Entries from March 21, 2010 - March 27, 2010

Saturday
Mar272010

The Big AHL Affiliate Swap

It's been a busy week for affiliate relations between the NHL and AHL. Three teams from each league were involved in the big swap. Here's how it all breaks down.


The Edmonton Oilers started it all on February 9 by announcing plans to resurrect their dormant AHL franchise in Oklahoma City, ending their partnership with the Springfield Falcons.

The Oklahoma City team will be a relaunch of a franchise that has existed since 1984, most recently as the Edmonton Road Runners for the 2004-05 season, during the NHL lockout. The club gets back in action in 2010-11 but has yet to be named.

Some have predicted that it will be called the Blazers after the Central Hockey League team which was originally founded in 1965. The latest incarnation of the club, assembled in 1992, folded in 2009. The head of that ownership group is now involved with the AHL franchise.

Count on Icethetics for details on the new name and logo when it is officially announced.


Falcons announce new NHL partnerAbandoned by the Oilers, the Springfield Falcons announced a new affiliation agreement with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

During the press conference, the Falcons said they would be changing their colors to match their new parent club. The recolored Falcons logo was unveiled along with renderings of the new uniforms.

The Falcons are still affiliated with the Oilers through the end of the season, so the new colors and uniforms will not be adopted until next season.

The Blue Jackets' new deal suddenly left another AHL team without an affiliate.


Crunch joins forces with DucksThe Syracuse Crunch wasted no time, announcing the same day that the Anaheim Ducks would be their new NHL partner.

And just like the Falcons, the Crunch announced they would also be changing their colors to match the Ducks. The red and blue will give way to orange and gold. A recolored logo and uniform set has yet to be officially released.

The Ducks have spent this season without an affiliate, partnered previously with the Iowa Chops, who were suspended by the AHL on July 7, 2009. Recently, the Ducks expressed interest in placing an AHL franchise in San Diego. Costs led them to back down. Instead, they opted for an existing team on the opposite coast, a geographical head-scratcher.


As of now, each of the 30 AHL franchises set to play in 2010-11 are affiliated with their own NHL teams. Most wear their parent club's colors and/or logo on one or both shoulders of their uniforms.

Thursday
Mar252010

JerseyWatch: The Aftermath

Wednesday's JerseyWatch 2010 update was one of the most-commented posts in recent Icethetics history. Glad to see everyone enjoyed it. But now I have a few things to mention in the aftermath.

First, let's clear up a rumor that was born out of that post. A few sites that picked up on an alleged "leak" of the Buffalo Sabres' new third jersey from the SportsLogos.net message boards.

Just some concept art!Come on now. This image (right) shows up not 24 hours after my original post and it's meant to be the real thing? We know better than that. Let's be honest and call it what it is: a concept based on a description someone gave to Icethetics — just like one I posted the other day.

Now as far as concepts go, it's a pretty sharp one. The script is taken from the logo of the old Buffalo Bisons, a team that played in the American Hockey League from 1940 to 1970. Is it likely they'd dig that far back into Buffalo hockey history? Maybe not. But then I didn't think they'd use a script on a third jersey in the first place.

We'll just wait and see. And for the record, I'm not trying to tell anyone what to think. Just trying to guide you in the right direction when it comes to jersey news. It's why I'm here.

Speaking of which, one thing I failed to mention in Wendesday's post is that while the list I had came from Reebok, it could be subject to change.

They say that the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders are among the teams not making any changes for next season, but some of you will swear up and down that's not true.

You could be right. That list is not the end all, be all of hockey sweaters. It could grow and change over the summer and into the fall as more details become official. It's still early so just take it day by day. Your team may not completely let you down.


In other news, the Los Angeles Kings have said that they will be wearing their black third jerseys during the upcoming playoffs.

The announcement made on the team's website also said that the players made this decision. Interesting if they actually did. More likely it's a marketing ploy to get you to buy a jersey. I mean, if the players like it, then you just have to have it!

I've also heard that the Flyers are planning to carry their Winter Classic sweaters into the playoffs. Not sure if it's true, though.

Wednesday
Mar242010

NHL JerseyWatch 2010

If you logged onto Icethetics today hoping for a comprehensive list of new uniforms being prepped for the 2010-11 season, then it's your lucky day . Straight from Reebok, here's how next season's jersey line-up shakes out.

Let's get this out of the way first. There are 15 teams that will not be changing their home, road or alternate jerseys in 2010. They are: Atlanta, Boston, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Ottawa, Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Vancouver. In addition, Detroit, Montreal, New Jersey and Washington are the only 4 teams that do not have third jerseys and do not plan on adding or changing anything.

That leaves 11 teams with changes to discuss. This entry will serve as a reference for the next few months, so I'm going to keep things simple by going in alphabetical order.

Anaheim Ducks

New alternate jersey According to the information I have from Reebok, the Ducks will be adding an alternate jersey this season. Their home and road sweaters will remain unchanged.

By the way, the list I have does not detail any design elements so all we'd have is speculation at this point. And I'm going to try to avoid a lot of blind guessing in this post. You guys should feel free to add your speculation in the comments.

Buffalo Sabres

New home, road & alternate jerseys The Sabres will be undergoing big changes to celebrate their 40th anniversary season. Their current third jersey — a throwback with some modern updates — will take over as the home jersey, as has long been rumored.

Reebok lists the Sabres' road sweater as TBD, but it will most likely be a white version of the current alternates. I also understand they'll be adding an entirely new third jersey, but I'm told it may be only for the 40th anniversary season.

Sabres 2010 third jersey conceptIt will be royal blue with BUFFALO in a white script across the front, containing the vintage logo with the player's number underneath. The concept here to the right is my own rough rendering of the description I've been given. I've added the traditional striping and colors.

Obviously this jersey design isn't exact. But based on what I've been told, it's probably a good estimation. We'll have to wait until this summer to find out for sure.

Calgary Flames

New alternate jersey As the Flames have already announced, they will be bringing back the red retro jersey that was worn for a handful of games this season. The major difference is that it will be adapted to the Reebok Edge cut. The striping will remain as is. The home and road sweaters will not change.

The rumored black jersey that was previously in the works has likely either been tabled for a few years or scrapped entirely. We may never know. Unless Ken King gets chatty.

Columbus Blue Jackets

New alternate jersey The Blue Jackets have not made an official announcement, but the Columbus Dispatch confirmed earlier this month that a new third jersey is in development and will be used in the 2010-11 campaign. This is corroborated by Reebok.

According to the newspaper, a cannon will be the central feature of the crest on the new uniform. No other details have been made available at this time.

Dallas Stars

Road & alternate jerseys swapped Reebok confirms that the Stars will officially switch their road and alternate jerseys next season. Both jerseys are white. Currently, the third is a white version of the home jersey, which features DALLAS arched above the sweater number.

As of the fall, the white DALLAS jersey will become the primary road sweater. The one crested with the Stars' primary logo will become the alternate.

Nashville Predators

New home & road; no alternate jersey The indication from Reebok is that the Predators will turn the alternate jersey they launched this season into their new home sweater. The road sweater is listed as TBD but a safe assumption is that it will be a light version of the new dark jersey.

Because of these major changes, the Preds will not wear an alternate next season.

The new home jersey (third, currently) features the same primary logo the team has used since its inception in 1998 but with a simplified color scheme — now navy, steel blue silver and black. The gold and orange have been removed.

New York Islanders

New road jersey The Islanders are still a bit of a mystery for 2010. Reebok says only the road jersey will be changing. However, Isles blogger Chris Botta said last year that the current retro thirds would become the new home sweater.

It could be an oversight on Reebok's part or an indication that the Isles are sticking with their current jersey for home games. Botta also confirmed that a white version of that retro jersey was in the works. It's likely that will be the design of the new road sweater.

All of these questions will likely be answered this summer.

New York Rangers

New alternate jersey Reebok verifies the news we've all been dying to hear. The Rangers will wear an alternate jersey next season. But will it be the Lady Liberty logo make her glorious return?

Possible Rangers third?Reebok doesn't specify, however, Rangers blogger Greg Caggiano recently claimed to have the inside track on the new thirds. He says he's been told they'll be nearly identical to the current home jersey with NEW YORK replacing RANGERS across the front.

Caggiano doesn't specify a source so it could just be guessing. I think it would disappoint a lot of Rangers fans and Icethetics readers. The Rangers arguably had the best third jersey of the '90s with that Statue of Liberty logo emblazoned on the front.

Those navy blue sweaters were so popular that in 1998 the Rangers even added a white version for a short time. They were used up until 2007 when Reebok took over the league.

The Rangers previously wore a blue jersey with NEW YORK on the front from 1978 to 1987. The team's home and road sweaters will not change next season.

Philadelphia Flyers

New road jersey The Flyers will don new road threads for the 2010-11 campaign. While Reebok doesn't say so specifically, it is widely assumed they will wear the retro white jersey that debuted at the 2010 Winter Classic in Boston.

The Flyers have worn the jersey on at least one occasion in front of the home crowd since the outdoor game at Fenway Park. Their home and alternate jerseys will remain unchanged.

Pittsburgh Penguins

New alternate jersey It's been widely rumored and now Reebok is confirming that the Penguins will ditch their powder blue thirds in favor of a new alternate uniform for 2010-11. Once again, the manufacturer hasn't released any details of the design.

However, Tribune-Review beat writer Rob Rossi said in December that blue would be returning in some fashion to the new third jersey. It's probably a safe bet that the Pens will dig into their past once again for this sweater — likely going with one of the darker blue options.

The home and road jerseys will stay the same.

Toronto Maple Leafs

New home & road jerseys This may be a tad misleading. Reebok says the Maple Leafs will redesign their home and road sweaters for next year. Technically, this is accurate, but it won't be a major overhaul. At least not according to Howard Berger.

He claims to have seen all of the 2010 jersey changes and says that the white stripes, once around the base of the team's jerseys before Reebok got involved, will finally be returning. He also says the jerseys will have a new shoulder patch, noting that the previous one was a TML logo which debuted in 2000. He doesn't say what the new one will look like.

The retro alternate jersey will remain intact.


And that's your JerseyWatch 2010 update. This post will continue to be updated throughout the summer as new details emerge. Any thoughts on the changes for the new season?

Monday
Mar222010

Early Cats Concept Art

Panthers unveil Den of HonorThis past weekend, the Florida Panthers unveiled their Den of Honor, a tribute to the brief but colorful history of hockey in South Florida.

Among the many exhibits at the BankAtlantic Center is a display that showcases some of the team's early logo concepts — of obvious interest to Icethetics readers.

Some early Panthers conceptsIt features two framed canvases with over a dozen different sketches of potential logos, designed back in the early '90s. 

These images come from a video about the unveiling of the Den of Honor, posted on the Panthers' website Saturday. Click here to watch it.

One of the most unfortunate sketches appears to be that of a panther stretching in a downward position, head on the ground and hind quarters way up in in the air. The witless puns almost write themselves.

More Cats concepts on displayThankfully, based on the majority of the concepts, it seems clear that management was in favor of a leaping panther. The only question dealt with the positioning of the paws.

Take a look at the sketch in the center of this image (right), the differently-positioned paws may be more anatomically realistic, but leave the logo feeling a bit unbalanced. And anatomical realism has no place in sports logos anyway.

See the small logo just above that one? It's nice to see they avoided the temptation to go with the three-quarter view — unlike some teams (Ottawa).

Personally, I think the Panthers have one of the coolest hockey logos despite its intricacies. And after 17 years it's neat to see the team finally showing us what could have been.

Just call it a third already

Bruins don classicsThe Boston Bruins broke out the Winter Classic threads for the fourth time this season on Sunday.

The Bruins donned their specially-designed duds before the home crowd, beating the New York Rangers 2-1 in their first indoor win while wearing gold.

At this point, they just need to call it the third jersey — officially. After all, the current black thirds could use replacing. The Bs arguably have the best home and road sweaters in the NHL along with the worst alternate.

Whether it returns this fall for the 2010-11 campaign remains to be seen, but it might be a safe bet that we'll see it again before this season is out. All the previous occurrences of the jersey were weekend matinee games.

Of course, the Fenway Park game was an afternoon match. The Bs wore the golds next on Saturday, Jan. 23 for a 1:00 PM start against Ottawa and again on Saturday, Feb. 6 for another 1:00 PM start against the Canucks. Yesterday's game against the Rangers started at 12:30 PM.

The Bruins now have two more afternoon home games left on the schedule. The first is Mar. 27 against the Flames and the other is Apr. 10 against the Hurricanes. Could it show up again at one or both of these games?