Northeast Roadtrip
This is shaping up to be quite a week. New posts on the blog and jersey galleries, and now brand new concept art. Today, I'm grouping up a handful of artwork for the Northeast Division — namely, the Sabres and Maple Leafs.
 Jeff Wozniak |
We start with a slew of Buffalo concept jerseys by Jeff Wozniak. The first graphic shows what he thinks the Sabres should wear on a regular basis as road/home/third. I like them all but I always liked that crossed-sword logo better on the red jersey several years ago. His next attempt is a gold Sabres jersey. I don't believe they've ever worn gold so that would be quite a step out of the ordinary. (And not a pleasant one either.) The other two are all about early 20th century sweater styles. Lots of stripes and simplistic crests. I think I could get behind the first one for some kind of special event. However, the "BS" jersey should stay right here on this page where it is and go no further. We learned from the Montreal Canadiens' 100th anniversary that this type of striping does not work. You have to be able to read names and numbers and not be concerned with epileptic fits. Then there's the white pants. Very few uniforms can make that look good. This is not one of them. Look back toward the top of this group and you'll see Jeff has some great design ideas for the Sabres. But clearly he should avoid fourth, fifth and sixth alternate uniforms in the future. |
 Ryan Haslett |
Another Icethetics regular, Ryan Haslett, came up with a grey-infused Sabres concept. It's based on the vintage three-stripe sweater from the '70s with several contemporary elements, including the grey/silver accents and numbering and lettering style. As for my thoughts, white would probably be a better highlight than grey. Simply swapping white in would probably be an improvement. But I think I'd have to see it in a game to know for sure. |
 Ryan Haslett |
This post has been pretty focused on the Sabres, so let's switch to another Northeast team. This Maple Leafs concept calls for two alternate sweaters — one for home games and another for the road. Also designed by Ryan, it features the two waist stripes that will be returning to Toronto's regular home and road sweaters next season. He's also come up with two new alts. The home design is a dark version of the Leafs' current third jersey. The road whites are a new design borrowed from the team's rich past. |
There will be one more new post before I leave for Vegas on Friday. Then beginning Friday, check back for new concepts to be auto-published daily.
Chris
Just received some more Sabres and Leafs concept art so I'm adding it on to this post.
 Mike Ivall |
First, longtime Icethetics artist Mike Ivall sent in an update to the Maple Leafs' uniforms. Howard Berger recently said that the two stripes at the bottom of the Leafs' jerseys would be returning in 2010 after an Age of Reebok hiatus. Mike is just putting his spin on that new information. Maybe they can bring back a shoulder patch while they're at it. But in all fairness to Mike, he did say...
So, to each his own. |
 Jesse Dupuis |
And lastly, Jesse sent in this Sabres concept which harkens back to the old red third jersey — one of my personal favorites. All he really did was make black and white versions but I'm still a fan. Anything beats the slug. |
Reader Comments (8)
Mustard yellow didn't work for the Predators..........I'd actually not mind that gold Sabres uni. Or maybe if they inverted the colors (blue jersey with the gold trim). Either way, I think it's becoming more and more obvious that we hate the slug.
For the Leafs, my favorite is the away 3rd. I don't really like the two tail stripes, so what I would do for the home/away set is a single, solid, bold stripe along the bottom, as well as the traditional arm stripes and shoulder yoke. I'd prefer the current logo to the current alternate though. It just looks much cleaner to me.
This concept post has "WIN" written all over it. The first 3 Sabres concepts should definitely be what Buffalo wears on the ice. It just works. The Gold sweater and the "BS" sweater aren't really doing it for me, but they are interesting at least. The White Striped one is pretty cool too, but it's probably better for a one time event kind of thing.
The Maple Leafs designs are also just great. Not a single thing wrong with any of them, in my opinion.
The Maple Leafs set is absolutely flawless. As a Sabres fan, I'm sick of seeing those glorified T-shirts they wear now thrice a year. It pays homage to so many different historical elements but manages to unify them all under one team's banner.
I like the concept behind a gold Sabres jersey, but it looks a bit too much like the Bruins', so I prefer their current third.
I really like the leafs concepts great job only thing is the team won't wear a white collar no matter how good they look. i don't know about giving up our current third either. really nice respectful set though.
With the 'BS' jersey i instantly thought of "bull****" so that one doesn't really work, but all the rest of them are well done.
LOL, BS... Also, the team would look like bunch of Bumble Bees buzzing around on the ice.. I say no for the stripes, just bad as the Habs' alternative..
I'd love to see those Leafs 3rds concepts as the home and away.