Sadly, my trip will be wrapping up soon but as promised, I did prepare a new concept art post. Today's theme is stars — of all varieties. We'll start with the Dallas Stars, work in the Minnesota North Stars, and finish off with an All-Star design. Enjoy!
One more auto-published post awaits Sunday before I get back on Tuesday.
With all this rapture talk, I thought we might take a look at what the future holds (if there is one) for NHL uniforms next season. These are all based on rumors that have been reported around the web recently.
The first set is based on the rumor that the Flyers will host the Rangers for the 2012 Winter Classic. The inspiration for the Flyers' throwback jersey is the Philadelphia Quakers franchise — which has no relation to the Flyers. Still, I have yet to see a Flyers WC concept not based on that team's uniform design.
Another rumor spreading this spring calls for the Isles to launch a black alternate next season.
Whether or not it's wishful thinking, the prevailing rumors for the Stars is the debut of a green third jersey.
Now this one is a little more outside the box. It assumes the Thrashers are sold and moved to Winnipeg and that True North would retain the Moose branding to some extent while also paying tribute to the Jets.
And last here is just one more example of a Quakers concept standing in as a Flyers jersey for the big outdoor game next year. Personally, I don't see it happening. But then the Flames revisited their city's hockey history at their outdoor game this year. I suppose Philly could do the same in 2012.
Over the next two months, most of the hockey world will forget that the NHL actually extends beyond 16 teams. So before the playoffs kick into gear, I thought I'd share some concepts for a handful of clubs that have already wrapped up their seasons and will start the summer early.
Perhaps next we'll look at some teams that did qualify to play for the Stanley Cup in 2011.
It's a day reserved for drinking and wearing green. There's nothing I can do to help you with the drinking part, but maybe you'll like some of these green concept jerseys.
Of course don't forget that the New Jersey Devils will crack out their 1980s throwback sweater — a swell mix of red and green — for one night only this season. That'll be tomorrow when they host the Capitals (they're in Ottawa tonight). They Devils wore them for the first time since 1992 last season on St. Patrick's Day.
Saw someone mention in the comments a desire for a green Quebec concept, then realized I had one filed away for a rainy day. Let it rain!
Happy St. Patrick's Day from Icethetics!
Got a new set of concept art for Trade Deadline Day.
That Panthers logo is a little frightening. Your thoughts?
You guys weren't impressed with Sunday's crop of Ducks concepts, so let's try something a little different. These are all designs I think you might actually like.
Keep the artwork coming! My email address is in the Quick Links box at the top of the page.
No theme today, just another random assortment of concept art here.
Up first, Mike Ivall provides his take on a 2012 Winter Classic possibility. Rumors have suggested the game could be played in Philadelphia or New York next year.
Dallas Stars concept removed at artist's request
By the way, the Lightning concepts just keep streaming in, so I imagine that'll require another post or two in the near future. That's all for now.
Long time concept contributor and friend of Icethetics, Mike Ivall has caught the creativity bug, eager to express himself with jersey artwork. And I think that's something we're all happy to hear. Over the last few days he's immersed himself in the following designs.
After the St. Pete Times shared some new details on what the Lightning may be planning for their upcoming uniform redesign, Mike took a stab with some familiar elements. The lack of any black or silver does squarely put the look in Maple Leafs territory, which I'm not wild about. But you never know what Stevie Y has up his sleeve (i.e.: Dwayne Roloson).
I don't know what it is about this color combination but I absolutely love it. I saw Mike's concept and it's made me want to completely redesign Icethetics again — in these colors. The two-tone blue is all right if not overused these days, but add the red and suddenly it's completely unique. Anybody else with me on this?
How can Ottawa improve upon this? It's simple. They can't. Do this and the Senators will never need another jersey for the next century.
As usual, Mr. Ivall's work is outstanding and worthy of a post all to himself. And I can assure you there is more coming not only from Mike but many other talented artists as well.
The Minnesota Wild are the subject of the newest Icethetics concept post. Our artists have come up with a slew of unique designs for Wild jerseys — all of which are worth a look.
 Brian Brideau |
First up, how could the Wild look better on the road? After all, they are 9-19-2 right now. Brian may not be able to offer any legitimate tips on improving play, but maybe a new away jersey instead. He's put the Wild's wheat color to good use by creating a reversal of the red home jersey. Is it better than what they have now? I don't know. |
 Adam L'Italien |
Adam has a different idea. He's keeping the white and the primary logo but making it look more like that red jersey. It's a good jersey and it's been copied a lot but do we really want to oversaturate it? I liked it better when it was an alternate sweater. |
 Glen Cuthbert |
So speaking of third jerseys, can we improve upon their current one? Glen liked the M but not much else. He stripped down the text-based crest and added the primary logo to the shoulders. For better or worse? |
 Jake Slavik |
Jake's got a little off the beaten path, both in jersey design and customization. Probably the only time you'll see a Guillaume Latendresse jersey on these pages. But it's the funky striping that really gives me pause. It's just so... strange. Notice I didn't say "horrible." |
 Brian Brideau |
Now we switch gears and pretend to go back into the past. The Wild played their first game in 2000. But imagine if they existed in the 1980s. Brian thinks they'd be a lot more brightly colored — and that somehow they'd still have a goalie named Backstrom. Even better, what if the Wild were around in hockey's early days along with the Montreal Canadiens. Would a 1910s Wild sweater look like this? Would Derek Boogaard's great grandfather be a member of the club? For sure, the color saturation would be much less than in the 80s. Very creative. This is the sort of stuff I love to see. |
 Matt Marczel |
And as a bonus, let's go back into legitimate Minnesota hockey history — but in present day. Confused? Just look at these concepts for the team formerly known as the North Stars. Matt's taken the AHL's Iowa Stars logo and given it a shot on the Dallas uniform. While I love the heavy-handed green and total lack of black, I'm not sure it's an improvement. Thoughts? |
 Ryan Haslett |
Lastly, Ryan has come up with a simple black jersey that calls back to the Stars' earliest days in Dallas. Unfortunately that's the Dallas Cowboys' logo painted green and gold. The stripes are great, though. |
Hoping to not wait so long to get the next batch of concepts up. Been hard at work on new jersey galleries. Almost time to start getting the home and road sweaters on there.
By the way, Elliott Strauss' NHL Rebrand series will be picking up soon with the last half of the league. Stay tuned for that.
It's hard to believe 2010 is a mere four days away. That means the third annual Winter Classic is coming up at the end of the week.
And on the eve of the big event, a bunch of eager artists have started thinking about the next one. Or should I make that plural? A couple weeks ago, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he'd like to see a second outdoor game on New Year's Day 2011 — this one in Canada.
No decisions have been made at this point and any discussion on the topic is pure speculation. But that's what the Icethetics Concepts page is for. So as we prepare for the Philadelphia Flyers to face the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, let's think about what we might like to see in 2011.
Rumors suggest Yankee Stadium will play host to at least one of the 2011 outdoor games. That puts the Rangers at home to face who? Islanders? Maple Leafs? Capitals? And regarding the Canada game, Bettman mentioned Calgary by name. Would the Flames face their province rivals, the Oilers? Perhaps the Canucks or even Avalanche?
Let's see what some talented people have come up with as suggestions for 2011.
 Brendan Droppo
 |
Yankee StadiumRangers vs IslandersThis may be the most well-designed Winter Classic 2011 concept I've received. Brendan Droppo is sticking with the New York City rumors and pairing the Rangers and Islanders at Yankee Stadium. Probably a safe bet. He's got a great logo that evokes the locale (as the past logos have done) and a pair of classic sweaters. Though I'm not sure you can call anything but their current jersey a classic. But then I thought that about the Red Wings too. And theirs worked out just fine last year. This is an awesome concept and I'm completely on board with it only if western Canada also gets their own Winter Classic. If they don't, I say out with the Isles. Canada deserves to get back into the outdoor games. Pit the Rangers against the Maple Leafs. If there is a Canadian game, I'd vote to leave it the way it is. Not sure the Rangers have another rival as big as the Isles. Plus we need to share the wealth. Everyone should get a shot at a Winter Classic game. |
 Cole Jones
 |
Target FieldWild vs StarsCole Jones of The Other 6 Seconds hockey blog emailed in to tell me about his idea. You can read the full proposal on his blog, but here are the bullet points. While I'm over here trying to get a Canadian team back into their own game, Cole, a Stars fan, is attempting to get a southern U.S. team into the mix — his own. He'd like to pit the Dallas Stars against the Minnesota Wild at Target Field, which is currently under construction in Minneapolis. It will serve as the home of the Minnesota Twins beginning in April 2010 — more than enough time to prepare it for a hockey match. It would be a huge day for Minnesota hockey fans, that's for sure. To see their current team after 10 years on the ice, facing a blast from the past in the form of North Stars jerseys would probably send some people into a tailspin. The only problem I see is this: Aside from Minnesotans, who cares? Part of the idea behind the Winter Classic is to appeal to new fans. To put the game in front of people who normally wouldn't watch. The past few seasons the NHL has been going for teams in big markets or with long histories. Yes, Dallas and Minneapolis are two huge markets, but the point is to go beyond them. A Rangers-Isles game would certainly do the trick. Everybody knows the Rangers, even if their not hockey fans. But this idea of getting the Stars back to Minnesota for a big event is a pretty popular one in hockey circles... |
 Ryan Haslett |
Target FieldWild vs StarsAnother regular Icethetics artist, Ryan Haslett, independently came up with the same idea. Wild and Stars at Target Field. But Ryan's idea for an event logo and game jerseys is a little different. They definitely feel like classic hockey, but both designs borrow from current sweaters. The "M" on the Wild jersey comes from the new green third while the Stars sweater is based off their current third, but infused with a little more gold. Either Cole's or Ryan's designs could work well if, indeed, one of the 2011 Winter Classics were to take place in Minnesota. |
 Ryan Haslett |
Rogers CentreMaple Leafs vs CanadiensSpeaking of Canada, Ryan did have a second Canadian option — going with one of the oldest rivalries in professional sports. He's got the Habs and Leafs at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Formerly called the SkyDome, the stadium plays home to the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Argonauts. As expected, he's got the teams in vintage sweaters, and surprisingly enough, one that the Canadiens have NOT worn in the past two seasons. The logo is a little weak but it plays off the simplicity of the Rogers Centre logo. Now to be fair, the Canadiens just took part in an outdoor game in 2003. Maybe they should sit on the bench a little while longer, you know? If you're going to put the game in Toronto, maybe have the Leafs face their province rival Ottawa Senators. As I said, spread the wealth. |
One thing I've noticed with these concepts is they're all set at baseball stadiums. Let's not forget the first two NHL outdoor games took place in football stadiums and were quite successful.
In wrapping things up, the one concept I don't have to share that I would really like to see is Calgary. I'm not familiar enough with the city to know where it should be played, but the Flames should host it and their opponent should NOT be the Oilers. (The Oilers faced the Habs in 2003 in Edmonton.) I think it comes down to the Maple Leafs, who play in a huge market and have a long history, or the Canucks, who are geographically closer and a more common foe during the regular season. But it's not up to me.
So what are your thoughts on the 2011 Winter Classic(s)? If you have have concept art to share, I'd be happy to add it to this post. If you just have another thought about a good match-up, drop a line in the comments.
By the way, happy new year!
The new concept series in which designer Elliott Strauss takes on the immense task of creating the ideal look of the NHL now continues. All 30 teams will receive his rebranding treatment — some with big changes, others small changes — all, hopefully, for the better.
In Part I, Elliott took on the Capitals, Coyotes and Panthers. Part II, saw updates for the Oilers, Red Wings and Thrashers. This time it's the Penguins, Maple Leafs and Stars.
The bold text below are Elliott's own descriptions.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The logos are all new. I tried to create a dramatic-looking penguin on Pittsburgh's signature triangle. Vegas gold is gone and yellow is back.
An igloo is featured as a patch logo and the jerseys pay tribute to the sweaters from the early '90s. The alternate brings in elements from the mid-00s triangles and also the new triangle featured in my logos.
Certainly a menacing penguin and the classic design is hard to beat. However, it does leave a little to wonder about in terms of logistics.
I like the idea of a yellow third, but is it dark enough that the opposing team could wear white? And while the two-tone jersey numbers may look cool, they don't quite meet their practical responsibility which is legibility — not to mention the nightmare for the person in charge of customizing each sweater.
Despite that critique, though, I am a fan of this look for the most part. By switching to Vegas gold, the Penguins weren't giving themselves the shinier look you'd imagine but rather desaturating their color scheme. It looks horrible and needs a change.
One thing I do like about the Penguins' current design is how they've stepped out of the box with the third jersey in using an entirely new color scheme. Even the Panthers only changed one color. The Pens went all the way.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The jerseys aren't much to speak of in terms of changes but I did come up with a new logo package. The leaf is spiky and help forms a T. The shoulder patch is a portion of the iconic CN tower behind a blue version of the Canadian flag.
This will probably end up being one of Elliott's most controversial designs if for no other reason than the sweeping logo changes.
However, the simplicity is hard to argue with and while it breaks from tradition in a big way, I don't think it's for the worse.
The one change I'd make is to dull the corners of the leaf — make them not so sharp. Then when you squint at it, it kind of looks like the Toronto Arenas shield.
Maybe it's just me.
Finishing up in the south with some not-so-sweeping changes in Dallas.
Dallas Stars
Since they seem to be more inclined toward black these days, I left black as the primary jersey color and switched up the logo a little bit. The chest mark is simply a star on top of Texas.
For the striping, I tried to make it in such a way that the gold looks best with the two colors — I'm not sure about a specific thought process.
The alternate eliminates the black and has stripes similar to their current uniforms.
I think Elliott was definitely going for a look that evokes the Stars' early days in Dallas. Apart from the sleeve stripes, it's almost a dead ringer.
I like the green third. It's something Dallas has struggled with in the Age of Reebok. I still think their best jersey was the green one with a giant star that was once an alternate.
Unfortunately, the Edge stifles that sort of creativity. Am I bitter? Never.
I'm aiming to get Part 4 posted within the next week. It will feature my Tampa Bay Lightning among others.
You've been patient (most of you). My inbox has seen a lot of concept art over the past few weeks and I'm thrilled to finally be posting it! (Seriously, if someone can help me figure out a way to make Icethetics my only job, we'll all be a lot happier. A lot.)
All right, I've got 14 items to get to tonight, so let's not waste time. We'll begin with the Colorado Avalanche, whose brand new third jersey has recently been leaked (see the blog for more info on that).
A lot of readers have bemoaned a lack of creativity, I believe having to do with the fact that it's simply a revision of the Avs' previous third. This first concept certainly avoids drawing on past designs while simultaneously reminding us the Nordique spirit will never die.
BD
The other team soon releasing a brand new third will be the Florida Panthers. Rumor would have us believe it may look a little something like this.
Ryan Haslett
It's a return to red, which I'm sure longtime Cats fans will appreciate, and it borrows very heavily from the Wild's home uni — easily one of the best in the NHL.
Seeing all these new third jerseys the last couple of years makes me wonder who got it right and who didn't. Some teams don't have one and could really use it. Obviously, the Penguins, Wild, Sabres and Blues got it right.
I've been hoping the Rangers would one day return to the Lady Liberty jersey which at one point was my favorite in the league. Here's a re-envisioning of that.
nyr1583
The Capitals would do well to add a blue jersey. Many have suggested the Weagle take center stage, but why not a red version of the primary logo? How would it all look on a Lethbridge Hurricanes sweater?
Ryan Haslett
The Canucks dropped the ball with their third last year. It was what we all expected, but that should be their home sweater, and not an alternate. Here's one idea for an alternate with yet another brand new logo.
Matt Marczel
Now that Whalers merchandise is making its way back onto store shelves, maybe the Hurricanes could pay tribute on one St. Patrick's Day sometime.
Matt Marczel
Maybe even the Red Wings could get in on the third jersey action — even though they've never been one to follow that crowd.
Matt Marczel
The Dallas Stars dropped the ball worse than anyone two years in a row — bad home and road sweaters followed by a shockingly worse third. Since we're talking nostalgia and vintage these days, why not a trip down memory lane the heart of Texas?
Matthew Duke
Lastly, the Ducks. It seems like every concept post at some point feels the need to help out those poor Anaheim Ducks. Nobody was sad to see the "Mighty" go away, but nor were they glad to see the artistic carnage that would ensue on the sweaters to follow.
mcskilz
I'm not saying gold is the way to go necessarily, but maybe stepping outside the box isn't a bad thing. Anyway, the colors are great, but the logo could use a lift.
Jake Niehl
Hey, an actual duck. Go figure.
I enjoy ending a concept post with a little something to freak you out, if at all possible. Tonight is no exception. The Sabres and Canucks have their 40th anniversaries coming up next season. Let's get started by putting an actual saber on the Sabres' jersey.
J.B.
And hell, why not just run the gamut of past logos and colors for the Canucks? You know they never did have a red jersey.
J.B.
A little something to frighten Panthers fans. As we near Halloween, perhaps this could be a costume.
Jules
And lastly, one of the most ridiculous Atlanta Thrashers concepts ever to grace these pages.
mcskilz
Show your mcskilz! To the first person who can legitimately make the rest of the numerals out of that simple Thrash logo — bragging rights for life!
Hope the wait was worth it. I'm really trying to keep this updated. And since I know it's what you guys want, I'll make a special effort to have something new hear at least once a week — though it likely won't be in the quantity you see tonight.
Keep those concepts coming! Email them to icethetics@gmail.com.
I have new artwork to share with you tonight from a number of artists.
We begin with Jake Niehl who has put together a new look for the Penguins. You do not want to mess with this flightless fowl.
Pittsburgh Penguins concept by Jake Niehl
Earlier this week we talked about the possibility of the Ducks placing the wordmark on their jerseys with the much less heinous "webbed D." Matt Marczel writes in with what that might look like...
Anaheim Ducks concept jerseys by Matt Marczel
...as does Jules.
Anaheim Ducks concept jersey by Jules
Both designers stuck with black jerseys but make it work much better than the Ducks currently do. But if you really want a change in Anaheim, check out this logo by Mike Notko.
Anaheim Ducks concept logo by Mike Notko
That is quite something.
Wojtek from Poland writes in with a very sharp new look for his country's national team.
Team Poland concept logos by Wojtek
Still wondering what's up for the 2010 Winter Classic? Look no further. DC Designs put together a rather smart brown uniform for the Bruins.
Boston Bruins Winter Classic concept jersey by DC Designs
And finally, tonight, we finish up with some artwork that harkens back to the days of Freak Out Friday. First, the Panthers — well, Cats?
Florida Panthers concept jersey by J.B.
Then the Stars...
Dallas Stars concept jersey by J.B.
...who I believe are on sale for $0.99 at your local grocer. Thanks to J.B. for freaking us out.
If you've got any great hockey logo and uniform concept art that you think needs to be shared to the world, you know how to get it to me. Until next time.
