Hawks List 3rd Jersey Dates

One of my favorite third jerseys belongs to the Chicago Blackhawks. And lucky for me, they plan to wear it against my Tampa Bay Lightning later this season.

The sweater debuted at the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field and was adopted as the team's alternate uniform the following season. Our buddy Glen C. emailed in to let us know the Hawks released their third jersey schedule earlier this week.

The sweater is set for an 11-date run during the 2010-11 campaign, including its season debut next Friday. Here's the full rundown:

• Fri., Oct. 29 - vs Edmonton
• Wed., Nov. 10 - vs Phoenix
• Wed., Dec. 8 - vs Dallas
• Wed., Dec. 22 - vs Nashville
• Wed., Jan. 12 - vs Colorado
• Tue., Jan. 25 - vs Minnesota
• Tue., Feb. 1 - @ Columbus
• Thu., Feb. 24 - @ Nashville
• Fri., Mar. 4 - vs Carolina
• Sat., Mar. 26 - vs Anaheim
• Sun., Apr. 3 - vs Tampa Bay

As you can see, the schedule includes two road games during the month of February against division rivals. That means the Blue Jackets and Predators will wear white at home on those nights. 

Only Nashville will see the jersey twice this season and the Southeast Division's Hurricanes and Lightning are the only Eastern Conference teams set to face it.

By the way, in case all of these third jersey dates are too much for you to keep track of, count on the Icethetics calendar in the sidebar to do all the heavy lifting.

Loose Threads: Cats & Rags

Bill Torrey thinks the Panthers will bring the red back and MSG says the Rangers will launch their new third jersey on Nov. 17. These are the topics of today's Loose Threads.

Panthers: Bringing back the red

Florida Panthers architect Bill Torrey, who retired in 2001, seems to think the team will be bringing back the red jerseys at some point.

Miami Herald beat writer George Richards tweeted yesterday, quoting Torrey as saying the "we'll get 'em back," with regard to the team's original uniform colors. Today on his blog, On Frozen Pond, Richards went into more detail:

Bill Torrey, honored by the Panthers on Saturday, said he had to fight with then-owner Marti Huizenga regarding the team's colors and uniforms back in 1993.

[He] said she preferred the Marlins' black-and-teal color scheme, which then, was all the rage. Then she saw the red jerseys on opening night in Chicago "and she came up to me and told me how much she loved them.''

I asked if he missed those red jerseys, gone now since the Reebok redesign. I take it he's not a fan of the new Tampa Bay BlueRays.

"We'll get 'em back,'' he said.

That post is then followed up by a string of reader comments lauding Torrey for his years of service to the team and the desire to see red return to the Panthers uniforms. Thanks to Danny C. for the link.

Last week I mentioned the Panthers will celebrate three Throwback Nights this season. It got us thinking that they might bring back the red jerseys for those few nights. Perhaps Torrey's comments lend some credence to this. Hard to say for sure at this point.

The Throwback Nights will be held on Dec. 7, Jan. 15 and Mar. 17.

Rangers to debut third jersey Nov. 17

The New York Rangers will hit the ice in their new alternate sweaters for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 17 when they host the Bruins at Madison Square Garden, according to MSG Network.

Icethetics readers Adrian and A.J. both wrote in today with the details. The guys tell me that during last night's broadcast, there was talk of Martin Biron's new mask, which will be worn whenever the third jersey is — and it will debut next month.

Below is a look at Biron's new mask alongside its inspiration, the mask of none other than Gilles Gratton. (Biron's mask comes by way of Rangers fan blog Blue Line Station.)

Martin Biron's new mask alongside the original

In case you missed it, Sean Avery posted a photo of the unreleased third jersey on his blog last month. It was quickly removed but remains here on Icethetics (right).

But regarding last night's broadcast, Adrian emailed me the following:

At the very beginning of the second period [the broadcasters] did a little background color piece on Marty Biron and his new American flag mask. Then they announced that he also has a second mask that was just created.

The mask consists of a lions jaws surrounding the face cage with the Rangers 85th anniversary logo on both sides. The mask is a tribute to former NYR goalie Gilles Gratton.

Sam Rosen (Rangers commentator) then announced that it was created in a vintage style and will only be worn with the Rangers third jerseys, which will are set to debut on Nov. 17 against the Bruins.

So I'll add that to the calendar and we'll keep an eye on it.

Sharks Release 3rd Jersey Sked

The San Jose Sharks will wear their black third jerseys on Mondays and Thursdays this year, according to the team's website.

Icethetics reader Ethan K. provides us with a link to the schedule on the Sharks' official site. It includes 14 home dates during the regular season. The jersey was unveiled in 2008 and isn't changing, though it will likely feature the 20th anniversary patch beneath the number on the left sleeve just as the home and road sweaters do for the 2010-11 campaign.

The jersey makes its season debut next month. The schedule is as follows:

• Thu., Nov. 11 - vs NY Islanders
• Mon., Nov. 15 - vs Los Angeles
• Mon., Dec. 13 - vs Dallas
• Thu., Dec. 23 - vs Phoenix
• Mon., Dec. 27 - vs Los Angeles
• Mon., Jan. 3 - vs Vancouver
• Thu., Jan. 6 - vs Buffalo
• Thu., Jan. 13 - vs Edmonton
• Thu., Feb. 17 - vs Washington
• Thu., Mar. 3 - vs Detroit
• Thu., Mar. 10 - vs Vancouver
• Thu., Mar. 17 - vs Minnesota
• Thu., Mar. 31 - vs Dallas
• Mon., Apr. 4 - vs Los Angeles

Looks like the Kings will not see the Sharks in teal this season. Interesting choice. The Sabres, Isles and Caps are the only Eastern teams that will face the "BlackArmor."

And, now be like Ethan. If you happen to come across a schedule for your team's third jersey, drop me a line so I can let everyone know.

New 3rd Logo for Columbus?

When it rains, it pours. 

And although the recent bout of weather has been more of a drizzle than a deluge, today we're talking about the Columbus Blue Jackets, whose upcoming third jersey we know almost nothing about. Until now. Maybe.

Mask with logo in questionIcethetics regular Glen C. wrote in yesterday with an interesting tip. After being inspired by the great finds on retail websites lately, he made a discovery of his own on a site that sells, among other things, a line of goalie masks for kids, including this one (right).

First of all, check out the forehead. It sure looks like a Blue Jackets logo, but not like any we've ever seen before. It features crossed cannon and a silver star.

Flashback to March 16. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch told us then that a cannon will be "the central part of the main logo" on the forthcoming alternate sweater. And we've heard nothing more about it in seven months.

In a moment I'll explain why this logo seems legitimate but first, something's been bugging me. There seems to be a general feeling amongst readers that the Blue Jackets are the most super-secretive organization in the NHL for theirs to be the only remaining jersey we have no details on. Not from where I'm sitting.

Nash rocks the purpleFor one thing, the team isn't fully in charge of keeping the design under wraps. That's Reebok and the NHL, especially when it comes to e-tailers. Moreover, if you want to know why there hasn't been a leak yet, allow the attendance at last night's game to serve as some indication. With barely 9,800 souls in the stands in Columbus, it seems clear to me that the biggest problem is the lack of interest in this team.

By the way, this picture (right) isn't totally random. The Jackets skated out in purple jerseys for warm-ups as part of Hockey Fights Cancer Night. Beats pink.

Now back to why I'm not ready to dismiss this logo thing. The image/product in question turned up on HockeyGear.com. It is only one of many in a line by Franklin Sports, an NHL licensee, featuring various NHL teams. Each mask features official team logos, unlike that line of Zephyr hats, for example. Why would they make one up on only the Jackets mask?

That being said, I'm not 100% convinced. The biggest question: When was this product line created and introduced? If it's more than six months old, the logo probably wasn't ready to be licensed for third party products. For what it's worth, the Sabres mask still has the slug on it and the Oilers mask has the secondary oilman logo that hasn't been used since 2007. I'm not ready to call this a "leak," per se, but it sure fits the bill.

By the way, in case you missed it, the game night promotions schedule on the Blue Jackets' website says:

Friday, Nov. 26 vs. Detroit Red Wings Debut of new third jerseys: The Blue Jackets will take the ice wearing their new third jerseys for the first time to kick off a big sports weekend in Columbus as the Blue Jackets take on the Red Wings on the eve of the Ohio State/Michigan game in Columbus.

Portzline shot down the idea of a red jersey in his March article, but I'm not so sure. Also, and I know many of you won't want to hear this, but take note that the two cannon are black in this logo. The Blue Jackets actually used black on their first third jersey back in 2003. Just saying.

Let the countdown to Nov. 26 begin.

Update on Thursday · Oct 21 · 2010 | 9:44 AM PDT by Chris

I'm not sure what value, if any, this holds, but these same masks are sold on the NHL's own online store. Interestingly, they don't list all of the masks on HockeyGear.com, most notably, the Blue Jackets version. However, Glen did track down a URL for the image on the NHL's servers where all of the other masks are stored.

Could it be that the Blue Jackets helmet is the newest in the product line, and because of the logo on the front, it isn't supposed to be on display yet? Of course I'm just guessing. Who doesn't love a good conspiracy theory?

Pens at Winter Classic Revisited

A little web surfing has turned up more evidence that we're on the right track for the design of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2011 Winter Classic jersey.

After yesterday's leak of the Anaheim Ducks' new third jersey, I thought I'd peruse a few other online retailers. A few readers also had the same idea. Interestingly, the site that yielded the best information was the NHL's own shop.nhl.com.

Penguins knit hat / shop.nhl.comAmong other things, the search turned up this knit hat (right), which is dark blue and features the powder blue/vintage white stripes, a look that evokes the team's original 1967 uniforms.

In case you didn't believe me before, what more proof could you want outside of seeing the actual jersey. This certainly seems to be the creative direction the Penguins are taking for this Winter Classic.

But wait, there's more. However, this next item is no longer appearing on the website (that I could find, at least). Luckily I nabbed the image yesterday before it disappeared — though it'll likely be back online before long.

Penguins t-shirt / shop.nhl.comThis t-shirt (left) perhaps provides a little more proof that the rounded numbers from that original jersey are to be used on the new dark blue sweater.

It's a dead ringer for the rendering posted here on the blog a couple weeks ago. Colors and everything. Even the captain's C is set in the same Helvetica-like type as the numbers. Those original jerseys never had nameplates so it seems Pittsburgh will carry the style over from their current uniforms.

I hope this is the final blog post on this subject before the official unveiling — which is apparently happening before the end of the month. They have 11 days.

So what's your take? Is the dark blue a good direction for an alternate Penguins uniform? Should Mario and Co. have gone back to the black and gold days of the '80s and '90s?