The Best Sweaters in the West

Back in February, we conducted a series of polls asking readers to rate the jerseys of all six Canadian NHL teams. We ended up with a complete ranking revealed just in time for Hockey Day in Canada. It was a popular post so now we're going to take it to the rest of the league.

We'll do them in groups of six, split up by geography. This set of polls will feature the teams out west: Anaheim, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Jose. You can rate each jersey individually with a 10, 5 or 1. (You can either love it, hate it, or be on the fence.)

After all the votes have been cast, an average rating will be determined. These polls will remain open for two weeks, ending Thurs., June 23. 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!

Blog note: I am leaving for vacation on June 11. I'll be out at sea and likely without an internet connection for most of the time I'm away. I should be back on June 21 just in time for the NHL Board of Governors meeting — when everything in Winnipeg is expected to become official and final. However, if the team's name and logo are announced before that time, I'll probably be delayed in posting it here. Sorry.

But fret not, there will be other updates to the site in my absence. I'm currently preparing concept posts that will auto-publish on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday while I'm gone so keep checking back throughout the week.

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 Mon · Apr 4 · 2011 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 Tue · Apr 12 · 2011 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.

Stars Seeing Green in 2011?

The Dallas Stars are mulling the possibility of adding a green third jersey for the 2011-12 season, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.

It sounds too good to be true, but in a brief article posted online Thursday morning, Heika gave us the following tidbits to drool over.

The Stars are currently pondering a third jersey that could debut as early next season, and the early word is that it will be green and it will have an old school NHL look. There's no word yet on whether the green is "North Stars" green or the more traditional Dallas forest green.

The final decisions have not been made, but if the team wants to get NHL clearance for use in the 2011-12 season, it will have to present a finished sweater to the league before the end of December. One highly-place insider did mention that cows and fallopian tubes have already been ruled out.

I've been eager to see Dallas bring back the green sweater ever since they ditched it in 2007. Normally, I would say just throw the primary logo on it — and run away from it (as my boss would say). However, the Stars are in such dire straits regarding uniforms that I'd recommend taking another stab at a brand new logo.

Indeed, the last time they tried this it was 2003 and we ended up with the all too unforgettable "Mooterus." (Hockey fans are nothing if not creative when nicknaming things they don't like.) Still, the primary logo is fine, but if we're going to do an alternate jersey, let's do one.

Which brings me to the topic of conversation in the comments: What do you think the Stars should do with their next third sweater?

---

By the way, I know the cobwebs are starting to show here on the site and I appreciate you guys not harassing me about it. Moving is a pain, but getting to live/work in Seattle will be worth the trouble in the end. I'm doing my best to stay on top of important/NHL news and notes here on the blog, but some of the other stuff might get put on the back burner for a little while. Should all be back to normal by Christmas time.

Sabres Wow With Web Remake

If you've been following Icethetics on Twitter, then you know I'm tracking the league-wide web site makeovers. Teams are adopting a new template that's closer to NHL.com. This is good news because that old template really needed to go.

Today, the Buffalo Sabres became the latest team to make the transition and I can't stop looking at it. I've got a screenshot, but I highly recommend you take a trip to sabres.nhl.com on your own to fully experience it.

It's just a phenomenal look, something we're not used to seeing on NHL team sites, generally speaking. The way the vintage logo is so prominently placed in the banner certainly indicates a shift in the way this team is being marketed — to actual fans! But mostly, it's the gold sabers running up and down the page. Is there anything more attention-grabbing? I'm way impressed.

To be fair to the other teams, the Sabres aren't the only ones who got this redesign right. Seven others have already made the switch and none has disappointed. The Avalanche and Coyotes were the first. Both, solid.

The Oilers, Thrashers and Blues followed. I think one of the elements making these sites more visually appealing is the attention to detail in the background images. It goes a long way. All three of these teams, along with the Avs, rotate multiple background images, primarily featuring different players.

The Panthers too, and along with the Predators are two of the most recent members of the makeover club. The Preds make use of a really cool sweeping view of the inside of the Sommet Center on game night.

I mean that's just cool.

There are also a handful of teams who are currently in the process of making the change and I can offer you previews, courtesy of Tim. The Flames, Flyers, Stars, Kings and Bruins have redesigns in the pipeline.

For the Bruins, not a big change, although Zdeno Chara does figure in prominently. The Flyers are loading down on the orange. And the Kings still prefer black to purple. The Flames and Stars seem to be most worthy of an advanced preview.

Calgary has taken to lighting their players on fire for the sake of the internet. Even the players' equipment hasn't escaped the blaze. However, I really like the background depicting the roof the Saddledome. You get a good look at all those banners hanging from the rafters.

The Stars will offer a sneak peek into the locker room with their background image.

The thing that struck me was the ad, a version of which can be seen on their current web site. It looks to me like they've colorized the jerseys to make them green. And they look spectacular. But here's an idea: Why not actually wear green home jerseys?!

No idea when these teams will make their official switches, but I'll keep an eye on it. In fact, I think this is definitely something to watch throughout the summer as each team makes its transition to the new NHL web format. Might even be the subject of a tournament at some point in the future. Who has the best web site?

We'll see. In the meantime, what do you guys think of the new site templates being employed across the league? Like 'em? Hate 'em? Indifferent? Comment.

Update on Tue · Jul 28 · 2009 by Chris

Got a couple of things to add tonight. As mentioned, the Flyers launched their brand new site today and were the first team to go with a three-column format. It means the rotator on the left side of the page has been shrunk greatly, reducing the aesthetic the other sites share with NHL.com.

A little disappointing but still better than it was two days ago.

I've also got a little treat — a sneak peek at the Canucks' new web site. As I've been saying it's the background images that are really making these sites something to see, and Vancouver does not dismay. Have a look.

The only unfortunate thing is that most of the logo isn't visible because the banner itself is such a small area.

Still, a great image that will really give the Canucks a unique look online. I don't know exactly when it's supposed to go live, but I would expect it within the next week.

Thoughts on either of these subjects?