NHLToL: Quest For The Worst

It's a big day here at NHLToL. First, I'm introducing the new logo tournament which will be starting soon.

Introducing...

There's currently a video at the top of the page so you can learn which logos made the cut for this competition which will crown the worst logo in the history of the NHL.

You might also notice that the graphics in the video don't quite match the graphics on the site here. I'm considering a design overhaul for the site. You can see the rough idea I've come up with in the preview below. It's very much a work in progress at this moment so don't expect to see it any time soon.

Just wanted to keep you guys posted on what's going on here. I welcome any comments or criticisms. Thanks for continuing to visit the blog!

UPDATE (1/9 5:21 PM): As you may have noticed the video I referred to in this post can no longer be found at the top of the page. Instead, I've moved it here to the bottom of this post for posterity. Enjoy!

Result: Canucks vs Capitals

CAPITALS NAMED CHAMPION!

Congratulations go out to the Washington Capitals' secondary logo tonight for being named by the voters here at NHLToL as the best in the league! The Capitals finished the final poll with a 52% of the more than 2,200 votes.

Thanks to everyone who voted!

As far as what's next, you guys have been putting in your nominations over the last few weeks for the NHL's worst logo. Stay tuned for news on which logos will make it into the bracket on the way to being crowned the worst in the league.

Concepts In Photos

It's my favorite thing. Concept renderings in pseudo-photographic form.

The most commonly used player for these jersey redesigns has overwhelmingly been Roberto Luongo. And it hasn't just been Canucks concepts for him, either. But tonight, yes, they are both Canucks concepts. Here's one.

Seriously, I would buy that. That green looks phenomenal. I don't know why his teammate isn't also wearing green over there on the left, but that team would still look a million times better if only Luongo wore a good sweater. While I'm thinking of it, are there still people left who liked the old '80s logo and colors?

Don't be fooled, though. It's not the jersey. Luongo can make anything look good.

Next we're moving on to the Philadelphia Flyers.

It's a simple redesign that incorporates orange and a bit of silver. But if you want to see the goalie wearing it, well you'll have to look at the image on the right (not the left).

Back to the days of black-and-white Kings here.

And hurricane flags that are actually hurricane flags.

Now we see why the team didn't do that in the first place. The shoulder thing is cool because it incorporates both of the Carolina-named states. I don't think a dividing line at the border would be too much to ask for clarification's sake.

Lastly, if you hated those mustard-colored jerseys once worn on special nights by the Nashville Predators, then you're absolutely going to adore this.

And one final note (which may or may not explain the late hour of this particular post) if you are into things that are funny but not necessarily hockey-related. First, go see Juno. Great film. (In one scene there's a guy wearing a Minnesota Wild jersey. The green one you all like.) And buy a copy of Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You!)". (I'm pretty sure he's all about the OHL's Saginaw Spirit.) These two things will complete your life. If they don't, you have no soul.

Just To Freak You Out XXII

I can't believe how long this series has lasted. At 22 and still going strong, what follows is another edition of Freak Out Friday. Where do I begin?

I think I'll start with a play on the Winter Classic which took place this week. It's an "If They Mated" featuring the two teams involved in the big outdoor game.

Curiously though, while the designer went with the original Sabres logo, they opted against the original Penguins colors.

Now is where I really get into the scary stuff, so be warned.

Though well executed, that can't be a good idea. Speaking of which...

Let the eye-gouging begin. It makes great use of the Panthers' colors but what is with all the suns? We get it they're the Florida Panthers!

Here's what we need.

Because nothing says we're getting rolled over like a jersey with tire tracks. A sentiment less suited for the Red Wings (first place) and more so for the Lightning (last place) who can't seem to remember how to win games. But I'm not bitter.

Speaking of the lackluster Lightning, the one color I hope is never incorporated into the Bolts' identity is yellow.

Did I mention how I hate the yellow?

And finally, it appears that not a lot of effort was put into this, but I thought the logo was funny enough to revisit.

Keep the crazy artwork coming so I can continue to frighten and freak out the readers here at NHLToL. Enjoy your weekend!

All-Star Duds

With the Winter Classic and all its greatness now behind us, the next big NHL event is the All-Star Game set to take place in Atlanta in three-and-a-half weeks. Naturally, I have concept art, but before I get to that, I've got some real stuff to discuss.

I've gotten a few emails recently that called to my attention the fact that I have yet to really talk about the new all-star uniforms here on the blog. I first posted photos of the new sweaters back in November. Since then, there have been other developments.

For instance, the reason the "logo" is so high up on the jersey is that the player's number will go below it on the chest.

For a better look at the entire jersey, these images come from the NHL.com shop where you can customize and order an all-star jersey. Naturally, I used Vinny Lecavalier in my example.

You'll notice the captain's C takes its lead from the Detroit Red Wings in its right-shoulder placement. We can see that the all-star logo will go on top of the left shoulder while it would seem the player's team logo will go on the right.

As far as creative all-star jerseys go, my personal favorite was what they wore in the 2001 All-Star Game in Denver.

I may have strange taste in uniform design by most standards, but wait until you see some of the concept art that's been sent to me.

Modeled after the host team itself is a jersey set that is actually quite cool. What if the league made a habit out of this?

Here's a simple set that uses the conference logos as its primary features.

This set just has far too many stars on it.

And this final set is a callback to the 2001 uniforms I just mentioned above where the goalies where a different color from the rest of the team — in essence, matching their opposition.

These too are modeled after the Atlanta Thrashers own uniforms, but a little less on the nose — trading the ATLANTA sleeves for EASTERN and WESTERN. It's a set I'm a big fan of.

Overall, some nice designs and some strange designs. I'm curious to read your reaction to these. Comment away.

Poll: Canucks vs Capitals

	vs
Vancouver CANUCKS		Washington CAPITALS

Time now to decide on the best secondary logo in the NHL! It's come down to the 'Nucks and Caps. Place your vote and then feel free to leave a comment as to how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!

Poll opening date Tue Jan 1

Poll closing date Sat Jan 5

07SCTRN | #4A | VANvWSH

NBC, Update Your Graphics!

The second period of the Winter Classic has just begun and as a live television director, I have to take issue with some of what's been going on during the NBC telecast. For one thing, the graphics are out of date!

This site is dedicated to NHL logos so naturally my biggest nitpick has to do with said logos in broadcast graphics.

I photographed my TV screen earlier this afternoon to demonstrate my point. Of the 16 logos seen on this particular graphic, a quarter of them are WRONG! From left to right, the Sharks, Blue Jackets, Bruins and Lightning all got new logos this season. NBC apparently opted to ignore that fact and just use last year's graphics.

NBC, update your damn graphics!

The abominations only continue but for the sake of sparing you guys, I won't go on about it. But just know that I'm very disappointed in the disrespect of American network television toward an obviously huge moment in the sport of hockey.

End rant.

Winter Classic, Part II

The first period has just ended as I'm writing this with the Pens up 1-0. Pretty good game. I have some complaints about the NBC broadcast, but I'll get into that in the next post. Right now I've got a few Buffalo Sabres concepts to share to complement yesterday's Penguins art.

I'd be remiss if I didn't start with a blue/gold color scheme. This is a nice set because it actually features sabres on the front of the shirt. Weird. The yellow sweater below belongs to this set as an alternate.

This next set is from the red/black era but it features the same logo as above.

Same deal with the alternate. Though I don't think a grey jersey is a very good idea.

And finally, this one is just for fun. Rather reminiscent of a certain energy drink logo, is it not?

Enjoy the rest of the game everybody!

Winter Classic, Part I

In honor of the Winter Classic which takes place tomorrow, I've got concept art for the two clubs taking part. (Penguins today, Sabres tomorrow.)

First is a rather dramatic logo redesign. You can't help but like the throwback jerseys though.

On the right is a set that also makes use of a new logo while throwing back even further to the days of blue sweaters.

Here we have a recolored set of New York Islanders jerseys. Still not a fan of that design but the lack of piping is allowing me to warm to it only slightly.

The numbering here scares me but it shows what you can do to improve the visual look of the Pens' sweaters.

And this one's for the few of you that preferred the '90s penguin.

This last concept is a little far out but it's not bad thinking. Needs work but it feels like it's on the right track.

That's all I got. Should have some Sabres artwork tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the game if you were lucky enough to score tickets. Happy new year!

Concepts On The Isle

I got a couple of nice New York Islanders concepts delivered to me. I felt like sharing them tonight. The first is a really simple improvement over the new design introduced this year.

It's not much, but it makes the sleeves seem like they're actually a part of the jersey. And it does away with the pointless piping around the shoulders.

Now if you just can't live without the piping, here's how you do it the right way. Tip: Use a different color for the shoulders.

Plus, I've always liked the Islanders in an orange jersey. Just like I preferred the Stars in green — even the Wild in green as well. It's almost like there was actually a mandate requiring teams to wear black, blue or red (the Sharks with the teal the only exception). Anyway, here's to orange jerseys and Mike Comrie.

Though he appears to be disintegrating as if in one of those sci-fi films.

I'll have more stuff to post tomorrow. I hope to make a large-scale update to the Concepts Gallery as well.