More Potential New Unis

Today is Draft Day and that means each team has to break out the "07" jersey to throw on the backs of their new draft picks. But this year every team is getting new jerseys and the only ones we've actually seen at this moment are Boston and Washington. For a refresher, these are them:

Now for what you haven't seen yet. At least not here, that is. While scouring the internet as I do I came across possible designs and mock-ups for both the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders. Let's start with the latter.

This appears to be a cell phone photo taken possibly covertly. But now the world has it via the wonderful internet. Now as with anything I post that isn't official, do take it with a grain of salt. I'm not anymore connected than you are reading this. The jerseys hanging here definitely have some color issues. I can't say I'm loving all the striping but so far I haven't really loved any of the new Rbk jerseys we've seen. That includes the Bruins and Capitals — although I did like what they wore at this year's all-star game. Am I too picky? Usually I like change, but I haven't been wowed over yet. Yet being the operative word there.

There's also this which might be better off the Hockey Fans & Photoshop series I just finished running a week or so ago. In fact the design even looks a little bit reminiscent of what I posted for the Dallas Stars during that series. Even if this is the team's actual design, it's not half bad. I don't hate it and I like the creativity with the crest on the dark jerseys. However, that in itself indicates a possible change back to the days when the home team wore white.

Don't you just love all this speculating. God knows I do. So that's that for now. Tune your sets to Versus tonight at 7 for coverage of the draft. We'll see if we get any sightings of new jerseys tonight. I'm sure we will. I'm also looking out for the possibility of new logos. I'm desperate for a new one from the Lightning and still expecting changes for Dallas, San Jose, Ottawa and Toronto.

More later tonight.

It's Official: Caps Unveil New Logo!

There it is, posted right on their official web site this morning. The official announcement and ceremony doesn't come until tonight. It's true. The Washington Capitals will actually be wearing that this fall. I'm not even sure about the shoulder logo there — except to say that its a million times better than what's on the front of the jersey.

I feel bad for Caps fans. Hey, unless they like it. And then I'm just a jerk.

Bruins Unveil New Logo!

All right, here we go. We have the first of the official new logo unveilings as the Boston Bruins unveiled this:

My first instinct was a dislike of the black outlining of the "B" in the center, but after having stared at it for about 10 minutes, it's growing on me. Anyway, the logo barely changed as you can see. It's a minor update but it was what's required at this juncture. Anything drastic would have sent Beantown fans overboard. We'd have the equivalent of another Boston Tea Party on our hands, to be sure. (Oh come on, you know I had to do that joke. It was just too obvious not to.)

And then there's these gems. For your viewing pleasure we have the home and road Rbk EDGE uniforms for the 2007-08 Boston Bruins.

Proving once and for all to all those frightened ultra-traditionalists out there that these new uniforms can in fact deal with horizontal striping. Not that losing it would really hurt anyone.

But I'm grown up enough to move on.

I also felt like it was worth posting this. It's the secondary logo — or as their calling it, the "vintage crest" — which will be worn on the shoulder. It's pretty cool. I'd even like it as a primary but we can't have everything, can we?

For those of you following along in the tournament, the Bruins have had one match already, against the Flyers in which we used what is now the old logo. Their next match is June 25 and will feature the new one. In case you were wondering.

The Way It Was?

At this point I am awfully tempted to believe that the image we saw yesterday of the new Washington Capitals uniform is the real deal. The images you see here to the left are what you find on the Caps' official web site as of today. The graphics very closely match as you can see. Having said that, still anything is possible. Once again, we get the official word from the team tomorrow evening.

For now, I leave you with this...

I'm A Little Concerned...

Why am I concerned? Folks, this very well may be the new Washington Capitals uniform and logo. And it is not looking good. Now you know me. You know I wouldn't post something I didn't believe to be the real deal where I didn't specifically say it was fan-created. I have a bad feeling this could be it.

Let's hope it's just that though. A bad feeling. And that the Capitals organization has a little more sense than this. And that there's a very Photoshop-inclined hockey fan out there who really hates the Capitals. All right then.

I nabbed this image off of a forum that seems to indicate the Caps may have intentionally leaked the new look. But like I said and will say over and over again, it could all be nothing. Still, I am inclined to post it. We'll just have to wait and see. The official word comes on Friday evening. Do stop by here for that news. You know I'll have it.

HF&P, Part 30: Tampa Bay Lightning II

You know, the fact that this is the 30th segment in a series about the NHL — which has 30 teams — might lead you to believe I've covered all my bases. Unfortunately this is not the case. More about that in a moment. First, we're going to take another look at a design for the Tampa Bay Lightning. We last looked at them in Part 1 of the "Hockey Fans & Photoshop" series — the original.

So there it is. We've come full circle. Overall, I like it. The stripes are surely different. The designer has taken the secondary logo and made it the crest with some minor adjustments. I don't hate it, but if it were me, I'd come up with an entirely new logo for the team. But that's me.

The "TB" logo for the shoulder is nice if not a little overdone and generic. I say that, but generally speaking, this design is far better than what the team currently wears — or should I say, wore until the end of the 2006-07 season.

So as I was saying, due to the nature of this series, a number of deserving teams got missed in this series — which isn't to say it's over necessarily. If you have any designs — your own or something you found on the web — that I've overlooked, please feel free to send them along.

The teams I haven't seen any fan-made artwork for are the Buffalo Sabres, Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.

Anyway, if you know of or have a graphic I haven't posted here, drop me a line in the comments and tell me all about it. I might even post it as part of the series.

HF&P, Part 29: Montreal Canadiens II

Can you believe the tournament begins in only two days? I can't. It's going to be a lot of work — but also a lot of fun. Be sure to check in on Tuesday to be part of that fun.

In the meantime, the "Hockey Fans & Photoshop" series continues as we look at uniform designs for the Montreal Canadiens once again. We previously saw fan artwork for them in Part 5 of this series.

This design indicates how striping can work as that seems to be the primary complaint of ultra-traditionalists with regard to the new RbK EDGE uniform system. Seems like it will be just fine. I like the jersey designs here. They're classic and regal. Hard to complain. I don't get the secondary logo but maybe someone can explain that to me.

But wait, there's more. Yesterday we got a look at what might happen if the logo was moved to the side of the jersey and the number shown on the front by way of an Edmonton Oilers design. Well that same artist has taken a shot at the Canadiens — complete with the vertical stripe and off-center crest.

Like I said yesterday, it's different and that makes it cool in my eyes. I'm not sure how I'd feel about a team actually wearing it, but as a concept it's a good one. I've always like the giant crest in the middle of the front of the sweater. Strangely, it's not that common in professional sports.

And that does it for today. Tomorrow will be the last day before the tournament begins so I've saved up something special — it's another fan-made design for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They're my team so they have to get special treatment. You're sure to enjoy it.

Along with that, I've also come across some rather interesting concept logos if various clubs were to change theirs. Not only that but I have a few bonus fan-designed jerseys to share before this blog becomes almost completely about the tournament.

HF&P, Part 28: Ottawa Senators II

Today we're revisiting a couple of Canadian teams as part of the "Hockey Fans & Photoshop" series. We last saw the Ottawa Senators back early on in Part 6. Well we've got more where that came from. Right now.

The Sens may not have won the Stanley Cup but I think they would be coolest jerseys in all of hockey if they nailed these suckers down. Tell me that sweater doesn't frighten you. One of my favorite parts of this design is the use of the logo's helmet element along the shoulders and arms. These would be seriously classy jerseys. Unfortunately, this design is the work of a fan and therefore it's not likely we'll ever see it on NHL ice.

The graphics you see here to the left come from the same designer, obviously. With the red, we see what can be done in the alternative of a black home jersey — though I rather like the black in this case. And below is the horror from the '20s or something. I am not amused. Seriously, I hate that design. A lot. I'm all for throwbacks but horizontal stripes going the length of the jersey don't do it for me. I'm sorry.

In any case, that's what we've got for Ottawa today. I honestly hope you enjoyed it. Or if you didn't, whatever. Feel free to comment with your thoughts on these designs. Disclaimer: Again, I am NOT the designer. All I've done is scour the web for these images so as to bring them all to one place for fans like you and me.

Later today: the Montreal Canadiens — again.

HF&P, Part 27: New Jersey Devils

This "Hockey Fans & Photoshop" series seems to be winding down, but I assure you there's still so much more if you're a fan of hockey jersey designs. Let's move along with the New Jersey Devils.

So that's an interesting design coming from Randy Wilkins, apparently. It's cool and I like the idea of the horns at the shoulders, but unfortunately this is not an Rbk EDGE uniform design so the chances of ever seeing it on the ice are rather nil. That and the fact that it was designed by a fan and not a professional hired by the club or the league.

Still, I wanted to share it because it's something different. And that's what I'm all about. Not sure about the bars at the wrists and bottom of the jersey. A little close to the Hurricanes.

Anyway, I know, short posts today. Not much to say, really. If you have anything to add, please feel free to comment. I'd love to hear from you or anyone else.

Coming tomorrow: We're going to revisit both the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens and you won't want to miss this.

HF&P, Part 26: Edmonton Oilers

If this was a deck of cards, we'd be halfway through it. But this is the "Hockey Fans & Photoshop" series here at the NHL Tournament of Logos. Just three more days until the tourney begins! How exciting is that?

As you can see we're taking a gander at the Edmonton Oilers today. While this may not be a specimen of quality per se, I do like that is unique. It takes a page out of the Buffalo Sabres' book by placing the jersey number on the front shoulder but it also completely reworks the front. We have vertical stripes going down the left side instead of the usual horizontal stripes across the bottom. The design also gets rid of the centered crest and places it on the left over the stripes.

Very interesting. We'll never see it on the ice, but it's sure something to look at here.

Speaking of which, if you or anyone you know is a graphically-inclined hockey fan and has designed the jerseys posted here or anywhere else, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

Up next: the New Jersey Devils.