Result: Luongo vs Turco

LUONGO NAMED CHAMPION!

Congratulations go out to Roberto Luongo today! Voters here at NHLToL have chosen his mask as the best in the league! The Luongo finished the final poll with a 54% of the nearly 2,000 votes.

Thanks to everyone who voted! This tournament saw the most votes cast ever on the site. I hope the next one will be as popular.

With this tournament over, I'm taking this opportunity to announce that the brand new ICETHETICS will launch on July 1. The big question I've had about this is whether the URL will change. In fact, it will so be prepared to update your bookmarks. ICETHETICS will replace NHLToL and ToHL.

NHLToL and ToHL will both remain online but will no longer be updated as of July 1. All of the concept art, jersey news, logo tournaments, and everything else you've come to expect from NHLToL will be featured on ICETHETICS. NHLToL will simply continue to serve as an archive. For now, I just wanted to make you guys aware that this change is finally coming.

And over the next couple of weeks I'll be detailing the new features you'll find at ICETHETICS, including specialized concept art galleries, an artist partnership program, more new tournaments for you to vote in, and a whole lot more. Get ready!

And The New Title Is...

I appreciate all the "birthday" wishes from you guys for the blog. But as you know, I will be changing the name. NHL Tournament of Logos is on its way out. The reason being it doesn't accurately describe the content of this site.

We did the tournament of logos last year and there will be others in the future, but now this blog has become so much more. I post fan-made concept art and various jersey news on a regular basis and the site has become very well-known for that. Plus, we're not even doing a logo tournament right now. We're holding a tournament of goalie masks.

The point is, this site has become more about the look of hockey in general. Logos, jerseys, masks, etc. Yes we all love the game, but this site is about how our game looks. So I'm taking this opportunity to give the blog a more appropriate title. And that new title is...

Icethetics

Simple. Unique. Relevant. Right? I hope that wasn't a let down for you because I'm just nuts about it. Allow me to explain in detail.

The word aesthetics from which the new title is derived, is defined as a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art. So to me, Icethetics would be defined similarly as the majority of the readers here have an interest in the "beauty" (or lack thereof) of their teams on the ice. The art of logo and jersey design is a fascinating one to a lot of people and I guess that's pretty much the point of this site — to fill a niche.

In addition to this name change, I'll also be launching a new web site at some point in the future. This blog will keep its format, but the web site will be dedicated to more long term projects. For one thing, I'm going to start compiling a history of logos in the NHL (and perhaps other leagues as well) in a "Logo Museum" of sorts. Same deal with uniforms and things of that nature. A blog just isn't a great format for that sort of thing and I want to branch out into that. By the way, anyone who's interested in helping out in those ventures, please feel free to email me.

Anyway, let me know what you guys think. Obviously your opinion is important to me as you are the reason I bother with this stuff in the first place. I suppose if the reaction is overwhelmingly negative, we'll have to go back to the drawing board. But I do think this name is the most appropriate. It also will allow me to begin incorporating other leagues into the same site — not just the NHL.

By the way, kudos to Charlie from Sabres, Not Slugs for planting the idea of Icethetics in my head in the first place.

UPDATE (4:47 PM): One more thing I forgot to add. Anyone interested in designing a logo based around the new name, Icethetics, and the tag "the look of hockey," (or feel free to come up with a better tag) my inbox awaits your creative prowess. Send your work to nhllogos@gmail.com.

The one I like the best will be featured on the site. Or if I can't choose, I'll do what I do best — a poll. Or if I like none of them, I'll use my own design (which I highly doubt will happen).