Mull Over These, Sens Fans

We've already seen the purported new Ottawa Senators logo yet we haven't heard word one from the team with regard to this matter. No worry, because where there's image manipulation software, there's hockey fans to use it. Enter this.

I'm sorry, but what a mish-mash. I applaud the effort but, um... yeah. There's sure a lot going on. And hey, they make use of that new logo we've been seeing. On the shoulder, though, this fan opted for the striped old-time Ottawa logo. Speaking of stripes, how about this puppy?

The vertical stripes make it look like a European soccer jersey to me. However, I do like what this designer chose to do with the logo. He dropped the black pointy things from behind the galea and gave the logo an overall 3D effect. For a look at a cleaner version, sans the stripes, see the image below.

Impressions, Sens fans? Do you guys like the potential new logo? Or do you prefer the proposed design in the bottom two concept sketches? Or would you rather not see it change at all?

Covered In Coyotes Concepts

I feel like I've been ignoring the Phoenix Coyotes fans out there. This is certainly not intentional. There just hasn't been a lot of news to post for them. Until today, that is. I've scoured the far corners of cyberspace for a few images you might find beautiful or repulsive — or something in between.

This design was created by someone who designs the outsides of racecars, I believe. Anyway, it's really quite — something. I couldn't see them wearing anything like this because the whole reason they changed their logo was that they wanted to go the classic route and simplify everything.

Well, to me, that was a sad thing. One fan designed this jersey set in memory of the old days when the Winnipeg Jets first arrived in the desert.

It's got that desert Indian look that was very cool. This design uses only the head of the original Coyote logo. It was first seen by itself on the green third jerseys they had for a short time. This is closer to what they actually wore in those days.

The big difference being that the Coyotes wore black dark jerseys, not maroon like they wear now.

I haven't seen any Rbk EDGE jersey concepts based on their current logo and uniform design, but haven't you heard, horizontal stripes are so out. Seriously though, don't be surprised if it comes out looking like the Capitals or Blue Jackets new jerseys.

It'd be nice if the league would unveil more of the new uniforms. Chances are we've still got another month ahead of us before we start to see the rest of the teams trickle out. Anyway, Coyotes fans and others alike, what do you all think of these designs?

Nothing Official From Canucks Today?

Damn. As it turns out, the Vancouver Canucks are supposedly having a private shoot today with the new Rbk EDGE jerseys. Yeah, not so much with the public unveiling thing. However, there's another alleged leak.

Saw it on the Canucks official message board. They're calling it a cell phone photo of the new jersey but you know how these things go. With it, one fan apparently finished off what could be the look which you can see in the graphic below.

I don't know now. I'm reading dates like mid to late August for the team's official announcement. I don't know if they team has said anything specific about a date, but I have seen August 29. I'm not holding my breath, though. So it probably won't be in the sidebar countdown — until we do get some sort of confirmation.

Shame about that. Though I can't say I'm surprised. The Canucks seem to be yanking their fans around quite a bit on this topic. I think they should just unveil the thing and be done with it.

Possible New Stars Uniform?

At last I have non-Canucks-related news to post. It seems there's a chance the Dallas Stars new Rbk EDGE uniforms may have leaked. I found the following image posted at HFBoards.com.

What we've been hearing is that the Stars will be going with a jersey that doesn't have a crest on the front but rather the word "DALLAS" and this jives with that. However, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me that a team would put their city on their home jerseys. And we've been hearing the NHL is keeping the dark jerseys for home ice.

This sweater also lacks the current Stars logo which has been rumored to be changing. In fact, there's a whole new logo on the shoulder of a "D" with a gold star in the bottom corner. Frankly, I like it. The horizontal green and white stripes are a classic throwback to the teams early days in the Big D and I think it would be a definite upgrade — assuming this is the real deal.

As far as debunking it — a task which has become necessary as we've seen more than our share of bad to half-decent Photoshop efforts — I can't say the overall feel looks familiar. I could be completely wrong, but I'm checking the real-deal box on this one. What do you guys think? Will Dallas be wearing these in the fall? Or have we been duped?

As official announcements go, a Stars official team message board administrator recommended we mark our calendars for Septmeber 14.

UPDATE (6:29 PM): ...And we've been duped! Just came across this photo of the Bruins new home jersey. Examine the creases and laces and you'll see what I'm talking about. Click the photo to enlarge it.

Stars fans, this will not be your team's new home jersey. Rest easy. Gotta say though, these Photoshop endeavors are getting better and better if you ask me. Sad to see we don't have anything that could possibly be the real thing, but we'll live.

Last Of The Canucks Surmising (Hopefully)

We're anticipating the unveiling of the new Vancouver Canucks uniform tomorrow despite having no official word on that from the team itself. So having said that, there's a little more fan-created artwork I wanted to post prior to that because Canucks fans seem to be the most interested in what's going to happen to their club's uniforms this year.

This design is based off of what appears to be "Fin's Friends" promotional material posted yesterday. The only thing is we've been hearing that the bottom part of the "C" will be white, not blue like it has been in the past. You gotta figure this is at least worth a look anyway and may even possibly be close to what gets unveiled by the team.

Another fan came up with these designs.

Personally, I'm not a fan of "Vancouver" being written above the logo but I guess it's not for me to say. You Canucks fans have any opinion on that? Tacky? Cool? Doesn't matter?

If I come across anything else, I'll try to get it posted by the end of the day. Meantime, keep your fingers crossed for an official announcement tomorrow.

Possible New Canucks Jersey?

All right, so I thought I wasn't going to have anymore news tonight, but it turns out I stumbled upon something very interesting on the Vancouver Canucks official message board. This.

I didn't have time to read the full details in those posts, but obviously, the skeptics abound. You can go here if you want to learn more. First reactions are that it's a Photoshopped job based on the Washington Capitals or Columbus Blue Jackets jerseys since they've already been unveiled.

Still, I thought it was worth a look. And I don't think it'd be the worst thing in the world if that was the actual Canucks home jersey. The colors are all right and I say that despite the fact that I really did like the two-tone blues, silver and maroon from before.

Any thoughts? Is it a fake-out? Is it the real thing? The Canucks will supposedly answer that question on Wednesday.

Get Ready To Be Horrified

Okay so I didn't want to go to bed before I got one more post in for today. (I go to bed by 7 PM because I have to be at work by 4 AM. I work on a TV morning show. Which should explain why I have so much time to do a blog like this. I get off work at noon. And that's enough parenthetical nonsense for one day.)

Anyway, this is what I have to offer. A joke.

If you don't get the reference, look below. For what served as the inspiration to this mockery, you have to get in your time machine and travel back to the 1995-96 season when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim donned this monstrosity on a couple of rare occasions.

Probably the worst third jersey ever. And you want to know the worst part? I have one of them in my closet! And if you were thinking that part was the joke... no, sir. I actually bought one back in the day because I was 11 and thought it was so cool. Let the ridicule begin.

Anyway, how much do Sabres fans hate the Buffaslug?

As far as actual news for your Monday night, I'm afraid I'm at a loss. Maybe Wednesday we'll get to see the Vancouver Canucks' new uniforms. Maybe. That reminds me. I found a bunch of mock-ups and fan art, I believe, at Canucks Central. So we can all look forward to that tomorrow on the day before August 1.

If you know or hear of anything else, I'd be happy to hear about it. Leave me a comment. Thanks.

We're Going Interactive!

Big shock there, right? I've been talking about it for quite some time. But today I'm here to announce that it's actually going to happen and for those of you who are interested, I've got the full details all worked out.

How The Blog Began
So if you've been reading any of my head-to-head logo matches, you know my judgment isn't exactly... sound when it comes to these things. My intent was never to spout off my opinions of all the logos, but to get the opinions of others, I needed visitors. Which I didn't have.

When I started this blog, I'd be lucky to have 40 or 50 hits a day. Well, in just the past week or so, so many people have stumbled upon this site that our numbers are now averaging 3,000 to 4,000 hits per day. That's astronomical in comparison. We're also averaging about 2,000 individual visitors. Those numbers are stunning to me. As it stands now, for a site that's been up just about two months, we've already got over 50,000 total hits. You guys are awesome! Thanks for visiting!

You Can Vote Starting August 12!
Since that's now the case, I feel like it's time to make the switch to interactive. Beginning Sunday, August 12, YOU will decide which team is the logo champion. The part of the tournament that's going on now — we're going to call that Phase I — or rather more like a qualifying round. All 30 logos will be eligible for Phase 2 — or the Championship Tournament — and the current qualifying round will merely determine the placement of each team in a bracket-style setup.

Here's how it will work. The teams that finish No. 1 in the standings in each conference (as determined by my ridiculous judgment) will get an automatic bye in the first round since there are an odd number of teams. From there, the teams will be placed based on their seeding in the standings at the close of the qualifying tournament on August 10. No. 2 will face No. 15. No. 3 will face No. 14. No. 4 will face No. 13... and so on.

However, that is the last time my input will make any difference in the tournament as the logos will not be re-seeded after each round like the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs. If you don't quite follow, that's okay, you will.

How The Voting Will Work
As far as voting, it will start on August 12 like I said. The first poll will be posted and then there will be a new one every day until the end of the Championship Tournament. Each poll will stay active for one week. So if don't vote on the day it's posted, don't worry, you'll have plenty of time. This format means that readers who visit this site every day or every other day will have a new poll each time they visit. By the same token, those who visit only once or twice a week will still get to have their voices heard.

The poll format will be very simple. You'll be presented with both logos facing off in that day's match and you simply select the one you think is better (or your favorite). Click vote and consider your opinion heard. When the poll closes a week later, the post will be updated and the logo with more votes will be considered the winner and move on to the next round. (By the way, I haven't yet figured out what to do in the event of a tie so if you have any ideas, please send them in.)

Then once you've voted, you can talk about why you chose one logo over the other in the comments section and perhaps even try to persuade other readers to vote your way so your logo wins.

Other Notes
On August 10 or 11, I'll post the full schedule of the first round of the Championship Tournament. That can only be done when the qualifying round is over. At that point, I'll be placing a bracket at the top of the page so you can see where all the teams stand. Also, there will be a sidebar box that will let you know what polls are open so you know what you can vote on.

Anyway, I think it should be an exciting way to determine which team really has the best logo while keeping my opinion completely out of it. I hope you guys like the idea and will participate in the voting to make this tournament worthwhile. And I'd also recommend that you let all your hockey friends know so that they can come by and vote as well.

The Future Of The Tournament
One final subject I wanted to touch on. Depending on how popular the Championship Tournament ends up being, I'd like to keep this blog going for a long time to come. So once you guys determine a champion, it won't be over. We can continue it by holding a tournament with uniforms or vintage logos. There's all sorts of things we can still do so if you're interested, definitely drop me a line and let me know — or just vote starting two weeks from today!

For the record, I had a poll up for two weeks to gauge interest in voting on logos. When asked if you'd like to participate, out of 352 votes, only 10 (2%) said they wouldn't vote; 17 (4%) said maybe and 325 (92%) said yes in a rather lopsided finish. Huge thanks to everyone who voted!

Some Flames, Flyers Jersey Design Concepts

One fan designed this Calgary Flames concept based off of the infamous all-star jerseys. It has the horse shoulder logo though we've heard that's no more, but I thought we'd all might like to have a look anyway.

If not, I've still got more. We got a little sneak peek of the new Philadelphia Flyers Rbk EDGE jersey last week and a few fans have taken it upon themselves to make designs based on that.

So here's one.

I think it's more wishful thinking than anything from a fan who doesn't want to see the jerseys change very much if at all.

One other thing I've noticed. If the jerseys that have already been unveiled are any indication, the crests are growing on all these new jerseys. So expect to see a much bigger Flyers logo on the front of that bad boy when it finally gets unveiled.

And for what it's worth, I like the logos on the chest being bigger. Let's make sure we can all see it from the nosebleed seats.

Islanders New Uniform Update

Remember those frightening mock-ups we first saw a while back for the New York Islanders? The image on the left should jog your memory. It's scary.

Then somebody put that into a jersey template which turned out like this. And it didn't leave any of us feeling any better about it.

Well anyway, I was surfing around yesterday and came across something that appears to substantiate that blurry photo. But again, we don't know anything for sure as the Isles have yet to make any sort of official announcement.

It looks to me like one of those moon bounce things kids play on at church carnivals and the like. Inside it is a painting of a giant New York Islanders player (#79, Yashin?) wearing a jersey with a new style — one that looks an awful lot like the jerseys in that photo.

So take that photo for what it's worth. The person who posted it said he saw it at Stony Brook University. For more on that, go here.

By the way, I found another template designed based on that infamous photo above over at Islanders Castaway.

That's all I've got for the Isles today. Thoughts, comments?