Just To Freak You Out XXXVIII

The absurdity continues here in my little corner of the world. First thing's first. We all have to be able to laugh at ourselves every now and then and god knows I make a habit of it. But this whole "rebranding" thing — it's a little weird, right? I mean it takes a special kind of person to keep an entire blog dedicated to the redesigning of NHL logos by various artistically inclined hockey fans.

I got a graphic emailed in this week that really made me laugh and I have to lead off with it.

Let the petty sniping begin (we all know that's what the comments are for anyway). I think it's absolutely hilarious. And when it comes to well-designed artwork, I get inspired regardless of whether I think a team should actually wear it in real life. That's what art is for anyway, isn't it?

But this post is about freaking you out, so you won't find any detailed and well-thought-out designs here. Instead, imagine the Quebec Nordiques going out west to become the Denver Dekes.

I don't have the words for it. Nor this.

I need a prescription for a drug that will allow me to fly. What's that? You say they don't make one? Hmm...

Forgive the poor quality of the jerseys in the next image, but these are worth looking at.

Be sure not to miss the purple and orange Flyers jerseys.

And lastly, an article on Yahoo! was pointed out to me today. The writer talks about the horror that was the Mighty Ducks third jersey back in the mid-'90s. (You guys should know, you voted it worst third jersey logo EVER!)

Anyway, that got me thinking. A while back I got these logos from a reader. He took the duck bursting through the ice and painted a different team's logo and jersey onto it — and then did it again for every team in the NHL! It's an absolute riot and this is the perfect time to start posting them.

As you can see I started with the Pacific Division so that I could show you the crazy duck with the new Ducks logo and colors on it. Just wait until you see the rest of the league. I'll post a new division in each Freak Out Friday post until we get through all six.

Reworking NHL Uniforms

There's another new artist I've received several submissions from but he's not looking to redesign team logos league-wide — just the uniforms. His sets include a home, road and alternate jersey for every club. On Sunday I posted his Ducks set (it's the first one in the post). But he's been working his way through the NHL alphabetically and I have a few more to share with you today.

We'll begin with the Thrashers.

I have yet to see a design from him that I don't like. And that streak continues with the Bruins.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the post you'll see a bonus alternate sweater design. But first, the Sabres.

A very unique set here mixing old with new in terms of logo design — a rare example of the designer going with a completely new logo. The Flames are next.

In this design he reintroduces the horse head secondary logo (which I always liked) while keeping the jerseys mostly unchanged except for the striping patterns.

And finally, here's a look at that bonus Bruins alternate design.

It's basically a black version of the yellow one above.

I'm enjoying very much being able to post some outstanding work lately from some very talented artists. I look forward to being able to share more with you as ICETHETICS launches in just one week.

Anaheim Sweater Concepts

Today I've got a number of sweater designs sent in by readers to share with you — specifically for the Anaheim Ducks. Interestingly, none of them features a redesigned logo or color scheme. So have a look.

This first set is all about unique striping patterns and I'm a fan — especially the orange one.

The next one is simpler with a little less originality than what we just saw but I'm sure traditionalists would love it.

And this one is another example of why the Ducks would look good in orange — except you obviously can't have gold numbers on the back of it.

The next two are sort of an upgrade to the current uniforms.

I definitely think the wordmark needs to get off of the chest.

And these two are just examples of gold jerseys — probably not the best of ideas.

Lastly we have a black jersey with some simple striping and the team name down the right arm.

Some of these are pretty bad but it could be worse. They could keep wearing what they have now.

Fan Art Fit For Kings

I know in Thursday's post I promised some L.A. Kings concept art for yesterday but that's what I get for promising things. But I just crashed in the afternoon. I must've slept 14 hours yesterday. Anyway, I've got it for you now.

A couple of great artists have recently started submitting new concept artwork to me to post here. You saw one example yesterday with the Flyers. On top of that, I mentioned his work on the Devils and Predators while completely forgetting about his Senators design.

But in that same post was an amazing concept for the New York Rangers. Well that artist has now come up with a beautiful rebrand for the Los Angeles Kings.

The gold offsets the purple perfectly and the silver doesn't hurt either. And the logos look great on the jerseys.

I love being able to post work from truly talented artists and look forward to continuing that. However that doesn't mean I won't also post the simpler designs, such as this one — which takes a page from the past.

And yes that alternate jersey is a recolored Ducks sweater. Wow.

Keep the fan art coming!

New Looks For The Whole League

I've opted to be lazy today. I have concept art but it's all in one graphic. One reader has redesigned the uniforms and logos of every single team in the NHL. Some of them are great... but some of them are terrible. I'll leave it up to you to decide what's what.

Comment away! Another edition of Wallpaper Wednesday comes tomorrow.

Land Of 10,000 Concepts

Yeah and I have about that many concepts for the Minnesota Wild tonight. After I posted the news about what their new third jersey will look like, my inbox was inundated with fan created designs. So naturally I have a bunch to share.

The one on the left is an odd combination of Wild and North Stars that doesn't completely suck. Sure, it's weird and you'll never see it on a jersey, but look at that thing. Crazy. Of course on the right is a simple green sweater from Jacob at We're Revolting!

Here's an interesting one.

I think MINN is just weird but then I'm not from there so I don't get to have a say. What do you think of a wheat-colored design?

Here's an odd set, taking a page out of the Dallas Stars' book. Funny how that works.

Still got a few more to share. The one on the left could work as a couple of options for a third jersey or a completely new home and away set.

On the right is a wheat-colored version of the current red home sweater. And we'll finish things off on the same tack, only going the green route instead.

The last one just has a different striping pattern.

My thanks go out to everyone who's been submitting artwork. You guys are the reason I continue to have content for this blog on a daily basis. Keep them coming. I tend to post the best stuff sooner rather than later so really put your heart into it!

Possible News About Wild Third Jersey?

I got an email from a reader named Jerry about possible new third jersey designs for the Minnesota Wild. Apparently the team held a fan appreciation day in St. Paul on Thursday and there were staff members walking around doing surveys with fans about new alternate sweaters.

Jerry said they had about six to eight designs to choose from and that they were not allowed to take pictures — probably because of sites like this one. Anyway, I asked him to describe the designs for you guys. Here's what he said.

OK, I'll try my best to remember

Two designs were just text: Minnesota and Minn, each had the North Star symbol for the dot in "i," the colors were green or wheat (single color).

One design had the letter "M" in the same font of the Boston Red Sox's "B" with the Wild colors orbiting the M, the color was red or green (the same for the following).

One was super-stretch "W" with Wild background etch in the "W."

The remaining two were morphing the Wild logo into "M" and "W."

That's what I can think off right now,

hope this can help!

If anyone would like to design concepts based on these descriptions, I'd love to post them. I'd also appreciate if anyone else who might have attended could confirm these descriptions.

And if you've got any tips or possible news on third jerseys, you can email me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

Eastern Identities

Just when you thought things couldn't get better, what with the Wallpaper Wednesdays kicking off today, I have concept logos. And some really great ones too. And since we did the West yesterday, today we're sticking to the East. Dare I say it, some of them even rise to level of Matt's work.

We're starting with the New York Rangers. And before you balk at the notion of rebranding a member of the Original Six, just give it a chance.

If you've been reading this blog a while, you know how much I love the Lady Liberty logo for the Rangers. Here are the uniforms to go with that logo set.

These work exceptionally well and I think that's hard to deny. Now I could go on and on about the quality of this artwork, but I'm more interested in reading what you guys have to say, so comment below.

But first, let's move on to the Ottawa Senators.

It's like a Hulked up version of the new alternate logo. Scary. Very scary.

Got a couple more neat designs before I call it a night, including a secondary logo for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Or who knows, maybe it would even work as a primary. But I'm smart enough to know you guys don't like messing with tradition.

Then this here is just a Philadelphia Flyers logo incorporating the Liberty Bell.

So we begin and end with "liberty" today, apparently. Weird. Totally unintentional. Seriously though, drop us a line. I really want to read what you guys think of these logos, especially the Rangers. (Take a close look at that secondary mark.)

I hope to have more for you tomorrow.

Western Identities

Concept art! We're sticking to the western conference for this one.

The same designer who created this logo for the New Jersey Devils has a few ideas for the Nashville Predators.

That's just cool.

And I have nothing bad to say about this one either. I love getting work from talented artists. Just makes the mind wander.

Next up is an idea for a hybrid Phoenix Coyotes logo.

Hadn't considered that before. Also a Los Angeles Kings concept.

Resist the urge to start in with the comments about Sacramento of the NBA. We know.

Lastly, I thought we'd finish up with another wallpaper. Tomorrow will be the big day though — the official start of Wallpaper Wednesdays. You guys liked the Boston Bruins wallpaper so much, the designer's made one for the Oilers as well.

This might also be a good time to drop a hint that the new Icethetics name will be taking over very soon.

The Blackhawks Saga

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you're more than well aware of my aversion to the logo and uniforms of the Chicago Blackhawks. Now it's not that I just dislike them, it's that they're consistently billed as being the best logo/uniform combination in the NHL.

Yet no one has ever supplied a good reason!

I like their uniform design just find but I think their logo is old-fashioned — and not in the good way like the Canadiens. Even the Bruins had the sense to keep their look updated without kissing tradition goodbye.

To that end, I got an email this past week with a great logo set I can't help but feel is an improvement.

There are also jerseys — same design, just with the new logos.

Feel free to tell me I'm wrong and that the 'Hawks should change nothing, but know that I've heard it all before. And if you're among those who believe Chicago has the best look in the league, allow me to challenge you to explain. My position is that they are solid. They're not horrible, but how are they the best?

By the way, when redesigning the look of one of the league's oldest and most storied franchises, here's something to avoid.

Get ready. Monday's coming.