Update On Goalie Photos

Quick update on the goalie photos. I've gotten tons of emails in the last 24 hours from folks responding to my last post about photos I'm looking for. First, thank you so much! Second, I think I've got enough for the moment. There are some goalie masks for which I'll need new pictures.

I'll be updating this post today with a list of what I still need. You guys have been unbelievably helpful. Hopefully you can continue that streak.

UPDATE (7:15 PM): All right, as it turns out I've got all the photos I need at this point. Someone pointed me to an excellent site for gathering photos. I'll be working on those tonight so you probably shouldn't expect a concept post. However, you should expect to see the NHL Tournament of Goalie Masks begin some time early next week. Get excited!

Changes For New Tourney

I've been really going back and forth on this for the last few days trying to figure out the best format for this Tournament of Goalie Masks. Harder than it sounds, actually.

In going through photos and things, I'm realizing this would be difficult to pull off with a bracket of only 32. I'm thinking we should probably expand to 64. It'll be a long one. That's for sure. Here's the thing. ESPN lists 65 active goaltenders currently playing in the NHL. NHL.com, however, lists 99. That's a big gap. Anyway, my feeling is with a bracket of 64 we get the opportunity to grab the starter and backup from all 30 clubs plus a few extras which would account for the handful of teams with three goalies.

As for the voting in the sidebar poll, the top 32 you guys choose will be automatically placed in the bracket so none of them face each other in the first round. That is, there's the possibility all 32 advance to the second. So now I'm down to trying to figure out how the other 32 get selected. Probably just an executive decision by me. I'll go into a little more detail but first, here are a couple more graphics from the 44 I have completed.

Finished Graphics
I have 44 graphics done with photos I have of masks I'm sure will be in the tournament. They are as follows, by last name only: Anderson, Backstron, Biron, Brodeur, Bryzgalov, Budaj, Conklin, DiPietro, Ellis, Emery, Fleury, Giguere, Grahame, Hasek, Hedberg, Huet, Khabibulin, Kiprusoff, Kolzig, LaBarbera, Lalime, Leclaire, Legace, Lehtonen, Lundqvist, Luongo, Mason, Miller, Nabokov, Niittymaki, Price, Ramo, Roloson, Sanford, Smith, Theodore, Thibault, Thomas, Toivonen, Toskala, Turco, Vokoun, Ward and Weekes.

Pictures Needed
The 44 above are done because those are all the pictures I have. In order to do anymore, I'll need photographs of a relatively high quality of the goalie and his mask in action or at least on the ice. Close-ups are best. This is where I could really use your help, if you're so inclined. Following are names of the some of the other active goalies we might want to consider for the tournament. I need their photos: Auld, Boucher, Cloutier, Dubielewicz, Garon, Gerber, Halak, Harding, Hiller, Holmqvist, Johnson, Joseph, Norrena, Osgood, Raycroft, Sabourin, Tellqvist and Valiquette.

Keep in mind that I'll need current photos. This is most important if a goalie was recently traded, like Holmqvist. Not to mention I could use better pictures of some of the ones I already have done — Mike Smith, for example. Anyway, if you guys can help, I'd be incredibly appreciative.

Also, if there are other names that I haven't listed here, please let me know. Remember, don't just send names, try to send high quality photos as well. And help me consider whether to include goalies like Marc Denis who's still a member of the Lightning but not currently playing in the NHL. Remember, we need 64 goalies or 32. I don't want anybody getting a bye in any round of this tournament.

Email anything you think might be helpful to nhllogos@gmail.com.

At Work On Goalie Masks

You thought I was going to go a whole weekend without a single post didn't you? Gotcha!

No but seriously I have been hard at work on things relevant to the blog, actually. I've been designing graphics for the upcoming NHL Tournament of Goalie Masks. Indeed, this isn't something I'm just throwing together. Just like I did with all the logo graphics, I'm putting my own spin on the helmets.

Check out some of what I have done so far.

Those guys are among the top vote-getters right now in the sidebar poll so obviously there's no need for me to explain who they are.

My goal was to make you look only at the mask and nothing else in the photo — that's why everything else has been grayed out. That said, all the photos I'm using are game action photos and I'm still looking for better pictures of some goalies. I'll post a list here when I get a chance if anyone wants to help out.

Apologies for the small images. You'll be able to click through to larger versions when the tournament actually begins.

Let me know what you guys think of these graphics. I encourage feedback!

Goalie Mask Tourney Update

Quick update for you on the upcoming goalie mask tournament. I went through all 30 teams and came up with 48 goalies I could see being eligible for this tournament. Obviously, that's insanity. We're not doing a tournament that big. The max I'm willing to do for this is 32. Therefore, I think what I'm going to do is place a huge poll in the sidebar and essentially let you guys decide which goalies will be included.

This poll will have all 48 names and be multiple choice. That is, you'll be able to select as many goalies as you want when casting your vote. You can vote for all 48; you can vote for just 1. Whatever you want is fine by me. But ultimately, the top 32 vote-getters will make up this tournament. So while I'll continue to gather pictures, you guys will have another poll to vote on for a while.

In the meantime, if you're bored, may I suggest casting a daily vote over at ToHL where we're conducting a WHL Tournament of Logos. It's the beginning of a larger CHL logo tournament. The WHL will be followed by the OHL, then QMJHL. The three winners from each league will face off for one final vote.

All right, that's all I got. Just be prepared for a ginormous poll to appear in the sidebar very soon. Then pick as many goalies as you like. The 32 with the most votes will be in the NHLToGM. (I like abbreviations.)

UPDATE (9:11 PM): Okay, I've added the goalie poll to the sidebar. Choose as many or as few as you like. Happy voting!

New Banners For Logo Champs

Check out the new banners now hanging in the sidebar, dedicated to the champions of each logo tournament we've done here. I've got some concept art coming in a little while. Just wanted to point out what I've been working on this afternoon.

Go Vote In WHL Tourney!

The first poll of the WHL Tournament of Logos has been posted. Go and let your voice be heard!

By the way, I'm assembling plans for the NHL Tournament of Goalie Masks (or NHLToGM) and I'll have news for you probably tomorrow about how it will work.

WHL Logo Tourney Starts Friday!

No concept art today, but I do have some news. Voters at sister blog ToHL have selected the WHL as the first of the three CHL leagues to participate in a grand tournament of logos.

The Western Hockey League tournament will commence Friday afternoon. But for now, I've posted the complete logo pool for the WHL tournament. Check it out and get yourself psyched up to bring the logo voting back to ToHL!

Update: The Next Tournament

The sidebar poll hasn't even been open a day and it's already pretty clear you guys are most interested in a goalie mask tournament. I don't blame you. Some of them are pretty cool. I'm going to start developing a pool for the tournament and then begin collecting photos. I might enlist you guys for help on that. Most of you are pretty resourceful.

Anyway, I'll leave the poll up until it's closed but unless something drastic happens, I think it's fair to say we'll go with the goalie masks. But I've been getting tons of suggestions for categories not on that list. The way I see it, the more ideas we come up with, the longer this site can last, right?

So aside from the ones already in that poll, some I think we should get to at some point are goal horns, team mascots and even goalie pads. I'm still up for the center ice tournament, but that'll be difficult to put together. I need pictures and time to make graphics. It'll be a bit complicated but not impossible. If anyone would be able and willing to help out with that, email me.

That's all for now. Keep the suggestions coming in. Maybe at some point we'll try to get two tournaments going at the same time. It'd be a lot of work for me but worth it if you guys keep coming back to vote.

The Next Tournament

I know we've been tossing around ideas for the next tournament for a while. Obviously, I'm prepared to move out of the logo arena — making me wonder whether I should change the name of the blog. Anyway, check out the poll in the sidebar and cast your vote. Lots of folks want to do goalie masks. I'm up for that. We can also do jerseys, arenas, concept art, etc. Feel free to place write-in votes in the comments of this post or email me directly. I'm leaving the poll open for about a week so I can get a feel for what you guys are interested in doing next.

Result: Mighty Ducks vs Bruins

MIGHTY DUCKS NAMED WORST!

Usually a congratulatory message goes here, but Anaheim Mighty Ducks' third jersey logo has been named by you the voters here at NHLToL as the very WORST in the history of the league! The Ducks garnered a whopping 65% of the vote in the final poll to take the title. In fact, the Ducks logo won a higher percentage of every poll it was in than any other logo in any other tournament on this site. Quite a feat.

My thanks go out to everyone who voted! Nearly 60,000 ballots were cast since mid-January when the Quest For The Worst began. The quest is now over and we can definitively say which logo is truly the worst — ever!

Just as a quick note, I know this post is coming a few days late. But as it turns out, I thought I'd already posted it. I wrote it but I guess I forgot to click that all important "publish" button. It's sort of the do or die aspect of the whole blogging thing. In any case, it's here now.

You're probably wondering what's next. Well so am I. I'm open to suggestions. I'm constantly being asked when we're going to do a jersey tournament. That can be next if you guys want it. We'd start with a preliminary round where you'd vote on each team individually. That is, you choose whether you like their home or away jersey better. That would be followed by a full league bracket wherein we pit team against team. The reason I'd do the preliminary round is that for some teams the away jersey might hold up better than the home. For example, look at the Stars.

That's one option. Another one I've considered is a concept art contest. Readers can send in and suggest concept jerseys or logos to be considered as finalists and go head-to-head in a battle of the best fan-made designs. Just a thought.

There are other options as well. I'd recommend taking a look at the "In The Pipeline" post from back in October. I'm going to add a poll to the sidebar when I get a chance so you can let me know what should be next. If there's anything else you guys are interested, leave a comment. But do it as soon as possible so I can get that poll added to the sidebar right away.