The Best Jerseys in the Southeast

Earlier this year, we began a series of polls asking readers to rate the 2010-11 uniforms worn across the NHL for the purpose of creating a fan-determined ranking. We've completed the teams in Canada and the western United States. Now we move on to the southeastern U.S.

Each group includes six teams, split up by geography. This set of polls includes Atlanta, Carolina, Florida, Nashville, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. You can rate each jersey individually with a 10, 5 or 1. (You can either love it, hate it, or be on the fence. Keeps things simple.)

After all the votes have been cast, an average rating will be calculated. These polls will remain open for two weeks, ending Thurs., July 14. When we've voted on all the teams, I'll assemble a complete league ranking of every uniform worn for the 2010-11 season. Happy voting!

Sorry, no comments on this post. Just vote!

The Big Bad Draft Recap of 2011

I can't remember the last time an NHL draft yielded so many new jerseys. Eight different teams used the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul to showcase something new. So settle in, there's a lot to cover.

Oilers Go Full-On Retro

1 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 19 Oscar Klefborn, 62 Samu Perhonen, 92 Dillon Simpson

After 16 years, the Edmonton Oilers once again look like they did when they entered the NHL in 1979. The Oilers used the first overall pick in the draft to select Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as well as to unveil their new retro road sweater — which now matches their home uniform, with the colors reversed.

This is exactly what Edmonton fans wanted and I'm happy to see them get it. The jersey looks fantastic! On the team's website, Oilers president Patrick LaForge said, "We listened to our fans and know they will be happy to see the set complete with the new road vintage jersey." Truer words were never spoken.

The Oilers also announced that the previous road jersey is officially retired. And while they didn't say so specifically, it's likely the navy and copper third jersey will remain in use next season.

Seeing Red in South Florida

3 Jonathan Huberdeau, 64 Vincent Trocheck, 76 Logan Shaw, 87 Jonathan Racine

Earlier this month, the Florida Panthers launched their "We See Red" marketing campaign — an effort to return to the franchise's color roots. This weekend, it culminated with the reveal of their new red home sweater, which was given to each of their 2011 draft picks.

The Panthers didn't do an all-out redesign with this jersey, but more of a color swap. The sleeves are now blue, but there is no piping on — a refreshing change of pace from the old jersey. So that's a big plus. All in all, I think this is easily the best jersey in the Cats' arsenal at this point.

But that's not to say it's perfect. The elbow striping is an element of the Reebok Edge template that I just don't like. Maybe if it went all the way around the arm. I also think gold piping would've looked sharp and added contrast between the red and blue on the sleeves. But these are not dealbreakers.

I don't yet know about the fate of their other jerseys. I would assume the white road uniform will remain unchanged. They could use the old home jersey (the blue one) as a third jersey, but I think the blue alternate they already have is superior. So I'd bet the old home sweater is retired.

On Behalf of the Winnipeg Jets...

78 Brennan Serville, 7 Mark Scheifele, 119 Zachary Yuen, 157 Jason Kasdorf

The new Winnipeg franchise used the occasion to announce their new name — or should I say old name? The Winnipeg Jets are once again an NHL team. How about that. Unfortunately, while the team had a name ready to go, they couldn't say the same about a logo and jerseys.

Each of their draftees were given generic black jerseys with the NHL shield on the front. Rest assured, this will not be the uniform of the Jets come the fall. True North chairman Mark Chipman has said it may be a while before we see the new uniforms and logo.

Illegal Curve tweeted some details from Chipman yesterday. He said they wanted to have a prototype jersey ready for the draft, but were worried about knockoffs showing up before they were able to put official merchandise on sale. So production time is likely the reason we'll have to wait to see the new branding.

The team has also said that the colors "won't be completely different" from the old Jets. I take that to mean possibly a darker shade of blue and the addition of a third color such as silver. So another red and blue team, then. Fun. I may sound bitter, but at least the Thrashers and their too many colors were unique.

Earlier today, TSN's Darren Dreger tweeted, "I haven't seen the Winnipeg Jets new logo or sweater design, but I'm told it's very impressive." I'm sure it is. And I'm sure a lot of money is being spent to make sure of that. To be honest, I hope it doesn't leak so as to avoid the knockoff issues.

New Bolts Get New Blues 

148 Nikita Nesterov, 27 Vladislav Namestnikov, 178 Adam Wilcox

The Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled completely redesigned blue and white uniforms back in January. This weekend, they handed them out to their new draft picks in St. Paul.

There is one element of the jerseys that has changed since we last saw them at the January press conference. The numbers now feature an inner black outline after enough Bolts fans complained about the lack of black in the new threads. (I wasn't one of them.)

As much as I've praised these new sweaters, I was disappointed by one thing I noticed this weekend. Based on the previous pictures I've seen, I thought the blue was a lot lighter than it is. Turns out it's basically identical to the Maple Leafs' blue. Really not happy about that. Don't get me wrong, I'm still buying one, but I was hoping Stevie Y would do something to make us stand out.

Predators Decide to Simplify

38 Magnus Hellberg, 52 Miikka Salomaki

The Nashville Predators didn't have a pick in the first round this year due to the Mike Fisher trade, so we had to wait a day to see their new road jersey. As the NHL draft picked up with Round 2 this morning, the Preds gave the new sweater to their draftees, who became the first players to wear them.

While both new jerseys were sort of leaked on Thursday, we learned they weren't the final versions. Today we can play spot the differences. The biggest one (and only one that I could spot) would be the left shoulder which featured the word NASHVILLE in small text. On this version, it's only seen on the back of the collar. Everything else is basically how we first saw it.

Prior to the jersey leak, the new logos were officially unveiled, so I won't spend anymore time discussing them. I did want to note, however, that the new guitar pick logo is only used on the right shoulder of the road uniform. I suspect it will be the same on the gold home jersey.

Kings' Worst Kept Secret is Official

49 Christopher Gibson, 110 Michael Mersch

The Los Angeles Kings will have a new road uniform next season and their 2011 draft picks became the first to sport it for cameras today. (Like Nashville, they lacked a first round pick.) And for what it's worth, it was the worst kept secret of the year. We first saw this jersey way back in October!

Well a version of it, anyway. An Icethetics reader snapped a photo of what appeared to be prototype jerseys in Luc Robitaille's office at the Kings' practice facility before last season even started. To be fair, though, there's an L.A. pee wee team that's been wearing something similar for a while now.

They're nice. That's really all I can say. By dropping the purple from their palette, I think the Kings have done themselves a disservice. But the new jerseys aren't bad. But for the waist stripes, this new road sweater nearly matches the black and silver alternate the Kings have been wearing for a couple of years. It will become the new home jersey.

The old black and purple home sweater will become a third jersey and the old road sweater will be retired.

Isles, Sens Add Patches to Mark Special Occasions

5 Ryan Strome, 127 Brenden Kichton, 21 Stefan Noesen

The New York Islanders have created a new 40th anniversary shoulder patch while the Ottawa Senators will wear an All-Star Game patch for the 2011-12 season. The new add-ons were first spotted on the teams' first round draft picks on Friday night.

This is our first time seeing the Islanders' new 40th anniversary mark and I'm still waiting to get a better look. So far the above pictures are the best I've seen. The Isles entered the league in 1972 with the Atlanta Flames, but Calgary tends to only recognize the Calgary years with their anniversary logos.

Ottawa hosts the 2012 All-Star Game next season but the logo was first unveiled way back in September. The Senators are also celebrating their 20th anniversary, but it seems that logo will be trumped on the jersey this season. Perhaps they could change it after the All-Star break?

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If you've made it this far into this post, you're clearly the kind of person who will be interested in the following minutia. I'm talking about the breakdown of what jerseys were handed out by teams to their draftees.

• 21 teams gave colorful home jerseys to their draftees, 1 of which was seen for the first time (Florida).
• 7 teams gave white road jerseys to their draftees (Buffalo, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Nashville San Jose and Vancouver), 3 of which were unveiled at the same time (Edmonton, Los Angeles and Nashville).
• 6 teams gave jerseys that have never been used in a game before, one of which will never be used in a game (Winnipeg).
• And 1 team gave an alternate jersey to its draftee. And that would be Minnesota. Perhaps a privilege of being host of this year's festivities.

I hope that answers all of the jersey- and logo-related questions you had about this year's draft. If it doesn't ask in the comments and I'll do my best to answer.

Panthers See Red

The Florida Panthers have officially launched their new marketing campaign today: We See Red.

The campaign will culminate on June 24 with the unveiling of their new red home jersey at the NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul. The first player to wear it will be the Cats' first round pick, which currently sits at No. 3 overall. Here's a link to the Panthers' press release on the matter. And an excerpt:

“We See Red” signifies the Panthers’ passion, aggressiveness, new blood, attitude, desire and commitment to winning under the leadership of General Manager Dale Tallon and now, Head Coach Kevin Dineen. Coinciding with the campaign, the Panthers will also unveil a new home jersey at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on June 24. The jersey will feature the Cats’ “true colors” and will be worn by the team’s first pick — currently No. 3 overall.

All right, I may have just said most of that in the previous paragraph, but now you have it from them too.

Personally, I like the idea of the Panthers returning to red. That's how I always think of them. The dark blue just never worked in south Florida. Now, whether this means they'll actually improve the jersey remains to be seen. What I mean by that is they only specifically mention unveiling a "new home jersey," making no reference to a new road sweater to match.

This makes me wonder if they'll simply take the template of the current jerseys and just make a red one. I'd much rather see them go with a design more like their third jersey — or even that original red one from the early '90s. As always, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

So when the Stinkin' Panthers go back to red, they'll be the third team in the Southeast Division to wear that color (Carolina and Washington being the others, of course). The Lightning will now wear blue instead of black. And as we know, red and blue are by far the most common colors in the NHL.

We don't yet know what the Winnipeg team will be named, but if it's the Jets and they go with the blue-and-red color scheme, boy will that be original and will certainly stand out. I'm hoping they go with something in a nice green, honestly — or even purple to make up for Los Angeles dumping it. But that's just because I like variety. Ultimately, I hope whatever is chosen is liked by the fans in Winnipeg.

That's all for today. Coming later this week: Remember how we ranked the Canadian NHL team uniforms a few months ago? Yeah, we're about to start tackling the rest of the league. (Just in time for me to take a nice long vacation. More later.)

Loose Threads: Red and the Rest

Obviously the big news yesterday was the announcement of the sale and intent to relocate the Atlanta Thrashers. But that's not all that went down yesterday. Here's a quick run-through.

Panthers Bringing Back the Red

Panthers 1993-2007 / from Getty ImagesAccording to Miami Herald beat writer George Richards, the Florida Panthers are revisiting the past with new red sweaters starting in the 2011-12 season.

I highly recommend reading his latest On Frozen Pond blog post. But if you can't be bothered, here's some of what he wrote on the subject.

The Panthers are shifting their marketing focus this summer to coincide with their return to their orginal look.

A restyled red jersey will become Florida's primary jersey this season — the first time the red will be the team's primary home jersey since the early 2000s when it was relegated to alternate thirds and then dropped during the Reebok restyle in 2007. I was told Alan Cohen hated the red look, and for parts of his ownership, the team only wore that color on weekends.

I have seen mockups with the new circle logo — which debuted on the Tampa Bay JetBlue thirds — on them although I have been told it will be the leaping cat on the front. Sans stick.

No word on whether the JetBlues will return as the alternate for a third season. Florida may keep the home blue jerseys it has worn since the 2007-08 season as the alternate. When I find out about the thirds, will let you know.

He says the secondary logo — sun with crossed hockey stick and palm tree — will remain on the new sweater, which will be unveiled at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on June 24. The new draftees will be the first to sport the new design.

So look for lots more red from the Panthers this summer. Personally, I think this is great. Always like the Panthers better in red than navy.

Moves Around the Minors

The rest of this post can be done with bullet points and, since I'm up against the clock, that's a good thing.

• The Telegram in St. John's is reporting that a deal has been reached to relocate the AHL's now homeless Manitoba Moose to Newfoundland for the start of the 2011-12 season. With the acquisition of the Thrashers, True North was obviously eager to unload the minor league franchise that filled Winnipeg's NHL gap for the last 15 years. No word yet on what the team's new name will be. full story
• Chicago Express jerseys unveiled / ExpressThe ECHL's newest expansion team, the Chicago Express is set to begin play in the 2011-12 season. So yesterday, they unveiled the jerseys they'll wear. Unsurprisingly, they're based on the Blackhawks' uniform design in the Express' blue and silver color scheme. They grey third jersey steps outside the box a little bit, but overall an unimpressive set. full story
• In other ECHL news, the league approved the membership of the Colorado Eagles, formerly of the Central Hockey League. With the folding of the Victoria Salmon Kings and the addition of the Express and Eagles, the ECHL will begin play with 20 teams this fall. full story
• Joining Victoria and Atlanta in losing hockey teams this summer is Lewiston, Maine. The QMJHL's Lewiston MAINEiacs have folded and the league announced that in 2012, it will expand to Sherbrooke, Quebec — which is actually where the MAINEiacs relocated from in 2003. Ouch. full story

That's all I have for now. Be sure to follow @icethetics on Twitter or keep an eye on the feed in the sidebar for the latest updates. I intend to have more updates on these stories throughout the summer or, at the very least, full coverage in the 2011 Icethetics Season Preview in September.

The Postseason Push in Logo Form

With just nine days until the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, no one is interested in hockey uniforms or logos anymore. I can tell because since the news has dried up, most of you have checked out. But that's all right. I'm just as guilty. Would much rather watch my Bolts shut out the defending champs than write a blog post.

Still, it's coming up on two weeks since I freshened up this page and heck, I've actually manufactured some content today. Fans of playoff-bound teams may have noticed new temporary logos popping up around the arena as well as team websites. Postseason marketing is in high gear!

Almost a dozen teams have special playoff-promoting logos and I'm going to give into homerism by starting with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As with all of the Bolts' current marketing, it's nothing but blue and white featuring the new logo and the "All In" slogan. It's very simple, just like the team's new look — which doesn't actually take effect on the ice until the fall.  Of course the club's newfound fetish for blue makes one wonder whether they plan to use the blue BOLTS jersey for home games this postseason rather than the blacks.

The NHL permits teams to use only two sweaters during the playoffs, but does allows dark alternates to stand in for dark home uniforms. The Kings have taken advantage of that in recent years. It would be a good opportunity for the Lightning, who have only worn the sweater for Saturday home games during the season.

The Boston Bruins have a simple 2011 playoffs logo which takes advantage of the bear in the secondary mark. It's a great looking drawing that should get used more. Glad to see it here.

Of course the nice thing about this logo is that it's evergreen in that it doesn't include a year. So it's possible it's been used before this season. I'll be honest in saying that I've never really paid attention before. (I just needed blog filler today.)

If you check out the Bruins' splash page, you'll notice David Krejci next to this logo sporting his third jersey. A subtle hint that the B's may be among those clubs donning alternates in these playoffs?

The Anaheim Ducks appear to have put the most effort into their 2011 postseason logo.

The "webbed D" is used in place of the 0 in 2011. Clever customization. They've also put the NHL's Stanley Cup logo into use here.

Nothing crazy but then the Ducks haven't exactly nailed down that playoff berth yet, have they? They sit at 7th in the West with three different teams nipping at their heels.

Speaking of which, the Dallas Stars are one of those heel-nipping teams. Despite sitting in 10th place, their playoff logo encourages fans to believe that the postseason is possible.

And really, it's not out of the question as they're only three points out of that final spot. I'm enjoying watching the Western Conference playoff race, but that's only because my team is in the East — and has already clinched. Less stress that way.

Still, I pity the West team that ends up in 8th because I get the feeling it'll be a short ride for them. Then again, the Canucks did just get whomped by the last-place Oilers over the weekend.

There were no graphic artists straining themselves on this one. The New York Rangers are employing the simplest of 2011 playoff logos with a simple "just add text" directive.

Simplicity aside, the mark is nicely assembled. Getting that spacing just right can be a great irritation on any design project. And the Rangers are one of two teams with a corporate sponsorship for the their playoff run.

I'm not certain this counts as a logo exactly, but it's a well-designed playoff slogan anyway. (I think I just like the font.)

It's the Countdown to the Playoffs for the Montreal Canadiens, who also have yet to clinch, technically.

The other team with a sponsored playoff run would be the San Jose Sharks. Of course they don't exactly have a special logo for the playoffs. Really, it's just an opportunity to use another one of their half-dozen 20th anniversary logos.

What slipped under my radar until I was researching for this article was the fact that the Sharks have only missed the playoffs five times in their 20 NHL seasons. That's impressive. Other expansion teams haven't been quite so lucky.

But speaking of 20 years, it should come as a surprise to no one that the Detroit Red Wings are touting their 20th consecutive playoff appearance. They've been ridiculously good for a lot of years now and have a decent amount of hardware to show for it.

I was trying to remember the last time the Wings weren't in the playoffs and the problem was they've never missed them since I've been a hockey fan. They last time they missed was 1990. And they've only missed twice since 1984. Though again, I'm sure no one is surprised by those numbers.

One question though: What happened in 2003? Should it count as a playoff appearance if you get swept in the first round by the 7th seed?

And not to leave out all the teams that didn't qualify, the Florida Panthers, for example, have not qualified for postseason play since 2000 when they were swept by the Devils in the quarterfinals. The Cats haven't won a playoff game since 1997 and even then they only got the one. And that was only a year after their Stanley Cup Final appearance — in which they were swept.

Playoff disappointment banner / On Frozen PondSo Miami Herald writer George Richards, via his blog On Frozen Pond, asked Panthers' fan(s) to channel their decade of disappointment into a work of art.

You know, every year teams raise banners to the rafters commemorating divisional, conference and of course Stanley Cup championships. Richards held a contest amongst his readers for a banner commemorating 10 seasons of futility.

The winning entry, Richards said, wouldn't fly as a uniform patch. The runner-up (right) was really quite brilliant, however.

Anyway, did I miss any legitimate logos? My research wasn't exhaustive but it gives us something look at for the next week or so while we wait for the playoffs to begin.

Update on Monday · Apr 4 · 2011 | 11:27 AM PDT by Chris

A couple of readers pointed out that I overlooked a pseudo-logo for the Vancouver Canucks' 2011 playoff run.

Of course like a handful of the teams previously mentioned above, it's not really a logo, but specialized marketing. And like the Sharks and Rangers, the Canucks have a sponsor.

Thanks to those of you who mentioned this item.

Also, if only because it's related to the Canucks, I have to point out something that Bob McKenzie tweeted this morning about the Canucks' Stanley Cup odds. I'm fascinated by stats like this:

• In 1976, Montreal hosted the Olympics. In 1977, the Canadiens won the Presidents' Trophy and subsequently the Stanley Cup.
• In 1988, Calgary hosted the Olympics. In 1989, the Flames won the Presidents' Trophy and subsequently the Stanley Cup.
• In 2010, Vancouver hosted the Olympics. In 2011, the Canucks won the Presidents' Trophy and... well we'll wait and see what comes next.

And for the record, it's not like any stats are being left out here. These are the only three times Canada has hosted the Olympic Games. McKenzie attributes the research to Nate Jones at ESPN.

Update on Tuesday · Apr 12 · 2011 | 10:49 AM PDT by Chris

Needed to wrap up this post with one more update. A few Icethetics readers noticed some playoff logos/marketing that I didn't include earlier. They are as follows.

The Philadelphia Flyers are using a rather basic logo which contains the slogan "With All of Our Will... We Will." Oddly similar to Tampa's 2009-10 season slogan of "Together We Will."

Damn sentence fragments.

And like the Rangers and Sharks above, the Flyers are getting sponsor money just for making the postseason, thanks to Xfinity WiFi.

The Los Angeles Kings are going with the "Back in Black" motto again this year, which is what makes me think they'll be sporting their third jerseys at home once again, just like last year.

The design contains one of the league's standard Stanley Cup Playoffs logos but the Kings are using the version without the actual Cup in it. Don't know if that's superstition or an aesthetic choice.

The Phoenix Coyotes will be doing the whole White Out thing again where they get all the fans to wear white... because I guess that distracts the opponent? My question is: How is your own team immune from the so-called distraction?

And enjoy it while you can. If this is the final season of the team in Glendale, that will be sad. Of course it will probably make a lot of Canadians happy.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are whiting out for home playoff games but they don't really have a special logo for it the way the Coyotes do.

And the Buffalo Sabres used this March to the Playoffs logo during the final weeks of the regular season. Now that the march is over and they're actually in the playoffs, they went with something a little more on the nose.

I'm guessing this is the standard logo that the league probably offers to every team. Very easy to swap out any team logo on the left there.

Surprisingly, I haven't seen any other teams using it. Or maybe that's not a surprise as everyone else is taking the opportunity to get creative. No offense to the Sabres. They are the only ones doing it after all.

So there it is. I just did one more quick scan of the playoff teams' websites to make sure I didn't miss anything else. We're covered. This post is officially wrapped up.