Rethinking The 'Hawks

I seemed to have inadvertantly caused quite a stir with my forward-thinking approach to NHL jerseys. Specifically, the fact that I'm not in love with the New York Rangers' jerseys. But that's all right, people will never agree on everything. That's what keeps things interesting.

Just the other day a reader emailed me this idea he had to make over the Chicago Blackhawks' sweater. Prepare to be offended, ultra-traditionalists.

Don't shoot the messenger. Please.

It's not that I think this is better than the current red one, because I don't. But what about a third jersey for the future? You know, just something extra.

No? I didn't think so. Worth a shot, though.

Rbk EDGE Review: Rangers

Part 21 of 30. All 30 NHL clubs have unveiled new jerseys under the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System for the 2007-08 season. Here at the NHLToL, we're going to review every one of them. Read up and then rate the new sweaters. We'll do a full ranking after completing all of the reviews.

Rbk EDGE Uniform System

New York Rangers

New Uniforms

Old Uniforms

The Unveiling
The Rangers held no unveiling ceremony and images of their new jerseys were the last to be posted at online stores selling NHL gear.

Home vs. Road
Home: Blue. Road: White. The two sweaters are essentially mirror images of each other aside from the patterns on the shoulders.

The blue home jerseys feature white-red-white stripes around the elbows and waist. Red letters with white trim spelling out "RANGERS" are positioned diagonally across the front of the sweater and the laces at the collar are white.

The blue home jerseys feature slightly spaced blue-red-blue stripes around the elbows and waist. The shoulder yoke is blue with spaced red-blue stripes on the outside. Blue letters with red trim spelling out "RANGERS" are positioned diagonally across the front of the sweater. A blue stripe wraps around the wrist. The collar is red and the laces are white.

In The Details
The Rangers are the only team that does not use its primary logo on either jersey. The same numbering and lettering style has been retained.

New & Old
There are no major differences between the new and old jerseys. Slight modifications have been made though, including the league-wide changed collar. Also, the letters on the front of the sweater have been vertically spaced more and at times may seem a little off center.

Standard FAQ
Numbers on the front? No.
Laces at the collar? Yes.

NHLToL Editorial by Chris
The Rangers' jerseys have always been fine. Nothing special to me. I understand tradition and this and that, but the Rangers were given a golden opportunity this season with the introduction of these new uniforms. If you ask me, they blew it big time. I've never been a fan of the text across the chest. I think hockey sweaters are meant to have logos. I also think the third jersey with the Lady Liberty logo is one of the best ever seen in the NHL. I would've quite possibly rated such a uniform 6/5 in this review. This may be a personal bias speaking, but I think the Rangers are one team in need of a sweeping makeover. But that will never happen. And that's really all I have to say on that. 2/5

View the photo gallery

Buy your new Rangers jersey!

Redesigning Boston, Buffalo Unis

Good afternoon, everyone. First off, apologies on the late posts today (including the new poll), but you'll understand once I explain. See, my girlfriend and I bought a Nintendo Wii today.

Enough said. That should explain everything.

Now onto today's concept art. We'll start with the Boston Bruins, who I believe, already have perfect jerseys. However, I posted some pretty cool concept art a couple of months ago.

The other day I got an email from a reader who shows us what that idea might look like on a player.

I'm not completely repulsed by it. I like what they have now, but this isn't horrible. I sort of like that bear on the shoulder. Not so much with that spoked "B," however.

This concept is along the same lines. I like the idea of brown and yellow for a potential third jersey, but they'd definitely need to use the new secondary logo with it.

That's just my opinion. But I really do think they need that yellow third jersey hanging around for the future.

I don't know about the brown pants though. It might look good or it might be a big mistake. I'd have to see it on the ice first.

Anyway, here's something I really like for the Buffalo Sabres.

I think it needs a little sprucing up, but it's really sharp! I don't care for the horizontal stripes on this sweater, but that logo could work very well if the organization is insistent upon this particular type of bison.

It's a little too monochromatic the way it is now, but with a little color we just might have a winner.

Do you have an opinion on any of these designs? Well, you know what to do with it.

Rbk EDGE Review: Flames

Part 20 of 30. All 30 NHL clubs have unveiled new jerseys under the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System for the 2007-08 season. Here at the NHLToL, we're going to review every one of them. Read up and then rate the new sweaters. We'll do a full ranking after completing all of the reviews.

Rbk EDGE Uniform System

Calgary Flames

New Uniforms

Old Uniforms

The Unveiling
Tuesday, September 4. The Flames unveiled their jerseys to fans at Flames Central in Calgary.

Home vs. Road
Home: Red. Road: White. The two sweaters are essentially mirror images of each other and feature national and provincial flag patches on the shoulders.

The red home jerseys feature a unique striping pattern. Black piping circles from the sides to the sleeves but stops short before meeting on the outside of the arm. Black-white-yellow-black stripes are featured beneath the piping up the sides and extend down to the bottom of the jersey. White-yellow trim runs across the bottom of the sweater horizontally, stopping at the vertical black striping on the sides. The sleeves feature a black stripe above thinner white and yellow stripes. Beneath that, the cuff is black. The lacing and collar are black and the black version of the primary logo serves as the crest.

The white road jerseys feature a unique striping pattern. Red piping circles from the sides to the sleeves but stops short before meeting on the outside of the arm. Black-white-yellow-red stripes are featured beneath the piping up the sides and extend down to the bottom of the jersey. Red-yellow trim runs across the bottom of the sweater horizontally, stopping at the vertical black striping on the sides. The sleeves feature a black stripe above thinner white and yellow stripes. Beneath that, the cuff is red. The lacing is red, the collar is black and the red version of the primary logo serves as the crest.

In The Details
On both jerseys, the right shoulder features the Canadian flag and the left shoulder features the Albertan flag. The same numbering and lettering style has been retained.

New & Old
The differences between the old and new sweaters is primarily the striping as well as the secondary logo patches. The striping has completely changed and the secondary logo has been eliminated and replaced by national and provincial flags.

Standard FAQ
Numbers on the front? No.
Laces at the collar? Yes.

NHLToL Editorial by Chris
I can't lie. Those stripes bother me on the Flames' sweaters. I think the striping on the sides is unique. But the piping is odd. Also, I feel like the horizontal stripes along the bottom clash with those vertical stripes. The jersey just feels poorly put together in that area. However, to balance that out, I do like the sleeve stripes, the collar style and the flag patches. So I can't reconcile calling it bad. It just averages out overall to me. 3/5

View the photo gallery

Buy your new Flames jersey!

Stars, Sharks Fan Art

Some days I just love the concept art I get to post. I've got some well-designed stuff to show off today that I'm predicting will be met with an overall negative response. But that's never stopped me before, has it?

Personally, I like the Dallas Stars' new home sweaters. I know I'm among the minority on that. But here's something I would consider to be a great alternate in a year or so. I like that the shoulders have the primary and secondary logos. The Columbus Blue Jackets did that for a while prior to this season.

My favorite thing is the fact that it's a green jersey. My least favorite thing is that it has no black. I like the black. I think the jersey should be green overall, but I like the black.

And here's another idea for the road sweater. It's pretty much just an alteration to the striping, but it works well. It's not quite as boring as the current jerseys. I don't really understand the shoulder piping though. Carolina did that and I feel like it just bogs down the whole uniform.

Maybe that's just me.

Another reader sent in this concept for the San Jose Sharks.

Before you tell me it looks like a roller hockey jersey, let me stop you. It is. He said the design was based off of his own roller hockey team's uniform. And while NHL teams tend not to wear things like this anymore, I totally could've seen it back in the late '90s alongside the Tampa Bay Lightning's storm jersey.

Oh and about that, speaking as a Bolts fan, I loved those jerseys. The regular ones were so boring. There may have been a lot going on with those blue sweaters, but at least there was something going on!

Enough about that. Feel free to leave your comments about these concepts. What are you thinking?

Rbk EDGE Review: Sabres

Part 19 of 30. All 30 NHL clubs have unveiled new jerseys under the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System for the 2007-08 season. Here at the NHLToL, we're going to review every one of them. Read up and then rate the new sweaters. We'll do a full ranking after completing all of the reviews.

Rbk EDGE Uniform System

Buffalo Sabres

New Uniforms

Old Uniforms

The Unveiling
Saturday, September 15. The Sabres didn't hold an unveiling event for their uniforms as the design wasn't changed from the previous version. But they went on sale to the public in the HSBC Arena in Buffalo on this date.

Home vs. Road
Home: Blue. Road: White. The two sweaters are essentially mirror images of each other aside from the sleeves and feature secondary logo patches on the shoulders.

The blue home jerseys feature a very unique striping pattern. A twisted silver stripe rides up the sides and around the shoulders beneath the logo patch. White, horn-shaped stripes wrap over the elbows and yellow paneling wraps under the arm down the cuff. The collar is silver with yellow trim and the primary logo serves as the crest.

The white road jerseys feature a very unique striping pattern. A twisted silver stripe rides up the sides and around the shoulders beneath the logo patch. Beneath the stripe on the arms, the sleeves are blue. White, horn-shaped stripes wrap over the elbows and yellow paneling wraps under the arm down the cuff. The collar is silver with yellow trim and the primary logo serves as the crest.

In The Details
The blue stroke around the logo on the white sweater is much thicker than on the blue one. Also the colors are swapped on the shoulder patches. The blue jersey features a yellow "B" while the white jersey features a blue one. The same numbering and lettering style has been retained.

New & Old
The new sweaters are primarily the same as the old as they were apparently designed last year with the new Rbk EDGE style in mind. The only difference would be the slight alteration to the stroke on the road jersey logo and the league-wide addition of the NHL shield to the collar.

Standard FAQ
Numbers on the front? Yes.
Laces at the collar? No.

NHLToL Editorial by Chris
Since I'm neither a product of the 1970s nor a fan of the Sabres, I never really liked their original logo that much. However, while I respected their choice to honor tradition and return to those colors last year, I was disappointed. Being a huge proponent of the red and black years, I often hoped to see them one day go with the red third jersey full time as that one actually had — of all things — sabres on it. The team is from Buffalo, not called the buffaloes, so let that be indicated in a secondary manner. I liked everything about those red jerseys and while saying so might put me in the minority, that's how I feel. The "slug" was not the right move. And while they may not agree with my particular opinion, just ask any Buffalo fan and they'll tell you so. This is pretty bad. 2/5

View the photo gallery

Buy your new Sabres jersey!

Online Petitions Seek New Unis

With so many new sweaters being unveiled this season, you just had to know that at least a few would be rejected by a large group of fans. It's inevitable. So a few online petitions have cropped up hoping to rid certain teams of their new duds.

Right now, 65 San Jose Sharks fans have signed a petition to "return to the jersey design introduced in the 1998 season along with the return of the color grey and the elimination of the color orange."

But one Edmonton Oilers fan has gone so far as to start a blog in an attempt to "revive the Oiler jersey." Certainly worth a read if you feel strongly about the craptastic nature of the new Oil sweaters. (And it takes a lot for me to use a made up word, just so you know.)

Anyway, if you've started a petition or a blog or know of one that you'd like me to post here, feel free. It should go without saying that while I don't necessarily endorse them (the Oilers site excepted), I wouldn't mind sending folks along to help your jersey-related cause.

UPDATE (10/13 7:14 AM): By the way, Oilers fans now have their own online petition, if you feel like signing it.

Just To Freak You Out X

It's like watching a trainwreck. It's horrible, but there's just something about it that prevents you from looking away. There's all manner of scary stuff out there and now I'm bringing some of it straight to you on another Freak Out Friday. Here goes.

I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't start with this one.

It shouldn't take you more than a second to realize the designer was trying to offer us something different for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Leafs fans, I really want to hear from you on this one.

We've got a brand new logo with a very prominent "M" worthy of perhaps a place like Minnesota — or Montreal! And that leaf! Don't look it in the eye or it will cut you. Deep.

Even the second shade of blue worries me some. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about this, but let's just say it's not great.

Anyway, I'd like to move along now because I can't take looking at this anymore. There's a point when doing this to a team like the Leafs starts to hurt.

Once again, Leafs fans, please comment.

Speaking of prominent letters in place of actual logos, I've got a pair of concepts from each coast.

Cleverly, though, we can't know exactly what these letters stand for as alliteration was employed to mask it. Is the "S" for San Jose or Sharks? And is the "B" for Boston or Bruins? Perhaps, the ultimate question is why dump perfectly good logos for these two teams in favor of members of the alphabet?

Even more disturbing is that "S" keeps reminding me of the Minnesota North Stars. Make it stop.

Each of those were delivered to me with a road sweater design to match. I wouldn't do that to you, though.

Here's what concerns me, though. I've been send a number of logos which have been converted to red and black for no apparent reason. Do any of these work?

It may be that the blood-in-the-water shark is the scariest one. I do see what's going on, though with the Hurricanes colors on the Whalers logo and the old Sabres colors on the new logo — but that doesn't make it any better.

I'm still worried about the killing to follow.

I'll wrap things up today with the thing that might frighten you the most. Did you ever get to feeling like that Rbk EDGE New York Islanders jersey reminded you of something? Perhaps you couldn't quite put your finger on it. But maybe it evoked feelings of being lost. In the ocean.

One reader thought so and sent in this.

If you wanted to know what they were thinking when designing the new Isles uniforms, now you do. Don't you wish you didn't?

So there it is. Another in the Freak Out series is behind us. I'm looking forward to next week. In the meantime, I await your crazy concept art. You can send it to me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

Rbk EDGE Review: Red Wings

Part 18 of 30. All 30 NHL clubs have unveiled new jerseys under the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System for the 2007-08 season. Here at the NHLToL, we're going to review every one of them. Read up and then rate the new sweaters. We'll do a full ranking after completing all of the reviews.

Rbk EDGE Uniform System

Detroit Red Wings

New Uniforms

Old Uniforms

The Unveiling
Wednesday, August 8. The Red Wings unveiled their new jerseys to no fanfare via their official web site.

Home vs. Road
Home: Red. Road: White. The two sweaters are essentially mirror images of each other with slight differences on the sleeves.

The red home jerseys feature a thick white stripe around the elbows as well as at the bottom around the waist. The collar is red and the primary logo serves as the crest.

The white road jerseys feature red sleeves with an indentation at the shoulder where a white shoulder yoke would end. A thick white stripe wraps around the elbows and a thick red stripe wraps around the waist. The collar is red and the primary logo serves as the crest.

In The Details
The captains' letters on the front of the sweater have been moved from the left shoulder to the right since the tip of the wing rises so high on that side. The Red Wings are the only team to wear the letters on that side. The same numbering and lettering style has been retained.

New & Old
Aside from the league-wide collar change and the adaptation to the new Rbk EDGE cut, the Red Wings have made no major alterations to their jerseys.

Standard FAQ
Numbers on the front? No.
Laces at the collar? No.

NHLToL Editorial by Chris
In my book, tradition and history don't win you anything by default. It still has to be earned. The Red Wings are the only team that can pull off the monochrome uniform and still look good. Despite my curiosity of what a new logo and uniform might look like, I wouldn't ever want to see it really changed. It's great the way it is. It's not perfect though. Because it hasn't really evolved over time, it's stale. The Bruins proved that minor yet marked alterations in striping style can result in turning a good jersey into a great one. Overall, I like it. 4/5

View the photo gallery

Buy your new Red Wings jersey!

Loading Up On Oil Art

With all the turmoil over the new Rbk EDGE jerseys of the Edmonton Oilers, the concept art has been arriving by the ton. Lots of people have suggestions for improvements and I'm all ears (and eyes). I figured I'd take a moment a share some of it with you.

By far, one of my favorite Oilers concepts. My only problem is with the lack of color. The Detroit Red Wings can pull off uniforms with just one color but nobody else can even come close. Blue by itself is boring. I see the silver there but it needs a color to make it stand out. I'd recommend copper.

But other than that, in terms of logo design, I'm a big fan. I even like the alternate logo used on the jersey on the right. The Oil would be in a bit better shape if they had something like this to wear every night.

Here are a couple of other options. But the copper and red usage here has me a bit thrown. I think they are good colors when used in moderation on this sweater. They're fine as stripes, but let's not go making huge panels with those colors. I do, however, like the shoulder logo used. Sharp colors and sharp design.

And finally we have this, featuring a logo, I believe, stolen from the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. The striping I could deal with. The logo, not so much. This is the NHL.

And that's that. What do you think of these? Any winners for Edmonton or do they need to go back to the drawing board? Remember, if you have any concept art you'd like to submit, please email it to nhllogos@gmail.com