Is This the Best Winter Classic Leak Yet?

All right, I know a few days ago I posted a rendering of what I thought to be the Philadelphia Flyers' Winter Classic jersey — and it looks nothing like this. But if this one is a fake, it's the best I've ever seen.

Could this really be the Flyers' 2012 Winter Classic jersey?

A reader named Joshua Smith emailed in this morning with a link to an ebay posting. (In case that posting disappears, I've posted all the photos to our Facebook page.) At first glance, I assumed it was another knock-off based on a fan concept. However... There are some details of this jersey that have me convinced it's a legitmate Reebok product.

It doesn't appear to be based on any jersey the Flyers have previously worn. Perhaps that's why it's been so hard to predict. The tags... the stitching...  even the detail in the collar, which has become a new trend since the Blue Jckets did it on their third jersey. But when you get down to it, you just don't see this kind of quality on Chinese counterfeits. 

So I'm amending Monday's graphic to look like this:

And actually, the black numbers make a lot more sense now.

Islanders Launching New 3rd on 11/16

Leaked photo of Isles jerseyFinally, the announcement we've all been waiting months to hear. When will the New York Islanders unveil their new third jersey? The answer: in 8 days.

The answer came this morning in an online press release from the team, announcing the Islanders Winter-Wear Wonderland event being held Wed., Nov. 16 at the Nassau Coliseum's new team store.

As you know, this jersey has been one of the worst-kept secrets in all of hockey this year, especially since it's currently appearing in printed editions of the River City Sports catalogue. They're reponsible for the leaked image seen here (right).

But that wasn't the first time we saw it. Here's a quick rundown of how the Isles' third jersey story unfolded:

• Aug. 2010 — Isles director of retail operations reveals a new third jersey is in the pipeline.
• March 2011 — Isles blogger Chris Botta confirms a third jersey is still in the works.
• May — A fan with a friend at a sporting apparel store spills the beans, reporting the jersey will be black. I am highly skeptical.
• Aug. 4 — An ex-Isles designer posts a uniform mock-up to his Flickr account. It appears to be the new black alternate uniform. The image soon disappears from the account but lives on forever in cyberspace.
• Aug. 21 — Icethetics independently confirms details of the new look, including features changed from the ex-designer's mock-up (i.e.: white shoulders swapped for gray).
• Oct. 12 — The River City Sports product catalogue is distributed and features official photography of the unreleased Islanders' third jersey.

That brings us to today's announcement. And by the way, if these leaks weren't enough to convince you this jersey will, in fact, be black, why not let the Islanders hint at it for you?

Why else would Michael Grabner be decked out in black? If that's not a hint, I don't know what is. Perhaps it's just the Isles' new Winter-Wear collection? Perhaps not.

Islanders' 40th anniversary logoFurthermore, there's another point I don't think has been discussed here yet. This is the logo the New York Islanders are using to mark their 40th annivesary season (right).

The text in the circle that reads "celebrating 40 years of Islanders hockey" is set in a familiar font. It's the same font used in "Islanders" on the front of the leaked jersey. It's called Franchise.

The next question you probably have is this: since the leaks have been out for so long and the response as been less than favorable — and the team knows this — might they have changed the design between the leak and next week's release?

I think based on its appearance in the River City catalogue, that would be a clear no. Not to mention the fact that the Tampa Bay Lightning got an earful from fans over their new look, and despite wanting to make some alterations, said it was too late in the process to do so. That was February.

In other words, if the Bolts didn't have enough time between February and October to make changes, how could the Isles possibly have enough time between August and November? That's my take, anyway.

So has your opinion of this jersey changed since the first time you saw it? Because in eight days, it turns from Internet speculation into the real deal.

Share Your Winter Classic Theories

The 2012 NHL Winter Classic is now just 56 days away and we still haven't seen the official jerseys yet. It's a little surprising, but rumor has it we'll see them before this month is out. In that spirit, I thought I'd share what details I've been able to cobble together from rumors and speculation over the last few months.

Regular readers know I don't like to base posts off of speculation, but I have a lot of reason to believe these are very close to what we'll see when the jerseys are officially released.

Rumored Winter Classic 2012 jersey, New York Rangers / icethetics.info

Rumored Winter Classic 2012 jersey, Philadelphia Flyers / icethetics.info

Again, understand these are based on what I believe to be true. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am. Share your thoughts, opinions and relevant links in the comments.