0029: HockeyTown to CougarTown

In today's Winter Classic concept, Matt McElroy is looking back at an early incarnation of Detroit's NHL club — the Detroit Cougars. This Red Wings uniform is designed to call back to elements of the Cougars' 1928 sweater. Personally, I think this is one of the best we've seen for Detroit, and it probably has the most potential. It's red with hints of vintage white and it definitely looks like it's about a hundred years old — the way these sweaters are supposed to look. Well done, Matt!

0028: Green-a-thon Classic

It's St. Patrick's Day and this is where two features, Green-a-thon Week and Winter Classic Weekends, collide. In 1927, the Toronto St. Pats became the Toronto Maple Leafs and for a short time, the Leafs continued to wear the green. It seems that's where Nick Burton is taking his cues for this jersey — a very brief moment in history. But it was designed for a Winter Classic and today is St. Patrick's Day. It was the obvious concept to post — even if it is unrealistic as a jersey for the big outdoor game.

0022: A Cracked Bell in the Elements

Like I said yesterday, it feels like we need a break from the Wings and Leafs this Winter Classic Weekend. So I'm digging deep into my inbox. This Philadelphia Flyers concept from Erik Flemming was emailed to me way back in November. The Liberty Bell has long been used by concept artists as a secondary emblem for the Flyers. Here, Erik explains his design choices:

Key design features:

• Liberty Bell crest inspired by print image from 1966 contest to name the team
• Three thin black stripes are borrowed from Philadelphia Quakers sweater
• Two vintage white stripes represent the Philadelphia Flyers two Stanley Cup championships
• Fonts are current uniform fonts which have remained largely unchanged since 1967-68 (numbers) and 1972-73 (names)
• Shoulder design to be added (either current winged P logo or 45th anniversary logo)

0021: Four Dozen Classic Stripes

The weekend is here again. That brings new Winter Classic concepts. I count about 48 stripes combined in Mike Bell's throwback jerseys for the Maple Leafs and Red Wings. Might be a few too many. We'll take a quick break from Toronto and Detroit tomorrow.

0015: Christmas Classic

Welcome to the other half of our Winter Classic Weekend. This one from Alex Valvo poses an interesting notion. What if the Maple Leafs opted for uniforms styled after the Toronto St. Pats? That would probably give us a holiday-themed Winter Classic just a week removed from Christmas Day. But given that Toronto's colors are blue and white these days, I'm not sure it's a viable option — though this very uniform was worn for a game back in 2002.

For the other part of this set, Alex gives us another throwback. Prior to the 1980s, the Winged Wheel was never exactly centered on Detroit's sweaters. In fact, the middle of the wheel part of the logo was used as the center.

0014: Vintage White Classic

It's another Winter Classic Weekend and today is all about the vintage white, as you can see in Kevin Garrigan's proposal. This one isn't dissimilar from the one posted last Sunday in that its based on uniforms that are nearly a century old. However, Kevin is trying to show the age by using "vintage white." He's also gone with a light jersey for the home team (Detroit) and a dark one for the road club (Toronto).

0008: Back to the 1920s

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new Concepts feature called Winter Classic Weekends. In today's concept, designer Nick Burton takes us back to the 1920s with his suggestion for the 2013 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium.