Just To Freak You Out XX

The quality of Freak Out art I've become accustomed to was sorely lacking this week and that'll be clear after you get through tonight's post. It's not that nobody sent anything, it's that they were either trying too hard or not trying hard enough. I've got to have some standards, right? Perhaps not, but I'll forbear any further deliberation if for no other reason than to quite simply get on with it. Good plan?

What's wrong with this picture?

Yes, it seems like some of the colors there are a bit off. These too.

And don't even get me started on the absurdity of tropical storm flags surrounding a jersey with a Hartford Whalers logo on it. My head would explode.

Next is a Philadelphia Flyers concept logo that I think fits fairly into the "freaky" category.

At first, I liked this New York Rangers jersey. But the more I stare at it, the more it disturbs me. I don't care how old that team is. They need a new logo.

And finally, this one I just can't figure out. My brain tells me this is a nice Photoshop job, but a small part of me fears someone, somewhere actually made this jersey.

Islanders fans, I apologize. That's just horrible.

Anyway, that's all I've got for this week. Hope you got a little freaked out. And I hope you guys will keep sending in good Freak Out Friday material so we can keep this series going. Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Poll: Bruins vs Canucks

	vs
Boston BRUINS		Vancouver CANUCKS

Place your vote and then feel free to leave a comment as to how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!

Poll opening date Wed Dec 19

Poll closing date Sun Dec 23

07SCTRN | #2C | BOSvVAN

Painted On

I think you guys know by now one thing I'm a fan of is concept designers putting the extra effort in and painting their designs onto player photos. It's the closest thing we'll get to seeing what these jerseys might look like on the ice without them actually being stitched together.

Tonight's post is all about that. I'm starting with my favorite of the bunch. Why don't the Canucks wear green? Why isn't there any green in their logo?

Here's a new idea for the Islanders. I like it better than their real jerseys, but that's just my opinion.

Imagine the Flames in a black jersey. (Not sure what's going on on the shoulder there.)

Frankly, anything with a flaming C on it disgusts me right now after the 9-6 stomping the Lightning received at the hands of the team they once defeated for a Stanley Cup championship. Or did we forget that part?

Sticking to Alberta, many Oilers fans have been praying for the day that their club returns to their original colors.

While I'm on the subject, apparently word has been floating around that the Oilers have designed a third jersey that's awaiting NHL approval and will be worn next fall. I'm sure everybody's looking forward to that. I'll be sure to post something when I have more information.

And finally, we have black for the Devils.

If you have comments, you know what to do.

Poll: Canucks vs Sabres

	vs
Vancouver CANUCKS		Buffalo SABRES

Place your vote and then feel free to leave a comment as to how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!

Poll opening date Fri Dec 14

Poll closing date Tue Dec 18

07SCTRN | #1G | VANvBUF

Just To Freak You Out XIX

Finally, Freak Out Friday is back on Friday! And boy is this one a doozy. You won't believe some of the whacked out craziness your fellow readers have come up with this week. Let's start with an eyesore I probably never should've posted at all.

Yeah, there's no excuse for that. Speaking of inexcusable, here's a rather scary concept of a Tampa Bay Lightning logo.

Oh wait, it gets better. You know how Las Vegas has been involved in all the buzz about a possible future expansion of the NHL? Here's what they shouldn't do when it comes to naming the team and designing a uniform.

And then as always, we have our "If They Mated" blends. First, we have Pennsylvania's teams...

...and then all three New York clubs.

Plus as a special bonus, someone redesigned the Sabres' pants. But you know what I say? If the Lightning can have lightning bolts down their legs, than why can't the Sabres have swords?

Oh, and I mentioned the Penguins a second ago. I need to post this just so it's out there. I'm all for the retro blue jersey for the Winter Classic, but let's not go too far. Here's something to avoid at any cost.

And finally, I can't determine whether the designer of these hates the new Canucks jerseys, or loves them. You be the judge.

Hope you enjoyed your week — or at least your Friday. Christmas comes in just 11 days and you know what that means!

See you right here for another Freak Out post next Friday! And remember you can send in your concepts for consideration to nhllogos@gmail.com. I look forward to seeing them!

Just To Freak You Out XVIII

It's time for another belated edition of the Freak Out series. Hopefully I'll get over this cold soon. It's making me very unreliable here at NHLToL. And it's supposed to be Freak Out Friday, right? Anyway, let's dive in.

Wow, that was awfully violent. Who's hungry for buffalo tongue?!

I got a ton of submissions this week for the "If They Mated" category. And these are all about rivalries.

I don't even know what to say about this. Except that once again, don't send me hate mail as I am excessively illiterate and wouldn't understand it anyway. Also I didn't make these.

Perhaps slightly less inflammatory are these.

Everything's gone haywire. But wait it gets better. Sure anyone can mix two teams in a blender, but it takes a special kind of talent to do three.

Presenting the Anaheim King Sharks. Let me break it down for you. You've got the Sharks logo in Kings colors on a Ducks jersey. Can't get much more to the point than that.

While we're still on the topic of ridiculous jerseys, do you remember the crazy Red Wings design I posted a while back. (It's the second one down in that post.) Were you wondering what it might look like on Dominik Hasek? Wonder no more.

Don't know what he's so happy about. Hideous if I do say so.

Here's a scary merging of the current and original Canucks logos.

Whales that play hockey. I love it.

To finish up this morning's post, I've got a couple more whacked out logos. I'm pretty sure these come from a Quebecois looking to break away from Canada. It's like if Texas decided it wanted to be its own country. I laugh. But then I am a lousy Floridian who knows nothing of the politics of Canada. Look!

But wait, there's more!

So what do you guys think?

Oh and I'm just warning you now that any comments with discussion of politics will be promptly removed. Go elsewhere for that.

In the meantime, I hope I managed to freak you out a little. Until next time.

From The Pacific Northwest

I think I'm finally going to be able to start getting back into this again. As you guys have probably noticed, I haven't been as fully involved with the site as I was over the summer. But with all the new Rbk EDGE jerseys out there, I no longer seem to be a useful source of information.

Still, I think we've found a niche with the concept art, so as long as you guys keep sending stuff in, I'll keep posting it. Having said that, here is today's collection. (Let's clock it and see how long it takes for someone to baselessly point out how I "always" write about the Canucks. I love messing with people.)

Here's a simple redesign with green incorporated into the logo. It also takes advantage of using different logos for the home and away sweaters. And to go along with that, here's a green alternate jersey.

But an even better-looking green jersey might look more like this.

What you see there is the incredibly well-designed logo created by John Slabyk. It would certainly be nice to see a team in a green jersey. White, black, red and blue (orange and teal as well, I suppose) seem to be the only permissible uniform colors for this season.

I like the use of the "V" logo so I felt like adding these to the pile.

Worth considering, I suppose. And finally, let's just throw out everything we know and try something totally new. Grey and green.

The grey and blue look awesome together. I think that should be the color of a Lightning third jersey. (Anyone want to put together a concept for me?)

Comment now and let us know what you think.

Mailbag: Canucks Logo

I got an email this morning that really made me think.

Hey, love your website,
Do you think that the canucks have a good logo?

That question is so simple yet the answer is so complicated.

Whether you consider the logo to be the orca alone or with the city name arched above it, the long and short of it is I don't really have an answer.

From a personal standpoint, while I do think it is a strong logo, at the same time I feel it could be so much better and so much more representative of the city and the team name.

Having said that, I think the person asking this question would be better served by getting a response from the readership here at NHLToL. For the most part, you guys know your stuff and have very strong opinions. I think they should be heard now.

Let the debate begin!

Just To Freak You Out XIV

It's the end of another work week and we all know what that means — Freak Out Friday! A series, which by the way, has become very popular. So as long as you guys keep sending in crazy crap, I'll keep posting it every week. I'll start things off tonight in New York.

I felt I couldn't properly begin a Freak Out Friday without involving the Buffalo Sabres somehow.

See? This is what happens. What is that anyway? Somebody call Paul Bunyan. We found his ox. Yay.

Easily the most maligned logo in the NHL, imagine the "Buffaslug" on what's been one of the most maligned jerseys here at NHLToL. How much do you guys love this concept right here?

Not that much? Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse. Anyway, while we're on the subject of the Atlanta Thrashers, see if you can endure this monstrosity.

I know that wasn't easy, but don't worry, it's over now. Let's not let this happen again, all right?

Gradients on jerseys is a personal pet peeve of mine. Who was it that thought these looked good?

Oh yeah, those guys did.

Have you ever tried to use red, blue and black together? Here's why you don't.

And here's another reason.

Finally, I'll leave you this evening with one simple concept and a profound statement.

Only you can prevent forest fires.

Until the next time, try not to freak out too much.

Johnny Canuck

Folks in Vancouver have been hard at work putting together concept art for their team. I'll share some of it with you now.

When the Canucks unveiled their new uniforms a few months ago, I was of the belief that they'd planned to introduce a completely new look and a brand that could last a very long time. Well, that's where this team seems to be really challenged. They need an identity and this logo — among the new marks unveiled this season by the club — could've have been just the thing. I really do hope it makes its way onto a jersey one day.

Even one just like this. Although it does stink of Whalerness. Maybe not so much with the silver or something. I don't know.

Or we could just go all out with the old Johnny Canuck logo.

Personally, I prefer that "V" logo. It's just killer. Oh, and where's the green? Perhaps you ought to just revert to the '80s colors.

That's a heck of a jersey. And 08 as a sweater number? Weird. This barely escaped the clutches of Freak Out Friday.

And lastly, there's this.

What say we just go nuts with the crest and wrap it completely around the sweater? That would be interesting if teams started experimenting with something like that. Remember those original Mighty Ducks third jerseys from the '90s? On second thought, maybe not such a great idea.

More later, perhaps.

Oh yeah! Don't forget to get your votes in on the Vintage Logo Tournament final if you haven't done so yet. It ends tonight!

Tomorrow I'll have lots of big announcements on TWO new tournaments beginning next week. That's right, two! Should be exciting! Be sure to check back.