Mailbag: More Lightning Logo Concepts

With the news breaking today that the Tampa Bay Lightning have been sold, I thought it'd be a good time to share some fan artwork I've received recently.

John emailed this design which is basically the allegedly leaked new Lightning logo that's been making the rounds, with a slight alteration. Instead of plastering Tampa Bay over the top of the bolt in weird lettering, he suggests going with "TB" on top of it all.

It's a cool idea. Personally, I like the TB but I'm not sure if I'd like to see anything on top of the lightning bolt itself. What do you guys think?

Then there's this design which puts the "TB" underneath the bolt. It also makes the bolt more vertical and in black and blue as opposed to white or white and blue. Would something like this work?

If you ask me, I'd like to see something entirely different from what we currently have so I can better judge. Perhaps not the giant "L" logo, though. I posted that design on Saturday. Along with it, the designer also sent jersey designs

As you can see, yellow might not be the best color to add to the Lightning uniform. But then I think he realized that and tried to correct himself.

He came up with this design, which features gray as a replacement. I don't know, though. I think it still leaves something to be desired. I do, however, like the lightning on the sleeves.

I don't know. I was always a fan of those late-'90s third jerseys that featured the storm scene. If there was some way we could revisit that without making the uniforms look silly, I'd be all for it.

Mailbag: Flames Concept Logo

I had a reader send in this Calgary Flames logo which seems pretty cool. It gives a new perspective on the recent secondary logo that featured a horse with flames in its nostrils.

Flames fans might also notice the similarities between the flames coming off the traditional "C" and the mane of the horse in this fan-designed concept logo. It's pretty sharp. But can anything really be better than the flaming "C" or should the Flames go in this artistic direction?

As a side note, it also seems that we'll be getting a first look at the Calgary Flames new uniforms at the Flames Celebrity Charity Golf Classic on September 4. I can't completely vouch for the reliability of this info, but what could it hurt to add it to the sidebar countdown? Check it.

Mailbag: Maple Leafs Concept

A reader emailed me his design for a new uniform for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

We have been hearing we should expect a modified Leaf logo for this season. This concept certainly takes that into account. What do you guys think?

Mailbag: "Buffaslug" A Scam?

Ever since I set up an email address for this blog, I've been getting some of the most interesting and strange emails I've ever seen. I'm filing this one in the nutty bin but I wanted to at least show it to all of you. Before I say anything about it, just have a read and then feel free to laugh to yourself for a little while.

the sabres slug was a scam. they are planning on revealing the final logo this september. the new blue and gold project was in on it the whole time.
http://www.newblueandgold.com/photos/i/sabresconfidentialphoto.jpg

That was the cryptic message I received today. Verbatim. And the image to which he linked can be seen below.

Now, for the record, I think the Blue & Gold Project is amazing. I've had a link to it on the sidebar since I started this site. John Slabyk does some of the best work I've ever seen. I was a graphic artist for a newspaper for eight years and every time I think about going back into the field, I see work like that and think twice. (That's why I'm sticking with television.)

Anyway, having said that, it would be utterly ridiculous for us to really put stock in this email. As we know, Photoshop is more prevalent than ever these days and therefore what you see, is not necessarily what you will get. The reason I say it is ridiculous is that there's no way a multi-million-dollar NHL club goes through the hassle of creating a whole new identity, only to dump it after just 12 months.

Forget the uniforms. Think of all the hats, t-shirts, bumper stickers and other merchandise with the "Buffaslug" logo. Think of how much money it would cost to create all new merchandise with a new logo. I'm sorry, I do love the logo Slabyk created and I hope one day the Buffalo Sabres can use it or something similar, but don't hold your breath for this season.

If you have a question or comment you'd like to submit by email, you can reach me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

UPDATE (8/5 6:16 PM): We need to ease off on all the confusion here. I'm reading in some places things that would make English teachers everywhere sit down on the floor and cry. If only people would read.

The image featured in this post, as was stated, is just for fun. But to clear things up, I wanted to add the screen grab in the comments to the actual post as an update. As you can see, there's a very clever watermark in the image proving its lack of authenticity as far as that goes. I'm trying not to spread rumors here, but the trick is reading what gets posted along with the pictures.

Mailbag: Senators Fan Art

I got an email this afternoon from Pat with some neat fan art for the Ottawa Senators' uniforms. They have some slight similarities to work I posted back in June, but nevertheless, it's always nice to share.

Those two aren't in the Rbk EDGE cut, but this next one is. Though some among you will complain about it being set in the template of those now-infamous all-star jerseys, try to deal. It's an alternate harkening back to the original Sens from back in the day.

I think the stripes would drive me nuts. Sharp design for the '20s but I don't think it would go over very well today. Feel free to leave your comments for the designer.

And as always, if you have fan art of your own or would like to get in touch, email me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

Mailbag: Lightning Fan Concepts

A few people have responded to yesterday's post about the St. Pete Times requesting fan designs for the new Tampa Bay Lightning logo. I've received a couple of designs I thought I'd share.

The first one comes from Doug and its simply the current primary logo sans the text.

It's very plain and it feels unbalanced. It's better than having the text, though, if you ask me. Then Michael emailed in with a completely new concept. And he likes yellow.

It sort of reminds me of a '50s high school jacket. What do you guys think? These two were also part of that set. Feel free to continue sending in your concept designs and I'll continue posting them.

By the way, if you've desgined a logo or uniform for another team and would like to have it posted, send it along and I'll put it up here. You can email me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

Mailbag: Any Thrashers News?

Now that I have a new email address posted for the blog, I've been getting emails from people on jersey- and logo-related topics. It's stuff that used to end up in the comments. So to get it posted for all to see, I'm starting a new feature called Mailbag where I respond to an email for all to read. Here goes.

Hey Chris,

I really enjoy your blog, and I wanted to say thank you for the work you are doing to bring us new information regarding the new reebok jerseys. However, Atlanta fans, like myself, have been starving for some news about the changes we might expect to our home and road apparel next season. We know that we are sticking with the blue as our home color, but there are still a lot of questions. Will our road jerseys mirror the blue ones (with the "Atlanta" down the sleeve)? Will we have to deal with ridiculous excessive piping like Nashville? etc.

So, like I said, I really appreciate your work, and I'm hoping you can dig something up for those of us down here in Blueland. Thanks!

Jesse

Thanks for the email Jesse. This post is for all those readers from Blueland out there.

I'm sorry to say despite searching far and wide, high and low, I unfortunately have nothing really to show for it. All I can do is post the rumors that have been making the rounds. So here's what you should be able to reasonably expect for the Atlanta Thrashers this fall.

The light blue jerseys were so popular that the Thrashers just made them the regular home sweaters last season. They dropped the red/dark blue ones altogether. Expect to see light blue home jerseys again this season. But one element of that jersey that fans seem to like may be difficult to achieve with the new Rbk EDGE cut. And that is the "ATLANTA" written down the sleeve. I think that's such a cool element of those jerseys and while it's not impossible, it doesn't seem likely that we'll see that on the new unis. Keep your fingers crossed.

As for the road jerseys, I'd expect to see more light blue, possibly along the shoulders. That's been a very identifiable color for the Thrashers the past few years. But this may all just be wishful thinking. Which reminds me, if anybody out there has seen any concept art for new Atlanta Thrashers jerseys, please don't hesitate to send it my way so I can share it with the rest of the class.

Just for reference, here are the current Atlanta uniforms which can be found at NHL Uniforms.com.

So again, I'm sorry to disappoint, Thrashers fans. But as always, if I hear or see anything, I'll post it right here.

If you have a question or comment you'd like to submit by email, you can reach me at nhllogos@gmail.com.