Sweater Switch 2014: Summer Edition

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Less than 24 hours into NHL Free Agency, we've already seen the new sweaters a handful of players will be switching to this fall. So bring on Sweater Switch 2014!

Ryan Miller · Canucks

After 12 years in Buffalo, it was a jarring to see Ryan Miller sporting the Blue Note for the last few weeks of the 2013-14 season. But apparently, he wasn't looking to stay in St. Louis. The all-star goaltender signed on with the Vancouver Canucks.

Within minutes, the team tweeted a photo of his new jersey.

Have to admit some surprise he didn't stick with No. 39. In fairness, I didn't watch the press conference so I don't know if that was addressed. I understand 39 is his preferred sweater, but he wore 30 in Buffalo all those years out of respect for Dominik Hasek. (Maybe he's worried about Dan Cloutier mojo in Vancouver?)

Thomas Vanek · Wild

The Minnesota Wild could not tweet enough photos of their newest member, Thomas Vanek, with his new sweater.

Vanek will take over Matt Moulson's No. 26 — for the second time in a year. Vanek and Moulson were traded for each other last fall between the Isles and Sabres. But Moulson will not return to the Wild in 2014.

Matt Moulson · Sabres

In fact, after he joined Minnesota, I pointed out on Twitter that Matt Moulson held the 2013-14 record as the player who'd worn the most NHL jerseys. He played for three teams, all of whom had three sweaters.

Knowing he was hitting the free agent market, I wondered if he would end up in a 10th NHL uniform in less than 10 months. As it turned out, he ended up back in Buffalo where he spent the middle part of last season. (And there are no new jerseys coming to the Sabres this year. That I know of. Right?)

Paul Stastny · Blues

Continuing with the No. 26 theme, the St. Louis Blues nabbed ex-Av Paul Stastny in yesterday's excitement. He'll continue to wear the number he had in Denver.

UPDATE · Jul 2 · Great catch by "M. March" in the comments, who wrote: "Dmitrij Jaskin gave up his No. 26 to Stastny over Twitter." Here's that tweet.

Brian Gionta · Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres added plenty of new faces to the mix this week, but Brian Gionta got a special press conference this afternoon. It was there he got acquainted with his new sweater.

For even more photos, check out this photo gallery on the Sabres' Facebook page.

P.A. Parenteau · Canadiens

Joining the Montreal Canadiens is P.A. Parenteau. Early Wednesday the team tweeted a photo of the forward in his new sweater. Parenteau will stick with his standard No. 15 sweater.

Dan Boyle · NYR
Brian Boyle · TBL

Jul 4 · Funny point made in the comments by "TheTI2112" who writes:

Dan Boyle signed with the Rangers just as Brian Boyle left to Tampa. Both share the same last name and both wear number 22. So Dan's new jersey looks exactly the same as one the Rangers have been used to for the past several years.

Put your sewing machines away. No re-stitching necessary.

Though it will be funny when part-time Rangers fans not paying attention to offseason transactions show up at MSG this fall. The looks of confusion will be priceless.

Wait, we got a different guy named Boyle? Who also wears No. 22? What.

For those wondering, Dan and Brian are not related. In fact, Dan is Canadian while Brian is American. But Brian does have a hockey-playing brother who was drafted by the Senators in 2012.

Wouldn't you just die if he wears No. 22 too?

By the way, to make things funnier, Dan played with the Lightning during their Stanley Cup championship in 2004. He also wore No. 22 then. 

Brian or Dan?

Brian or Dan?

Brian and Tim Boyle. These guys might be related.

Brian and Tim Boyle. These guys might be related.

Jarome Iginla · Avalanche

Jul 5 · Jarome Iginla spent 17 years of his life as a member of the Calgary Flames. So it was jarring to see him don a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform in 2012.

By signing with the Colorado Avalanche earlier in the week, Iginla now joins his fourth NHL team in two years.

Earlier today, the Avs tweeted out some photos of the process of creating his sweater. He'll continue wearing No. 12.

Jason Spezza · Stars

Jul 6 · For the second summer in a row, Ottawa Senators fans said goodbye to their captain. Last year Daniel Alfredsson departed for Detroit.

This week, Jason Spezza joined the Dallas Stars. Today, the team tweeted the first photos of his new sweater and new number.

Spezza wore No. 19 for years in Ottawa but it's retired for Bill Masterton, the former Minnesota North Star — a fact Tyler Seguin learned last summer. He went with No. 91.

Spezza will wear No. 90, becoming the first Star ever to do so. And he'll no doubt make his mark with it.

Ryan Kesler · Ducks

Jul 10 · The Ducks sure made a big deal out of Ryan Kesler's arrival in Anaheim yesterday. The team shared plenty of photos of him sporting that new white sweater.

It's been noted that the numbers on his jersey are outlined in gold instead of orange as they were at the draft. We can probably chalk that up to lack of availability either at the team store or in the locker room — depending on who did the customization.

But perhaps the stranger sight for jersey geeks was to see yet another jersey with Kesler's name and number on it.

Any other new free agent jerseys out there? Drop me a line and I'll expand this post.

NHL Sweater Switch 2013

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Sweater Switch was an annual tradition on Icethetics going back to 2009 — until I accidentally skipped it last year. No one asked for it and I quite simply forgot about it. Not this year.

Now that we're several days into NHL free agency, teams are starting to hold press conferences to introduce their newest members. So I'm gathering up photos to give us all a first glimpse at a handful of big names who will be sporting new sweaters in the fall. Enjoy.

Photos from Philadelphia Flyers (via Instagram)

Flyers add Lecavalier, Streit and Emery

This has got to be the most bizarre one of them all. And I'm not just speaking as a Lightning fan here. Vincent Lecavalier wearing anything but the bolt is just not right. Even if he is on the downswing of his career. Trading blue for orange. Four for forty. And temperate Tampa for chilly Philly. Just bizarre.

Lecavalier was forced to dump the No. 4 jersey he wore for many years in Tampa since it was retired by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975 for Barry Ashbee. But here's a fun fact: Lecavalier wasn't always No. 4. After being drafted by Tampa Bay in 1998, he actually wore No. 8 since his Jean Beliveau-inspired jersey was taken by previous Lightning draftee Cory Cross. However, the following season, Cross was traded for Fredrik Modin, freeing up the number we all associate with Vinny. I'm hoping he's the last Bolt to wear it.

Mark Streit also had retired-number problems. His standard No. 2 was raised to the rafters in Philly just last year for Mark Howe. For Ray Emery, on the other hand, Tuesday's media event was all very deja vu. He held up that same No. 29 Flyers jersey for pictures when he was signed four years ago.

By the way, the Courier-Post has a neat shot of the trio wearing their new threads.

Photo from Dallas Stars (via Facebook)

Stars welcome Seguin and Horcoff

Also on Tuesday, two new Dallas Stars players got to model two new Dallas Stars jerseys. Shawn Horcoff, in green, will wear No. 10 next season as he has for nearly all his years in Edmonton. (I believe he had No. 36 briefly as a rookie.)

Meanwhile, Tyler Seguin, donning white for the media, was forced to swap digits as his No. 19 was retired by the North Stars for Bill Masterton in 1987. They still honor Minnesota's retired numbers in Dallas. He'll now wear No. 91 in Dallas.

By the way, don't forget that this franchise will be retiring another number next season. On March 8, 2014, No. 9 goes up for Mike Modano, a fact made public last month when the Stars unveiled these new uniforms.

Photos from Columbus Blue Jackets

Nathan Horton joins Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets wasted no time getting their biggest free agent signee in front of the media. Nathan Horton met the cameras on July 5, the first day of free agency and the day he signed his new deal. As you can see, he'll take on No. 8 with R.J. Umberger occupying No. 18.

But this is the last time we'll see Horton in a Blue Jackets jersey for a while. He's about to undergo shoulder surgery, which will put him out of commission for four to six months. Meaning we probably won't get to see him in action until November or December.

By the way, speaking of Horton and Seguin, I was amused by this photo from 2010, depicting the pair showing off their new Bruins jerseys. Just goes to show how futile these things can be sometimes.

Anyway, I'll leave it here for now. There will be more of these press conferences as the summer goes on, so I'll just keep adding updates to this post.

By the way, I know the the Minnesota Wild already introduced Keith Ballard, but I understand they're doing Matt Cooke on Wednesday, so I'll post their pictures together once that happens.

Sweater Switch 2010

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We ran a series here last year called Sweater Switch, which consisted of players signed or traded over the summer with their new team's jersey. It was cool, though that's really a task to be taken on during the first month of the season when action shots are available.

Mike Modano and his Red Wings sweaterI was going to wait but this picture just struck me as so bizarre that I just couldn't. I mean it's Mike Modano with a Detroit Red Wings jersey — and it's No. 90 (since No. 9 is retired, obviously).

So strange. More photos here.

Anyhow, this reminded me of a photo essay Sports Illustrated did a few years ago called Legends in the Wrong Uniform, which included Bobby Orr as a Blackhawk.

It mostly shows great athletes on the down-swing of their careers when they just wanted to get a few more games in but their longtime teams were going in another direction. You know, Bourque with the Avs, Hasek in Detroit. The Modano situation fits perfectly, so if they ever do an update, they'll have to add him.

Anyway it's a slow Tuesday and I wanted to get something new on the blog. Enjoy.

Sweater Switch '09: Part 6

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Turns out the Sweater Switch series isn't quite over just yet. I realized there were some pictures I hadn't yet posted. Since it's been so long, for those of you who don't know, the Sweater Switch series is here to give you a first look at players wearing their new uniforms for 2009-10.

First, obviously, Alex Tanguay. He officially signed with my Tampa Bay Lightning back on September 1 and posed for photos with coach Rick Tocchet and GM Brian Lawton.

Rick Tocchet, Alex Tanguay and Brian Lawton

Tanguay opted for the No. 13 sweater this season, same as he wore last year in Montreal. But as he pointed out in the press conference, Tanguay's preferred number is 18. It's what he wore with the Flames from 2006 to 2008. Adam Hall has that one locked up in Tampa.

However, Tanguay may be best known for his No. 40 jersey, which he donned throughout his tenure with the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche. Another Adam (Deadmarsh) had No. 18 back then.

Mike KomisarekMike Komisarek, one of a handful of new Toronto Maple Leafs has selected No. 8, as you can see in the photo to the right.

No surprises there as it's the same number he wore for six seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. Can't say what its significance is.

The last guy for Part 6 is Mike Knuble, who joined the Washington Capitals this offseason after four years in Philadelphia. As you can see in the picture below, he will keep the No. 22 sweater he wore with the Flyers.

Knuble began his career with No. 22 in Detroit for two seasons followed by two more with the Rangers. He then strayed for five years between 1999 and 2004, wearing the No. 26 jersey in Boston. At the time he joined the Bruins, Mikko Eloranta had No. 22.

Mike Knuble

If you guys can track down any new pictures before the season starts, I may be able to get in one more Sweater Switch post before the highly anticipated Icethetics Season Preview! (Kidding, no one's anticipating it.)

One more note. I have new concept art on the way. Look for it to be posted Tuesday or Wednesday.

Sweater Switch '09: Part 5

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The long-dormant Sweater Switch series wraps up tonight more than a month after the previous installment. I was holding out, waiting for one more picture to pop up, but no. We will have to settle for just two.

I mentioned these guys in Part 3, but now the Montreal Canadiens have put their new quintet in front of cameras together. Travis Moen, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri and Paul Mara all donning their bleu, blanc et rouge.

New Habs pose for a group photo

You can find the stories behind their chosen numbers in Part 3. I won't bother to re-hash it here.

The other picture I have shows new Capital Brendan Morrison with his new No. 9 Washington jersey.

Brendan Morrison

Morrison is returning to the No. 9 sweater he wore when he made his NHL debut with the New Jersey Devils in the 1997-98 season. In 2000, he became a Canuck and switched to No. 7 as Brad May had No. 9. Morrison kept that jersey throughout his tenure in Vancouver and even last season when he joined the Ducks. After being claimed by the Stars late in the season, he switched to No. 11.

If I've missed any good Sweater Switch photo ops, let me know and I'll add them to this post.