Black & Blue in Pittsburgh
Tuesday · Apr 6 · 2010 | 9:19 PM PDTThe playoffs start next week so I figured why not post some concepts in honor of the Stanley Cup champion that's soon to be unseated. My prediction: Sharks vs Caps for the chalice. So here are some Penguins concepts that have been sent in — some dating back over a year!
 Matt Marczel |
Is it bad that I still have concept submissions waiting to be posted from December 2008? The first two items were sent by Matt long ago. But I haven't forgotten about them. And now as the Pens mull a third jersey overhaul, they certainly have piqued my interest. The second one, titled Version 3, incorporates a little black and calls back to the logo introduced in 1992. Seems strange in blue. But two more recent black-based designs are also pretty slick. The Penguins seem to like black and light blue, so why not combine them? And while I think the '90s logo is the best the Pens have had, I'm sure a lot of Pittsburgh fans would disagree. |
 Joshua Heckman |
So let's just lose the logo altogether. After all, the dark jerseys from that era were just black and yellow with text on the front. But those were based on the original 1967 sweaters — before the team was comfortable placing a skating penguin there. Joshua's design is based in part on the distant past and more recent past — the Reebok Edge era excluded. But this dark blue is looking better and better the more we see it, as long as the light blue doesn't make itself too scarce. |
 Brad McPelican |
Brad gives us another way of looking at it — going back to the classic gold in the primary logo only. It's always odd to see a crest that doesn't match the rest of the uniform. Odd in a good way, that is. I could see the Pens wearing an alternate like this one day. |
 Ryan Haslett |
Ryan's going both ways. He likes a blue jersey and a gold jersey. His two-tone blue incorporates the Vegas gold penguin and some odd striping patterns that Reebok would just adore, I'm sure. But it does give the uniform a cutting-edge look. As for the other... Personally, while I think the yellow gold worked for the Bruins at the Winter Classic, I'm not sure it's a good way to go for Pittsburgh. If you want to return to the glory days, do it properly. Lemieux and Jagr would be proud only then. |
 Doug Graham |
Doug has tried a few things. First, he's got a throwback-based look using current Vegas gold. It's not bad but it's not great. And it looks like Pittsburgh's coat of arms on the shoulder. He also went back to the vintage yellow in what's essentially a recoloring of the current powder blue third jersey. Works better in blue if you ask me — and I know no one did. |
 Matt McElroy |
We finish where we started — with a Matt. In the most sweeping change, Mr. McElroy changed the logo by losing the penguin's legs. He's also added a gold jersey reminiscent of the Habs' in a way. But man that's a lot of yellow. I'm sticking with my hopes for a dark blue third in 2010. |
Even more concepts on the way this week as any blog-worthy news seems to have slowed down. Don't forget that Elliott Strauss' NHL Rebrand series picks up with Part 8 this weekend.
Reader Comments (20)
The blue pattern that Ryan uses is basically the same pattern they currently use for their black and white jerseys (and the same basic template used for Ottawa and Tampa Bay's regular jerseys, or the "OPT Pattern" as I like to call it).
Not crazy about Ryan's gold jersey mainly because it's just different enough from the early-80s gold. That, and Doug's gold-sleeved black jersey - if you're gonna go throwback, do it right, with the right shade of gold. I think the Pens should dump the Vegas gold simply because it's DULL.
Not crazy about the all-blues, as the whole point of having gold in the logo going back to 1967 is that it refers to Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle. Taking away the gold from the triangle takes away its significance, and you might as well just not have a shape behind the penguin at all.
I do like Brad's concepts, which seem to be based on the 1974-75 designs, and I actually like how it looks with the darker blue as the primary instead of the original's medium blue.
That's not to say I wouldn't like to see the gold-sleeved jersey make a comeback - it's my favorite Pens design, actually. I've contemplated the difference between classic gold-yellow and Vegas gold, and really, I couldn't bring myself to accept the Vegas gold version. I do like the city coat of arms idea, though - a nice callback to the old NHL Pirates, who also used that crest.
Wow Chris! those top two concepts that you posted at the top there, I sent you those like way back in September of '08, back when I just started making concepts jerseys.
The "Howard Baldwin Bankruptcy PIGEON/Corporate logo" sucked and still sucks to this very day, so glad Mario Lemieux got rid of it. I call it a PIGEON because Mario himself called it a PIGEON when Howard Baldwin first changed the logo/uniform for the '92/'93 season. Long Live the Skating Penguin!!
"Is it bad that I still have concept submissions waiting to be posted from December 2008" YES THAT'S BAD!!! LOL post some more then if you have some from that long ago.
'08, you say?
looks like you'll just have to do more concept posts, chirs ;)
lol
chris*
The 90's logo looks great in blue. Of course it looks good in yellow too...so much better than their old/new logo.
The schlocky gold has to go...either use a real yellow or the baby blue...
To all the artists out there: I'd love to see a jersey that incorporates the yellow and the baby blue, with the 90's logo.
I don't know how people can hate it...it's the Lemieux era Penguins!
Matt's #3 and #4 concepts there represent the first time I have ever seen a Penguins jersey or jersey concept that I have actually liked. Get those things on the ice Right. Now.
I know the yellow infused logo and blue jersey is vintage and that it works for a winter classic jersey. But my idea of a third is to try something new and unseen. I've been thinking of the black and blue jersey and same log with blue background for sometime but couldn't decide on a jersey pattern. Matt Marczel nailed it!
GelatinousMutantCoconut - How can you say the PIGEON Logo is the Lemieux era??? Lemieux was drafted in 1984(Pens wore the Skating Penguin), won back to back Cups in '91/'92(Pens wore Skating Penguin), the PIGEON logo wasn't introduced until the '92/'93 season. Why Howard Baldwin felt the need to change the logo/uniform after winning BACK TO BACK Cups is beyond me. Me personally and I know alot of other Pens fans that quit buying Pens merchandise after Baldwin introduced the PIGEON logo.
As a die heart pens fan, the first 2 concepts by Matt and Joshua kills me. They said that they will have blue in the jerseys and will be using something from their past , but please nothing like that! I love Ryans Gold Jersey. The gold sunday jerseys from the past have always been a cool jersey, and having a gold third would really take you back to the days of Mario. However, I think that the pens will opt to go for something close to Brads design. Those jerseys wouldn't be bad at all a nice clean design with not overkilling the blue. Maybe the pens will use a white jersey with blue stripping like Brads second design. REMEMBER THE PENS SAID THE JERSEY WOULD USE BLUE. DIDN'T SAY IT WOULD BE BLUE. And on a final sad note, I have to say good bye to Mellon Arena. Great showing by the Pens in their last regular game there.
@ 91PENS92
I agree. The triangle Penguin logo is deffinatley not the Lemieux era. If anything maybe people could call it the Jagr era. I always had a little soft spot for that logo, but i can not believe we actually changed logos after the 2 cups. They could have atleast waited until we didn't win the cup. We had the best season in franchise history with that logo but it still didn't get us the Cup.
I've always loved the Penguins' alternate gold-yellow home uniforms from the mid 80s. It was kind of like watching my Canucks. Except the Pens had the nicer-looking jerseys. I still favour the Penguins returning full-time to their 80s and early 90s unis. I do like the Vegas gold in the retro design though.
as a Pens fan, anything with blue in the actual logo makes me want to vomit. I like the current 3rds and think we should keep them. Not a fan of them changing them so quickly.
80's/early 90's jerseys for home/away - with "pigeon" logo as a shoulder patch!
powder blue alternate
done... so easy, why do they make it hard? PLEASE GO BACK TO YELLOW instead of craptastic beige !!!1Asdhfkh;;askdjfhlkj!
Sorry Matt, but NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOO PIGEON LOGO. I HATE that logo and as I've said before I'm glad Mario buried that thing!
the head logo is better than any of the skating penguins.
also, how in the world does it look like a pidgeon? Mario Lemieux must be blind...
@LIGHTNING25- Mario scored 690 goals being blind?
Am I the only one who likes both logos? Loved the the late 90s wrap around silver to gold on the black jersey, but again, I think I am alone on that one.
I think that the Reebok Edge jerseys destroyed a lot of great jerseys around the league, including the Pens, and replaced them with disasters (like the powder blue Thrashers that looks like a one shoulder shirt women wore in the early aughts). I loved the previous jerseys with current colors, but triangular stripes up the sides and wrists. These new ones look like black and gold Rorschach Tests. Lets put a random blotch of gold here, and some white there. Not random enough...lets add a tapered stripe on the pants that is not matched anywhere else on the uniform. Bring back normal stripes or at least congruent themes throughout the uniform.
I would like to see something like Doug's gold arm bands become the primary, flop some of the colors around for the road whites, keep the current powder blue for the alternate.
Pittsburgh is Black N Gold NOT Black N Beige! Bring back the '91/'92 Cup Champs sweater! Who gives a crap about Blue? The Pens were terrible when they wore blue. The pigeon makes me want to vomit! I only like the Road blacks when Baldwin messed with the logo.