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.