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.

Just To Freak You Out XXI

The Freak Out series hits 21 this week — old enough to get hammered. And boy, I think some of the designers this week had to have been hammered. I mean, just look at this.



It might take a moment or two to notice that this is an "If They Mated" example. It's the new Sharks secondary logo merged with the Mighty Ducks third jersey of the mid-90s. But I love it!



This Flames jersey is on fire! Someone on eBay is really selling it. For real.



Sidney Crosby recently dropped the gloves in a rare on-ice event. This picture isn't real but it cracks me up nonetheless. There's just so much about it that's so wrong. I'm curious to see if the guys over at Pensblog have anything to say about this.

And finally, we have a plethora of "matings" here to share.



To sum things up, what you see above is the Flyers and Bruins, Rangers and Islanders, Devils and Sabres, Blue Jackets and Blackhawks, Avalanche and Wild, Blues and Red Wings, Canucks and Hurricanes (weird!), Bruins and Flyers (opposite of the first one) and Stars and Coyotes.

But wait, there's more.



This one is interesting because it's all opposites of the previous image. They are the Coyotes and Stars, Blackhawks and Blue Jackets, Hurricanes and Canucks, Islanders and Rangers, Sabres and Devils, Red Wings and Blues (what the—?), and Wild and Avalanche.

Hope you enjoyed being freaked out. Have a fantastic weekend!

Poll: Capitals vs Thrashers

	vs
Washington CAPITALS		Atlanta THRASHERS

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 Thu Dec 27

Poll closing date Mon Dec 31

07SCTRN | #3B | WSHvATL

Poll: Hurricanes vs Canucks

	vs
Carolina HURRICANES		Vancouver CANUCKS

The third round has begun! 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 Wed Dec 26

Poll closing date Sat Dec 30

07SCTRN | #3A | CARvVAN

Merry Christmas, Edmonton!

Santa has delivered some Edmonton Oilers concept art for me to post this evening.

This first one keeps with the copper theme but makes a few adjustments. For one thing, there are two different secondary logos — one for each shoulder. It also continues the stripe all the way around the sleeve.



Not too bad overall, though. The letters on the nameplate might be a bit hard to read but the secondary logos are well done. I like the one on the left, personally.



These two jerseys are a couple of designs featuring the logo you guys voted as the NHL's best third jersey logo. One with silver, one with copper. I like the silver.



And these two were just fun. I think that jersey on the left looks bad with an Islanders logo on it. The Oilers logo doesn't improve it. On the right are a few concepts with some interesting striping. The orange jersey was ill-conceived, I think, but the other two have my attention.

Finally, as a bonus for those of you longing for the days of the Winnipeg Jets, enjoy this.



Those are pretty sharp. Too bad we'll never get to see jerseys like that anytime soon.

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas (if you celebrate it) and the day off (if you were lucky enough to get it). The third round of the Secondary Logo tournament kicks off tomorrow.

Quick Update

The response so far on the Worst Logo Tournament has been great! A lot of you guys definitely seem more interested in naming a bad logo than a good one, but to each his own. Just wanted to drop in with a brief update since I haven't really been around this weekend. Here's a little something to tide you over until I have a chance to do a real concepts post.



Certainly a lot to peruse there. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the long weekend (I have to work tomorrow — luckily the show has been cancelled for Christmas Day). And Merry Christmas to those of you that celebrate it!

Coming Soon: The NHL's Worst Logo!

All right, yes, it may say in the header of this blog that we're on a quest to find the "best" logo in the NHL, but by popular demand, we're going to digress from that a little in the new year.

Following the Secondary Logo Tournament, we'll ring in 2008 by deciding on the worst logo in NHL history. And you will determine which logos will be part of the new bracket!

Here's how it's going to work. We'll start with a pool of 16 logos and narrow that down to the very worst ever seen in the league. Those 16 logos will be determined by nominations made by you, the readers of NHLToL. Feel free to make nominations by leaving comments. (But only comment on THIS POST. Don't email me directly and don't make your nominations on other posts. This is where I'll be looking.) I'll start tallying things up over the next few weeks and then reveal the final bracket in January.

Now as with any good competition, we have to have some ground rules. The only eligible logos include those in use from 1967-68 onward (the year the league expanded from the Original Six). While some of you may not like this limitation, I think it's fair to say that many of the NHL logos that made appearances in the 1920s and '30s aren't really up to par in terms of design as those created in the last 50 years.

Feel free to argue that point with me, though. I'm willing to do whatever you guys want, within reason, but why needlessly poke fun at the Hamilton Tigers, Philadelphia Quakers and St. Louis Eagles (and others) just because they weren't into hiring graphic designers in those days? I'm all about a fair fight.

So having said that, everything else that's ever been worn on a jersey is fair game. Primary logos, secondary (shoulder) logos, third jersey logos — whatever! You guys make your nominations here and in a few weeks we'll have our pool. Also, if you opt to nominate a more obscure logo, be sure to include an image link so that we can see it. If it's really obscure, I can't guarantee I'll be able to include it, but don't let that stop you.

Now start the nominations!

Just To Freak You Out XX

The quality of Freak Out art I've become accustomed to was sorely lacking this week and that'll be clear after you get through tonight's post. It's not that nobody sent anything, it's that they were either trying too hard or not trying hard enough. I've got to have some standards, right? Perhaps not, but I'll forbear any further deliberation if for no other reason than to quite simply get on with it. Good plan?

What's wrong with this picture?



Yes, it seems like some of the colors there are a bit off. These too.



And don't even get me started on the absurdity of tropical storm flags surrounding a jersey with a Hartford Whalers logo on it. My head would explode.



Next is a Philadelphia Flyers concept logo that I think fits fairly into the "freaky" category.



At first, I liked this New York Rangers jersey. But the more I stare at it, the more it disturbs me. I don't care how old that team is. They need a new logo.



And finally, this one I just can't figure out. My brain tells me this is a nice Photoshop job, but a small part of me fears someone, somewhere actually made this jersey.



Islanders fans, I apologize. That's just horrible.

Anyway, that's all I've got for this week. Hope you got a little freaked out. And I hope you guys will keep sending in good Freak Out Friday material so we can keep this series going. Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Poll: Thrashers vs Kings

	vs
Atlanta THRASHERS		Los Angeles KINGS

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 Thu Dec 20

Poll closing date Mon Dec 24

07SCTRN | #2D | ATLvLAK

Poll: Bruins vs Canucks

	vs
Boston BRUINS		Vancouver CANUCKS

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 Wed Dec 19

Poll closing date Sun Dec 23

07SCTRN | #2C | BOSvVAN