FanFic Caps Unis Making Rounds

a Cathode Rays & Power Plays cross-post from May 3, 2007

First off, of course they're fake. Everybody keeps posing the ridiculous question: Are these real? Are you for real?

As is evidenced by the web address where the images are located, the handiwork comes by way of a graphic artist — from Baltimore, Maryland. (Clearly either a Caps fan, or friends with one.) If he's just hosting it on his site, I'll be very surprised.

Anyway, the design mixes the old with the new in that it keeps the dull (instead of bright) colors and elements of both the old logo and the current one. Note the "Capitals" script with the dome element above it. The grey star beneath it is interesting but it doesn't work on the white jersey. As I've said, I've never been a fan of NHL logos wherein the team name is blatantly spelled out. That's not what a primary logo should be.

That's all for now. Remember, the Washington Capitals unveil their actual new logo and uniforms on June 22.

Retro Returning, Now For Canucks

a Cathode Rays & Power Plays cross-post from April 26, 2007

I know this news is a couple months old, but since I just posted about the Caps, I figured it was relevant.

The Vancouver Canucks will apparently be donning new threads come the fall as well. And just like Washington, the Canucks are planning a return to their original '70s colors of blue, green and white. No word on whether they'll be keeping the orca logo, going back to the original logo, or designing a completely new one all together.

Either way, we find out on August 1.

I found the original post at Canucks Hockey Blog.

You can catch a glimpse of Johnny Canuck painted on the side of Roberto Luongo's mask on nights when the local team wears its vintage blue, green and white uniforms. And the question begs: "Is the artwork on Luongo's mask a hint of things to come?"

The modern day Canucks' marketing machine has instructed its large army of merchandising retailers to stand by for an announcement on Aug. 1.

"Right now we're ordering next year's inventory blindly," says the owner of a sporting goods outlet in North Vancouver. "All we've been told is that the colours of the uniforms will be blue, green and white, but we don't know what the crest is going to look like. The current killer whale [or orca] jersey, as we understand it, will be kept in reserve and occasionally be used as a 'classic' uniform."

So far, I've learned of six teams that have definite plans to change their logos. I have a source in retail that would probably rather not be named. (Look at me trying to be all cryptic.) Aside from Vancouver and Washington, the other four teams that I know of which will see major- or minor-scale uniform and logo changes are the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, and thankfully, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

We'll follow along this summer and see what happens.

Caps Unveiling New Logo June 22

Now that the tournament blog is officially open for business, let's get to the business. We have our first bit of news by way of the Washington Capitals. They are the first team to announce plans for a new logo and uniforms. The Caps made the official announcement of their intentions on their official site — WashingtonCaps.com.

The Caps' official site had this graphic as their splash page during the week following the announcement.

Like the Sabres and Canucks, the Caps are planning a return to the colors they wore originally when they entered the league in 1974. What's with everybody going back to '70s colors? I know style is cyclical, but come on already. You can read the team's press release below.

Washington Capitals to Unveil New Uniforms at June 22 Draft Day Party

April 23, 2007

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Washington Capitals will unveil their new uniforms at a special Draft Day Party on Friday, June 22, held at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. The event will be held in conjunction with the live broadcast on Versus of the first round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, which takes place that evening in Columbus, Ohio.

The new uniforms will mark a return to a red, white and blue color scheme — the colors the Capitals wore from their first season in 1974-75 through 1994-95. The Capitals are the first team in the NHL to announce their plans to unveil their new uniforms, which are produced by Reebok and feature the Rbk EDGE Uniform System technology that was introduced at the 2007 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas. The Capitals are the first team planning to have their new uniforms on hand at the NHL Entry Draft.

Further details about the event will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tournament Introduction

Welcome to the NHL Tournament of Logos!

The NHL season is coming to an end and that leaves scores of hockey fans everywhere with a very dull offseason ahead of them. Sure it's summertime and that means vacation and beaches and such. But that doesn't change the fact that there will be no hockey until September.

So to cure our pain, I've come up with a solution. The NHL Tournament of Logos is a fierce battle which pits team logos and nicknames against one another to determine who is the best. It's good, because with the Stanley Cup playoffs ending, we need an outlet for that competitive edge we've all got going.

Whether your team got eliminated too soon or went all the way, this tournament will be worth following. It's a whole new mini-season while we wait for 2007-08. Individual team schedules have been posted so you can follow along with your favorites. Just click on your team's name in the sidebar standings. Also posted are the rules and regulations of the tournament since every competition needs its edicts. And when the Stanley Cup Finals are over, that is when the fun begins. At the moment, Game 7 of the Finals is scheduled for June 11. But anything can happen. The schedule can change and the series may not even go to seven games. Regardless, the tournament will begin on June 12.

Basically, here's the way it works. The tournament will be played in a blog format. Each day, three or four matches will be "posted" here on the blog. A match features two teams in a one-on-one battle. Each team plays every team in its own conference. To find out more about how that works, check out the rules post. For now, just enjoy the rest of the playoffs and come back here when its all over.

Also, keep checking back here for updates as I plan to follow very carefully any logo or uniform related news and forward it on. As you know, next season will feature the introduction of the new Rbk EDGE uniforms and many teams will be redesigning logos and looks as well. And be sure to get in on the action and discuss your feelings by clicking on the comments of any post. We're looking forward to an awesome competition!

Rules & Regulations

Any good competition has to have a set of rules and regulations to guide it. Even the NHL Tournament of Logos, if you can believe that. So before the tournament begins, get familiar with how it works right here.

Team Posts
Each team in the tournament will have its own page with information related to it. You can access a Team Post by clicking on the team's name in the sidebar standings. On each page, you will find a large-sized logo for the team, the team's tournament schedule, logos used by the team (both current and past), and links to news posts related to that team. In addition, several teams have plans to change/update their logos. If the date has been announced, it will be posted on their page. One more not, regarding the schedules. Don't expect to see the scores updated on each post as that would take me forever to update every day. You can use the Team Posts to follow along with your favorites and find out what days they have matches.

Tournament Play
There are 30 teams in the NHL — 15 in each conference. To limit the number of matches that would have to take place during the tournament, every team will only face the 14 other teams in their own conference once each. That's 14 matchups for each team — 210 total for the league. (And you have to admit, even that's a big number.) The regular season wil take place over the course of 60 days and each day, 3 or 4 matches will be played.

Three points will be awarded in each match so they will all have a final score of either 3-0 or 2-1 with a definite winner and loser. A team can earn a maximum of 42 points during the tournament (assuming it wins every match 3-0). (Note: Bonus points will be awarded at the end of the tournament, prior to the Championship Tournament.) Matches will be judged (by me) on three facets: 1) The Aesthetics, 2) The Nickname, and 3) The Analysis. This is where things start to fall apart. (As in, I'm the one judging. So much for rules, right.) If you want to know how each point is awarded, here is a rough breakdown.

The Aesthetics
This is where I just stare down both logos, side-by-side. Whichever one I think is more appealing to the eye wins the point. I'll also make comments on the logos and how they compare. Uniforms may come in to play here from time to time.

The Nickname
This one is usually pretty farcical. For example, the Rangers/Thrashers matchup may go something like this: "If the Thrasher is living in a national park, the park Ranger is protecting it and therefore has the upper hand." And then I would give the Rangers the point. Expect to see some pretty ridiculous explanations in this category.

The Analysis
This category will have a slightly more serious tone than the last two, where I really take a look at the team's name and logo and how it meshes with the club/organization and home city/location. The team that does a better job meshing and such gets the point.

Don't be surprised to see these change from game to game for the same team. A lot of this will probably depend on my general mood the day I write it. So we'll see what happens. At the very least, this tournament should serve as an amusing way to keep us hockey fans occupied during the offseason.

Bonus Points
At the conclusion of regular tournament play, and just prior to the beginning of the Championship Tournament. Bonus points will be awarded based on a series of questions. They won't be completely arbitrary, but I challenge anyone to find a real rhyme or reason to them. It'll just be a little something to stir the pot at the end of the tournament. The bonus points will be included in the final point totals which will determine the teams that will play in the Championship Tournament. The bonus point guidelines will not be announced until after the tournament, so don't ask what they are.

Championship Tournament
After regular tournament play has concluded, we'll need to decide on a Logo Champion. Only 14 of the 30 teams (7 from each conference) will advance to the Championship Tournament (or the playoffs). The top 2 seeded teams in each division will automatically advance. The 7th team in each conference, the "wild card," will be the team with the most points (or best record) of the 9 remaining teams.

Then, each team will play all 7 teams from the opposite conference (since they've already played all the teams within their own conference). Standings will be kept just like in the regular season portion of the tournament. The team with the most points (or best record) will be declared the Logo Champion be awarded the Stanley Cup Logo.

Tiebreaker
The easiest and most obvious tiebreaker is head-to-head. Since each team plays the others only once, if two teams are tied, the team that won during their regular season matchup gets the edge.

If there's anything I didn't cover here that you're still curious about, check the FAQs. There is a ton more information there. (Basically, I didn't want to cram everything into one post.) If you have questions about anything I didn't address, feel free to leave a comment here or on the FAQs and I'll do my best to get back with you.

Tournament FAQs

You asked. We're answering. Well, you didn't ask and it's just me here. But I'm nipping this in the bud. Should you have any questions beyond what I'm covering here, feel free to drop a line under the comments area and I'll get back with you.

I'll try to keep this short. Let's get to it.

Standings

If a team has only losses, how can it have points in the standings?
The tournament standings don't work like the NHL standings. Teams get points based on the scores of each match. A team can lose 2-1 and still get a point in the standings. (The winner would get 2.)

Schedule

Why don't you have a post with the full tournament schedule?
Too much work and I'm lazy like that. Individual team schedules allow you to follow your favorite teams. If you want to know every team that's playing on a given day, then come visit the blog on that day and find out.

Why does my team sometimes go for weeks without a match while other teams have matches for days in a row?
I used Microsoft Excel to come up with a completely random schedule. But this speaks to my laziness as well in that I didn't know how/care to try to even things out. What you have is a manageable schedule of three to four matches a day. With 30 teams, that means you have 14 matches over the course of 60 days. We were bound to have lots of spaced out matches. Try to deal.

Offseason Logo Changes

What happens if a team announces a new logo during the tournament?
It's simple, really. When a new logo is unveiled, it goes into effect the following day in the tournament. (I have to have time to make the graphics.) My plan is to have each day's matches posted in the morning and any announcement would likely come in the afternoon. (Ex.: The Washington Capitals are unveiling a new logo on June 22. If they had a match scheduled for June 22, it would be played with the old logo. The new logo would take effect on June 23, the day they actually have a match.) Follow that?

This post will continue to be updated with new questions for as long as I feel like updating it so keep checking back and be sure to ask a question if you've got one.