I can't believe how busy I've been today and how long it's taken me to get some stuff posted. I have so much. I wanted to start off though by passing along a great link that was sent to me.
Sports Illustrated has posted an awesome photo gallery on their web site that is very relevant to this blog. It's a bunch of photos comparing the old and new uniforms of the NHL. I highly recommend a look.
Check out the SI.com photo gallery!
The new Fix It series has contemplated jersey repairs for the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche. It continues today with some suggestions for the Atlanta Thrashers.
Prior to switching to the light blue jersey full time, the Thrashers actually had a completely different logo for their dark jerseys. In fact, it was this one.
Not bad, but liked the dark blue jerseys better with that logo.
In going through comments about the new uniforms, I got the idea that a lot of folks (mostly those who are not Thrashers fans) don't like the light blue or ATLANTA written down the sleeve. So on a completely different tangent comes this design.
This isn't in the Rbk EDGE cut, but still worth a look, I felt. I like the thrasher head for the logo. In fact, I think that's essentially the logo worn on the pants of the current uniform. I also really like the maroon sweater. Overall, a nice effort. I bet this would make for a very sharp-looking sweater.
Have you guys got any other suggestions for the Thrashers or any other team? Email me at nhllogos@gmail.com.
Next up: Anaheim Ducks.
I have a bunch of concept designs to share with you all today. We'll start with the Florida Panthers.
This concept keeps the same uniform design while simplifying the primary logo to feature only the panther's head. I'm not a fan of the rounded elements, though. I think the sharp edges offered a fierceness that this logo lacks.
I was also emailed a couple of New Jersey Devils designs.
These concepts borrow from the AHL's Lowell Devils logo, relegating the current primary to the shoulder. Personally, I couldn't see the Devils converting to a minor league logo. That would just be strange.
And finally, someone emailed me some St. Louis Blues art. I've always wanted to see the Liberty Bell in a secondary logo for the Philadelphia Flyers. Along the same lines, I've also been curious to see the Gateway Arch as a secondary for the Blues. But not quite like this.
This design was suggested as a possible future third jersey. It needs a little yellow and some work on the logo, but it certainly has potential. Thoughts?
Apologies for the limited posting today but I've been preparing for the new Rbk EDGE Reviews. You can read the first review on the Boston Bruins' new unis today.
I have photos to share with you of the New York Rangers' new Rbk EDGE jersey. Jim, who just purchased his new replica road sweater, emailed them in this morning.
The lettering does appear to be placed somewhat differently than in the past, but it has a lot to do with the paneling of the various fabrics, I'd imagine. I wouldn't say it's a bad change at all.
With regard to the stripes you see here, Jim wrote, "I have to say I am very impressed with how every stripe is stitched on, so that it seems separate from the other stripes and the rest of the jersey, unlike the old replicas where the stripes would be continuous with the rest of the jersey." It's a very nice feature of these new Reebok jerseys.
And then there's the obligatory close-up of the new collar design with the lace ties. I really like that. Overall, they seem pretty nice. But I'm still in love with my Lightning jersey.
There are still 9 days left to vote, but yesterday I showed you what the next logo tournament might look like if the present results stand. At the moment, the Third Jersey Logos are in the lead, followed by the Vintage Logos. If Vintage ends up being the subject of the next Tournament of Logos, here are the 16 logos that would be used.
I'll determine the bracket randomly but that wouldn't be posted until the voting is over, anyway. Personally, I hope we get to do this tournament at some point in the future. I'm very curious to see what the results would be. I think it would be a very close competition.
Later this week I'll show you what the a secondary logo tournament would look like.
The introduction of Reebok's new EDGE Uniform System has left a lot of people stratching their heads. If you're among those questioning some of the design choices made here, then this series is for you.
Yesterday we contemplated fixes for the new Vancouver Canucks uniforms. Today we're going to look at the Colorado Avalanche.
Among the complaints for the Avs' new threads was the lack of the zig-zagged, mountain-range like stripes we're used to seeing. In fact, the sleeves even go from blue to burgundy on the home sweaters without so much as a stripe in between. One designer came up with a solution in this rough sketch.
Voila! But Reebok would have us believe such a design is incompatible with the cut of their uniforms. Well, Atlanta and Buffalo seemed to have gotten away with it all right.
No matter. Check out this design.
Personally, I've found that the Blues' new uniform is one of the best of the new crop and even in Avalanche colors it's still pretty damn nice.
When you come right down to it, I think the Avs still escaped with a relatively nice jersey. Seeing Joe Sakic's "C" overlap a big stripe on his shoulder will take some getting used to, but all told it could've been worse.
Any thoughts on improvements to the Avs or any other team's new threads? Email me at nhllogos@gmail.com.
Up next: Atlanta Thrashers.
First off, sorry about the headline, but sometimes when these things come to me I can't resist.
Anyway, Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an article about flaws players are finding with the new sweaters' wick away material. I mean, we all knew this stuff was coming. It's a new technology.
You can read his story here or see excerpts below.
Right winger Mark Recchi, for one, understands what the league was trying to accomplish by adopting a sweater that does not absorb fluids, but does not think the designers took into account the moisture — to wit, perspiration — generated under a player's uniform.
"[The sweaters] don't soak anything in, which I guess is what they wanted," Recchi said. "But the problem is, it goes through all of your equipment. It goes into your gloves, goes into your skates."
And eventually saturates the leather in both, leaving the players feeling as if their hands and feet are immersed in liquid. Perhaps because, at least in some cases, they are.
"They do what they were designed to do, as far as repelling the water," defenseman Mark Eaton said. "But we've found, the last three or four days of wearing them, that, when the water's repelled, it has nowhere to go but into your skates and gloves.
"By the end of the second [period] or the start of the third, your skates are sloshing around and you have to change your gloves because they're [soaked]."
So, that's probably not a good thing. But it goes on.
"It's very good that the water doesn't stick on it, but the sweat all goes into our gear," goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. "Sometimes, it gets really wet."
Veteran left winger Gary Roberts, who was to make his preseason debut when the Penguins faced Detroit at Mellon Arena last night, said he planned to withhold judgment until after wearing the new items in a game, but wasn't pleased with what he experienced during practice.
"My hands are soaked, my feet are soaked," he said. "I feel like it's May, in the playoffs, I'm sweating so much. That seems to be a complaint with a lot of guys."
So then there's the NHL's response.
Frank Brown, the NHL's vice president of media relations, said in an e-mail interview that "every equipment system requires a period of adjustment," and that the sweaters, which are made of four materials, are part of a uniform "upgrade" intended to "help optimize performance and protection."
Naturally.
So while we're at it, here's what else Mark Recchi says doesn't work.
While other elements of the equipment system also have gotten negative reviews — some players have mentioned that the socks that cover their shin pads are so taut that they are more prone to tearing than the looser-fitting ones worn in the past — the sweaters have received most of the attention.
Recchi suggested that, although some complications caused by the new sweaters will be evident immediately — like how some players will have to alter their in-game routines to deal with unduly wet equipment — others might not be apparent for a while.
"My gloves never got soaked like [they do now]," he said. "They're literally drenched by the end of an hour[-long] practice.
"I'm going to have to have two pairs of gloves ready [for games]. I've never done that. I've always used one pair a game. Some guys are used to that, but that's going to be different. Maybe I'll have to change my socks between periods, which I don't like doing. You start sloshing.
"I think you'll see skates break down quicker because of it; they'll absorb more [perspiration], because it's all going down into your skate and your socks."
Whether the league and Reebok will consider altering the material that goes into the sweaters to make them less moisture-repellent isn't clear — "They have a great feel, but I just think they have to find a way to maybe have some absorbency," Recchi said — so it's hard to say how long the current ones will stay in use.
At least a few players, though, would prefer to see the league go back to the uniforms players used to wear, although they realize that probably is not a viable option.
I don't want to step on the toes of the folks at UniWatch blog, but in going through pictures of last night's Rangers-Flyers game, I noticed something funny happen to Scott Gomez's uniform. This is why you don't iron things on an NHL jersey.
Early on, everything's fine. Gomez is looking all right in his new #19 uniform after losing a coin toss over the summer to Chris Drury. (Drury is wearing the #23 sweater.)
But after a while, that iron-on "A" on his shoulder is starting to have some problems. But, no, it couldn't fall off. This is the NHL, right?
Oh, oops. Let's hope that doesn't happen during the regular season.
For what it's worth, Drury's "A" didn't seem to suffer the same fate.
Just thought that was a bit funny.
You've still got 10 more days to vote, but it's starting to seem like we've got a front runner in terms of our next logo tournament. Over 3,600 votes have been cast this week and most of you seem to be interested in third jersey logos.
So just to clue you all in on what to expect if that's the next Tournament of Logos we end up doing, here are the 16 logos that will be used.
I'll determine the bracket randomly but that won't be posted until the voting is over — because as we know, anything can happen.
Tomorrow I'll show you what the a vintage logo tournament would look like. And then perhaps some time next week I'll do a look at a secondary logo tournament.
I don't know why I've been skimping on the concept art posts. I have plenty of stuff to share. Tonight, we're going to take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs logo. I'll be the last person to say it needs to go, but I'll be among the first in line to call it dull. (Consider its early exit in the tournament.) In other words, dull logos are all right for teams with a history as rich as these guys.
Now having said that, let's mess around a little. Seems like the Leafs have always have a logo that featured a leaf. Makes sense. But a few years ago they introduced a secondary mark that wasn't shaped like foliage. If I'm to understand correctly, it was met with disinterest by fans. Many were happy to see it go when the Leafs unveiled their Rbk EDGE jerseys recently.
So to those people, prepare to have your eyes assaulted by this.
It's just the skeleton of an idea someone had. Not a bad idea but it needs some work. No matter what, a leaf needs to don the crest of both main jerseys. However, I don't see why these couldn't work as an alternate sweater.
Something cool I ran across a long while back is this logo.
The TML actually forms a leaf. The leaf. Very creative if not slightly awkward to look at. So what about this?
I think there are enough logos enclosed in circles and this probably wouldn't work on a jersey, but there it is anyway. It sounds like I don't have anything good to say about any of these designs, but that's not true. I like them to some degree but I'm not oblivious to why they wouldn't work. While I understand the double-lines in the logo above, it just seems empty.
Anyway, what do you guys think? Does the leaf need some work? Or is it untouchable?
Wednesday · Sep 26 · 2007 | 12:42 PM PDT