008-09 season, the Montreal Canadiens are scheduled to wear historic jerseys every so often throughout the year.

According to a Special Events calendar handed out to fans at the beginning of this season, last night was a scheduled Centennial Jersey Game. The Habs should've worn their red 1910-11 jersey against the Rangers. But they did not! (I posted the schedule back in October.)

I'm a little confused as to why this change was made. I haven't read anything about it, but if there are any Habs fans out there who have, please fill us in. Meantime, we'll just have to keep an eye on them and see if they make up for missing this one.

For the record, I've got a few jersey galleries in the pipeline for the Habs' centennial sweaters. Expect to start seeing them this week.

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Now onto the minors. Two things.

What in the world is going on in Las Vegas?! The ECHL's Wranglers have become notorious for bizarre specialty jerseys and that streak will continue when they dress like — that's right — girl scouts!

Wranglers' girl scout jerseyAccording to the ECHL's web site, the Wranglers will wear these (right) Girl Scouts-themed sweaters on March 12 when they host the Bakersfield Condors.

Looks like they've earned their wrangling badge.

To be fair, there will be a silent auction and a portion of proceeds will benefit the local Girl Scouts organization. But isn't there some kind of line these men have crossed by agreeing to wear these to a professional hockey game?

Now normally I'd go into more detail with something like this, but Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy has already taken the liberty. He's got details from the Girl Scouts and even a television commercial about Girl Scout Night at Orleans Arena. But my favorite part is when Greg refers to the puck as a "thin mint." Do read it.

My thanks to Jeff for pointing this story out to us.

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And finally, Mark writes in regarding his hometown Albany River Rats of the AHL. There could be some drama here ripe for JerseyWatch 2010.

I'll let him tell you rather than trying to paraphrase.

While I have not seen anything online about this, word is that the Albany River Rats have been sold and will be moving to Carolina next season. Seeing as how I have never seen them over 50% capacity, I can see why.

So that's an interesting development. The River Rats have been in upstate New York for two decades. They were the Capital District Islanders from 1990 to 1993.

But here's the real deal as far as what's been reported by more legitimate media outlets. The News & Observer in Raleigh says that the River Rats currently have a four-year deal in place in Albany. It ends after this season. The report goes on to say the following:

Hurricanes management in the past has expressed a desire to have an AHL team closer to Raleigh and in North Carolina, if possible. 

Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Thursday [January 21] that he would neither confirm nor deny that the move to Charlotte will be made.

Rats owner Walter Rabb has said he would be willing to sell the AHL team but only if the franchise remained in Albany. But it appears the franchise will be sold and moved to Charlotte.

If this happens, it'll be interesting to see what it means for the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers. Canes Country reports that Checkers owner Michael Kahn may well purchase the River Rats in order to bring them to Charlotte, but does not go on to say what would become of the ECHL franchise.

The Charlotte AHL team could be named the Checkers if that franchise is disbanded or sold. If you trust Wikipedia — and I don't know why anyone wouldn't (wink, wink) — another name being considered is the Charlotte Beach Rats.