New Blackhawks Jersey Design Concept

We haven't been hearing much about the Chicago Blackhawks lately, but I came across this design on the 'Hawks official message board. Have a look.



Now, have a real good look. I mean get out your fine-tooth comb and really go over that puppy because I have my doubts as to the veracity of this image. It sure does look like a Blackhawks Rbk EDGE jersey, but the first thing that caught my eye was that familiar horizontal striping pattern on the sleeves and bottom of the sweater. Remember this?

Now compare it to the Bruins jersey to the left. Dead on. So I'm sorry if I got anybody's hopes up. It is just a very good Photshop job based on the B's road Reebok sweaters. Wondering what tipped me off? The stripes on the Blackhawks' white jerseys go black-red-black whereas the ones in this image go red-black-red.

Anyway, I'm continually impressed by the work people put into these jersey designs. You gotta think I'm pretty interested in the subject on account of writing this blog but I'm not sure I'd really go to the extent of coming up with my own design concept. Kudos to the folks that do, though. They give me something to write about.

The Blackhawks have yet to give word of plans for any sort of formal or official announcement, so until we hear something, it's a cool idea to muse on. Any Chicago fans reading? What do you think?

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!

New Stars Uniforms Coming September 14

According to an administrator on the Dallas Stars' official message board, we can expect to see their new Rbk EDGE jerseys on September 14. So I've added that date to the countdowns in the sidebar. Thanks to Josh for the tip!

While we're on the subject though, I ran across a fan design on that same message board that I thought was kind of funny.



It's a play on the Minnesota North Stars logo with a "D" for, you guessed it, Dallas. For those of you who don't know your hockey history, the Dallas Stars moved from Minnesota in 1993.

Anyway, thought it was a funny design and felt like sharing it along with the news of the unveiling date.

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?

Blue Jackets vs Red Wings

	vs
BLUE JACKETS		RED WINGS
8-1		4-7

The Aesthetics
The Red Wings logo is very flat. There is one color and its traditional as with any Original Six team. I think it's okay but also that there's still room for improvement. But I'll leave it there. As for the Blue Jackets logos, it's a huge improvement over the previous logo (anybody remember the electric green bee?). At the very least, it makes better use of color than the Wings logo does.
Blue Jackets

The Nickname
A Blue Jacket may carry a bayonet, but chances of him shooting a bird with Red Wings are slim.
Red Wings

The Analysis
Both teams have colors in their names and yes, those colors are prominent in each logo. In fact, red is the only color in the Red Wings logo. The Blue Jackets logo prominently features the Ohio flag wrapped around a silver star in the form of a "C" as has been mentioned. A reader also pointed out that the star signifies Columbus as the capital city. And, yes, it's that cool.
Blue Jackets

WINNER

2-1

 

Sabres vs Bruins

	vs
SABRES		BRUINS
5-4		6-2

The Aesthetics
It's a bit of a toss-up here. I think both logos are pretty aesthetically strong. But these are both logos that have been changed in the last couple years. As far as improvements, I think both are better than what they had, but that the Bruins logo is more of an improvement than the Sabres. The return to traditional colors was nice but for a way to make it better, just ask John Slabyk.
Bruins

The Nickname
This would have been a good showdown if it was bruin and buffalo. But instead, it's Bruin versus Sabre, and with the latter in the hands of an experience swordsman, I have my doubts for the big bear.
Sabres

The Analysis
Neither logo portrays its name it's meant to very well — although the case has been made that there's a blue sabre along the back of the buffalo with the horn also serving as the handle. I'd still like to see the secondary logo on the crest sans the word marks, but that may have to wait until the day third jerseys make their glorious return.
Sabres

WINNER

2-1

 

Wild vs Coyotes

	vs
WILD		COYOTES
11-2		5-4

The Aesthetics
Well this is it for the Wild — last match of the tournament. They're going to be the first ones finished. And for that, we're going to milk this forest scene for all its worth. If you don't see how cool it is, then I'm convinced you're blind. That coyote just looks awkward to me. But then again I didn't hate the original Coyotes logo from the late '90s.
Wild

The Nickname
The Coyotes live in the Wild, true. But so do bears.
Wild

The Analysis
I've said it all before about the Wild logo. I'm not sure what else I can add. It's really a great team icon. But just one more time for posterity: Inside the outline of a bear's head you've got a beautiful forest scene featuring trees, mountains, a river, a sunset and — wait for it — the north star in a fitting tribute to the history of The State of Hockey. Anything I missed? I think the Coyotes logo is designed well but it doesn't have nearly the depth of the Wild. And that's that for the Wild in this tournament.
Wild

WINNER

3-0

 

Capitals vs Thrashers

	vs
CAPITALS		THRASHERS
4-6		5-6

The Aesthetics
The hockey sticks in these logos abound. But that's fine, what I'm staring at is the wordmark that the Capitals are calling a logo. The Ducks made this mistake and I hope they're going to learn from it. Seems we'll have no such luck with the Caps. Plus I think the Thrashers logo has a sharp and rather unique color scheme.
Thrashers

The Nickname
Hmm. Maybe the Thrashers open fire on the Capital by freeing their "droppings" on the buildings causing mountains of paperwork as the government tries to get it all cleaned up. Stretch, yes.
Thrashers

The Analysis
I'm sorry, I was a fan of the Capitol dome logo. I don't know why it had to go just because the colors got changed. But who knows why the Capitals do anything? But I can't in good conscience allow them to have this point. That's a neat bird on that Thrashers logo.
Thrashers

WINNER

3-0