Just To Freak You Out XXXVI

Time this evening for a Freak Out post. I know you've been waiting eagerly for two long weeks. We'll kick things off in New York. What do you say we mix all three NY clubs? And then do it all over again?

The things people come up with. Now if we head west you might find the odd Mighty Ducks jersey with interesting striping.

But staying out west things only get stranger.

I don't think I even need to say anything about that. It's just weird.

Got a couple of crazy logos to share as well. It's Phoenix — in its mythical sense, I suppose.

To finish off tonight's Freak Out Friday, we'll dive into the Stanley Cup series and look at the only two clubs still playing hockey this season.

Folks often try to "update" the Red Wings logo yet it never seems to take.

I can't imagine why. And I'm all about the powder blue Penguins jerseys allegedly making a return in the fall...

...but make up your mind at least. It's gold or it's blue. It obviously can't be both.

Join me again in two weeks for another edition and keep sending in your freaky artwork and I'll keep posting.

GFB Exclusive: Unused Lightning Marks

Earlier this month, I posted Matt's new Tampa Bay Lightning logos as part of his Rebranding The NHL series. They were met with much admiration. But there is a logo you haven't seen yet.

It was left out of the final design but as part of my partnership with Matt (aka GhettoFarmBoy), he's made some of his unused work available for your viewing pleasure.

I'm not sure what to make of it myself, so I'm looking forward to your comments. Post them below!

Don't forget, there's a Freak Out Friday coming at the end of the week. Get your wacky artwork in by tomorrow night if you want it included! Email me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

Albertan Art

No new poll today (first time in weeks, I know). Instead I've got concept art all for our favorite two clubs from Alberta. We'll start in Calgary and work our way north.

It's a flaming horse. I was a fan of the original black third jersey, but I'm not so sure on this one. Especially on a black sweater. But speaking of black sweaters, one might make for a nice, if not predictable third jersey.

This one's even got the provincial and national flags on the shoulders. But if your tastes are more suited to the traditional striping patterns, well we've got that as well — in red and white.

Next we head to Edmonton for a nice pair of jerseys.

The secondary on the shoulders of the white one is cool. But both of them work really well and have stripes that are actually stripes.

In this next set, we reintroduce the rigger in an updated version of the original logo as well as revisiting the old third jersey.

Believe when I tell you it could be worse. And if you don't, here's proof.

That thing should definitely always be silver. Never orange. Ever.

The next poll in the Goalie Mask tourney is coming up tomorrow. It's Luongo against the winner of the Fleury-Theodore match-up. At the moment, Fleury is ahead. Enjoy what's left of your long weekend — for those of you not in Canada.

Back To The Canucks

It occurs to me I haven't posted any Vancouver Canucks concept art lately. Figured I ought to rectify that.

This design or a version of it has been floating around for a while as a dream third jersey for the Canucks. Unfortunately, the rumors have the stick-in-rink logo on the chest of the new alternate. On that same tack, how about another green one?

It's hard to deny they would look good in green. Or somebody would. Between the Stars and Wild, it's almost like someone in the NHL is deathly afraid of the color.

But if neither that nor the stick-in-rink is your cup of tea, how about stick-in-pond? A perfectly circular pond, that is.

There are even some folks partial to the good ol' whale — with the new colors.

Or you could just go way back and mess with everything.

I think we can safely count that one out as a potential third sweater contender.

More to come this week. And by the way, the images above, as with all images posted here, are the work of readers like you. To have your work posted on the blog for all to see, email it to me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

Just To Freak You Out XXXV

I know you've all been waiting for two whole weeks, but I'm all set just to freak you out now. And some of these should really get the job done.

We'll begin in none other than the Windy City with a couple of logos that almost had tears coming out of my eyes I was laughing so hard.

Yeah, it's a Blackhawk and two tomahawks. I'm not saying the idea was over-the-top clever, but the execution had me on the floor.

Then there's this.

Which looks a bit more like a goose than a penguin. I guess that's what they were going for.

Not entirely sure what's going on there but the guy with the stick and... the eyes... that guys creeps me out.

We'll transition now from logo designs to jersey artwork. First, a completely new concept for the New York Rangers.

Yeah, they're the Broadway Blueshirts all right, I suppose. Which is a good reason why this should never happen.

Also, a not entirely unexpected result of naming your team the Ducks could be the nickname "mallards" — a completely harmless and ridiculous looking bird, let's all just be glad they didn't go with uniform colors to match.

Because as you can see, it could have been way worse.

Or you could just put a bug on your sweater.

I don't recommend it. However, if you're a Pens fan, I do recommend a trip to The Pensblog for some of the most entertaining coverage of Pittsburgh hockey. Their series of site logos during this playoff season has cracked me up. Enjoy this one (unless you're a Sens fan).

Unfortunately for them, there'll be no broom-clad penguin sweeping away wings of some sort.

Hoped you enjoyed this edition of the Freak Out Friday. Keep sending in the craziest artwork you can find/make and join me again in two weeks for another riveting episode.

Capital Conceptualizing

I've got some third jersey concepts for the Washington Capitals to share tonight.

The first one is based off the current uniform with colors and logos swapped.

Not bad at all but I'm partial to this next design.

The striping and style fit in with the current sweaters while also being different in their own right. Really, they could do a lot worse.

And I know a lot of people like the eagle secondary logo, so much so that they've asked to see it as the primary. Well here you go.

I think it could be smaller on that jersey, but I certainly like it better than the wordmark. The Ducks could learn a thing or two from this but we'll save them for another day.

And don't take this last item too seriously.

I was going to save it for tomorrow's Freak Out post but it fit with the Washington theme today. Anyway, check back tomorrow for the 35th installment of the Freak Out Friday.

Speaking Of The Sabres...

First thing: don't forget to vote to help Matt choose the color scheme for the Sabres rebranding. Second: I have Buffalo concept art to go along!

I know you guys have been eagerly awaiting the new batch of concept art and I apologize for the delay. I've been focusing my attention on the launch of Icethetics. I'm anticipating having it ready at some point in the next few weeks. At some point I should probably explain how that's going to work but that's not what this post is about.

We've got a very nicely designed blue sweater there with the old "goathead" logo on the chest. Nice color/logo mix there but probably not something we're apt to see at any point the future.

We've also got a nice shield which accents the "sabres" part of the design a little better.

And this would be a great throwback concept if Buffalo didn't already have the perfect vintage jerseys with the 1970s look.

Then, going totally off the beaten path is one of the coolest looking jersey concepts I've seen in a long time.

I know it's out there and it's contrast makes it difficult to place as a home or road sweater, but I love this idea. It's done so well. The design is based off of a logo created by John Slabyk.

All of these make for great artwork but will likely never see the light of day. However, that hasn't stopped a few fans from making their dreams come true. Recently, if you did an ebay search, you might have come across this gem.

You could even find it in white.

I'm not sure that what you see here is available anymore or even legal under copyright laws. But it's a beautiful design and I'd be willing to bet there are countless Sabres fans who would die for that logo to don that jersey on NHL ice.

So I hope you guys enjoyed the return of the concept art. I plan to have more up this week. You guys have been submitting some really great work! And stay tuned for a Freak Out Friday at the end of the week!

Just To Freak You Out XXXIV

Time again for me to try to freak you out with some of the crazy stuff people send to me. We've got a theme for this one, though.

As you know, we're currently in the midst of the Tournament of Goalie Masks. It's pretty cool and it's made a lot of people look at goalie masks in a different way. I'm not really sure how to describe these next couple of graphics. They're not so much concept art as... freaky.

Yeah, that's an astronaut's mask on Cam Ward.

Right, a welder's mask on Marty Turco.

Ah, and a diver's mask on Jean-Sebastien Giguere. That's just trippy. Wait it gets worse.

Stare at this a little while.

I'm pretty sure a bunch of Leafs and Sens fans just swore off this blog. It's just so... freaky.

Speaking of which, ever wondered if Luongo can pull off purple?

Yeah, he can't. I've got an "If They Mated" concept for the Canucks, though.

I like the Rangers' jerseys with the red in them. But now let's get really nuts. If you want First Nations art, why don't you just go all or nothing?

And the answer comes back plainly enough.

We'll stay in Canada as we finish things off this week.

It's an actual maple leaf. Inventive.

That's all. As I mentioned before, I'm probably going to be making the Freak Out Fridays into an every-other-week feature simply because I'm not getting enough stuff sent to me to do it every Friday. But I enjoy these posts when I can write them and I know you guys do too.

Enjoy your weekend and stick around for more news about the changes going down here at NHLToL. Our birthday is just a week away!

Stars And Sharks Fan Creations

I've got a little bit of concept art for you today. We're doing the Sharks and Stars in honor of their current playoff series. (Though it may not last too much longer if the Stars have their way.)

This first Dallas jersey is a green third that would fit in seamlessly with their current set.

Then we have a full set with a green home sweater and a black alternate.

The alternate looks great with the green shoulder yoke.

And lastly, we've got a San Jose fan design attempting to emulate the pre-Rbk EDGE design scheme.

By the way, I know a number of you have been asking about the Freak Out Friday series. It's not over, I think it's just going to be less frequent. I'm not getting as much crazy artwork as I used to so we're probably just going to have it every other week. Not to worry though, you'll be able to get your fix this Friday. Lots of great stuff on the way!

Oh and be sure to drop in tomorrow to check out the big announcement.

Big Update To Gallery

Not sure how many of you still check out the Concepts Gallery. It's been getting ignored a little lately by me, but you'll be glad to know I just added nearly 300 graphics to the gallery. Almost every album has at least one new image.

Most of the images in the Concepts Gallery have been featured at some point on the blog. Others are exclusive to the gallery. Enjoy!