Cole Tweaks the NHL: One Team at a Time.

[BrianVlietDesign]

These are phenomenal concepts! And I agree with the above sentiment that Stars 3rd is a great combo of the North Stars and Dallas.

[johnrafael]

So stylish

[ColeJ]

That 3rd uniform, is that a custom cut, or does a NHL team wear that Reebok cut?

it's ironically the cut from the buffaslug sweaters, just with some different stripes and some inserts for the thicker shoulder stripes.

[burgess]

That 3rd uniform, is that a custom cut, or does a NHL team wear that Reebok cut?

It looks to me like the Sabres' "slug" jersey cut from '08-'10. I don't believe that style of jersey template is currently worn in the NHL.

Regarding the Sabres concept itself, I'm a fan of the darker blue, but this is really nice as well. The only suggestion I have is to put the "B-sabre" secondary logo on the shoulders of the home and away jerseys. It's arguably the second strongest logo the Sabres have had. Simple, and to the point.

(No pun intended.)

[colinturner95]

That 3rd uniform, is that a custom cut, or does a NHL team wear that Reebok cut?

it's ironically the cut from the buffaslug sweaters, just with some different stripes and some inserts for the thicker shoulder stripes.

Looks good either way.

[SHaMROCK]

Aaaaand here's the Boston Bruins.

First off, the most noticeable change with this team is the color scheme. My favorite color is brown, and not many sports teams can pull it off. I think the Boston Bruins are one of the few who can, as it's a color they've used at times in their history. I loved their winter classic uniforms so much that I used that color scheme as a base for the shades I ended up chosing. Brown replaces black. Ivory replaces white. It gives the team a vintage look that I don't feel is forced. I also decided to use the rounded collars I used on my Habs concept on all three uniforms.

I fully expect the alternate jersey to be lambasted by everyone who sees it, but it's a vision I've had since I started this project on day one. It has historical grounds, and just simply gives off a very "Vintage Bruins" look to me. The fact that I used #2 is simply a coincidence, but this jersey evokes the pain and death that Eddie Shore doled out to his opponents. Hate if you must, but I'd buy the out of it.

Not much else to say on this one. Please be kind.

I have always wanted the Bruins to go back to brown. I like the vintage white, but I think it would look equally good with regular white. Not a fan of the collar, the tie down they have now would work better. I also think it would look better with a gold bar above the brown. I like the alt alot. Here are my suggestions for the alt. I have never thought the spoked B looks good as a shoulder patch. What about just the "B" with the spokes and circle removed? Or just use the current shoulder patch.

[SHaMROCK]

After a few day of work, I present the Phoenix Coyotes:

I wanted to accomplish a few things with this team. First of all, I wanted a return to an aesthetic that was very desert-like and Arizonan. Take the current Phoenix Coyotes identity and plop them down in any city in the world, and they'd fit right in (which might come in handy next season). That used to not be the case. The original Coyotes sweaters had their flaws (waaaaay too many colors just to name one), but they were unmistakably a southwestern hockey franchise. I wanted to return to that.

With that in mind, I updated their original logo to fit with my concept. I kept the modern colors (slightly darker sand) and tried to fit in some Navajo style artwork to complement the old logo without over-designing the jersey to pieces. I drew inspiration from the Coyotes current alternate jersey for the brick helmet/black jersey/brick pants look, because it's pretty slick, unconventional, and would make them a team that wouldn't ever get confused for any of the other black or red teams.

Without further ado, here's what I came up with. The template for the alternate is based on the soon-to-be-defunt Thrasher alternate. It looks awful on Atlanta, but it's a very interesting cut that allowed me to do a few things I liked.

Really well, done. I agree 100% with your description that the "new" Coyotes look was very bland, and could be used anywhere. Their first look was far superior. You have taken the good of both looks and achieved perfection! In 15 or 20 years when the NHL tries the Pheonix market again they should call you! LOL

[CMUBrent]

aaaand now the Buffalo Sabres.

The home and road are the traditional Sabres uniforms, with traditional colors and traditional everything. Not the stupid modernized versions they wear now, that are the epitome of "over-designed". The colors are the shades used on their current third jersey. Royal blue and warm yellow.

The third jersey is a more straight forward homage to the Buffalo Bisons, that their current thirds pay tribute to. I went with football-style shoulder stripes, like the Bison and Seals wore. I also killed all the contrast stitching and contrast nameplate tomfoolery that ruins their pretty awesomely unique alternate right now. Other than that, pretty straight forward, but still a well-deserved return to what they belong in.

Glad you dropped those "pit-stains" (or whatever you call those gray underarm blotches) on the home and road jerseys. I love the crossed sabres on the alternate jersey. Nicely done.

[ColeJ]

Up next is the Atlanta Thrashers... a team that struggles to even have an identity, with a color scheme that could best be described as the rainbow (minus green).

I'll be honest... the home and road jersey designs started out as a Philadelphia Flyers third jersey concept I was working on... but it really reminded me of Atlanta more than anything, so I decided to use it. It reminded me of the T-bird logo, so I originally planned for the T-bird to be the primary crest (since i think it's their best mark)... however, it just didn't mesh as well as I'd hoped with that logo as the crest, so I kept the primary bird logo on the home and road, and put the T-bird on the third.

I'd feel like a hypocrite if I fought to preserve what "tradition" tampa bay has, but threw it all away with an Atlanta redesign, so I decided to make them a primarily blue team, since they seem to be really wrapped up in the whole "Blueland" concept. I kept it navy, however, as I just don't feel columbia blue suits them very well. I also ditched the maroon and gave them copper and athletic-gold accents. To me, it just feels like a unique color scheme that feels like Georgia to me. I also preserved the controversial "asymmetrical" sleeves that have adorned the previous home/alternate sweater, since it's unmistakably an "Atlanta Thrashers" trait that I don't hate in concept... only in execution.

That said, here goes nothing:

[josh_cat_eyes]

I really like the Thrashers set a lot!! It does feel a lot more like Atlanta! I feel there should be more blue trim colors though, just because you are keeping the color in the scheme.

[HawkeyHouse]

Can the NHL hire you to fix the bad uniforms in the league? This is a huge improvement!

[Morgan33]

After a few day of work, I present the Phoenix Coyotes:

I wanted to accomplish a few things with this team. First of all, I wanted a return to an aesthetic that was very desert-like and Arizonan. Take the current Phoenix Coyotes identity and plop them down in any city in the world, and they'd fit right in (which might come in handy next season). That used to not be the case. The original Coyotes sweaters had their flaws (waaaaay too many colors just to name one), but they were unmistakably a southwestern hockey franchise. I wanted to return to that.

With that in mind, I updated their original logo to fit with my concept. I kept the modern colors (slightly darker sand) and tried to fit in some Navajo style artwork to complement the old logo without over-designing the jersey to pieces. I drew inspiration from the Coyotes current alternate jersey for the brick helmet/black jersey/brick pants look, because it's pretty slick, unconventional, and would make them a team that wouldn't ever get confused for any of the other black or red teams.

Without further ado, here's what I came up with. The template for the alternate is based on the soon-to-be-defunt Thrasher alternate. It looks awful on Atlanta, but it's a very interesting cut that allowed me to do a few things I liked.

These made my jaw drop! I'd buy one in a heartbeat!

[Morgan33]

After another long wait, I present you with my concept for the greatest hockey team known to man. My Dallas Stars.

This concept took a lot of thought and a lot of effort. A lot of scrapped ideas. I've always found it incredibly difficult to make a concept for my favorite teams... simply because every look in team history has a bit of nostalgia for me, so it's hard to decide which elements I'd like to put together in my own design. I know what I don't like about every Stars jersey ever, but I'm not sure I know what I do like about them all, other than that they're Stars jerseys.

With this concept, I made a few noticeable tweaks. The first thing you'll probably notice is the shade of green I used. It's not exactly the same shade of Kelly green that the North Stars and 1993 Dallas Stars used, but it's pretty much halfway between that shade and the current green used by the Stars and Wild. I actually really like the overall look of the Stars white sweaters right now. The level of green and gold on there is perfect, and looks like modern day version of the North Stars, without biting any of their former designs in the process. It's far from perfect however, with the curved arm stripes and minimal waist stripes... I like the general look enough to use it as a base for my home and road, with an emphasis on green and gold, and black dropped to a tertiary (or even quaternary?) color. Basically, I drew inspiration from Team Canada in the Vancouver Olympics, with their solid red and white uniforms with black equipment. I think it's a way for Dallas to really stake claim as THE green team of the NHL, without going full-out head-to-toe green, which can look overwhelming in some cases (especially with brighter greens like the shade I chose). I also drew inspiration from the now-defunct Iowa Stars, who used gold numbers on their green sweater, rather than the customary white.

The alternate jersey was inspired by the old London Knights black sweaters (Tavares-era) which were in-turn inspired by the 91-Cup-Run era Stars jerseys. The logo on this sweater was actually designed by a good friend of mine named Ken Chernoff. I made a few color tweaks and alterations to it, but the genesis of the entire logo design came from that man's mind. It's basically a Dallas version of the classic North Stars N-Star, with a D for Dallas. Rather than having the Star in the "northern" part of the logo, it's in the southwest corner of the D, also giving the logo a subtle boot-and-spur shape. It's pretty ingenious, so I made sure to ask him for permission so I could include it in my concept. Interestingly enough, I showed that very logo to Brett Hull about a year ago during a conversation about the Stars up-coming alternate jersey that he has had a hand in designing, and he was intrigued. He said that our future alternate jersey would be green and inspired by the North Stars aesthetic, but I haven't heard any word on what he plans to use as the logo... Ken said that he hasn't heard anything back from Brett on the design in a year, so we're hoping it's not going to turn into a Baltimore Ravens situation. Regardless, I think it's genius, and that's why I'm rambling on.

Without further ado, here is my concept for the Dallas Stars, in all their Kelly-Green-Glory.

Can't believe I missed so much of this series... Absolutely love this concept. Going back to kelly green (or a modified version) is the best thing the stars could do. Nobody uses that as a main colour, the stars could own it! You should really send these to the Stars organization and show them what a jersey should look like.

The return of the Dallas script on the pants is also very welcome.

[Generic]

I love your Coyotes and Thrashers concepts, fantastic work sir!

[DustDevil61]

After another long wait, I present you with my concept for the greatest hockey team known to man. My Dallas Stars.

This concept took a lot of thought and a lot of effort. A lot of scrapped ideas. I've always found it incredibly difficult to make a concept for my favorite teams... simply because every look in team history has a bit of nostalgia for me, so it's hard to decide which elements I'd like to put together in my own design. I know what I don't like about every Stars jersey ever, but I'm not sure I know what I do like about them all, other than that they're Stars jerseys.

With this concept, I made a few noticeable tweaks. The first thing you'll probably notice is the shade of green I used. It's not exactly the same shade of Kelly green that the North Stars and 1993 Dallas Stars used, but it's pretty much halfway between that shade and the current green used by the Stars and Wild. I actually really like the overall look of the Stars white sweaters right now. The level of green and gold on there is perfect, and looks like modern day version of the North Stars, without biting any of their former designs in the process. It's far from perfect however, with the curved arm stripes and minimal waist stripes... I like the general look enough to use it as a base for my home and road, with an emphasis on green and gold, and black dropped to a tertiary (or even quaternary?) color. Basically, I drew inspiration from Team Canada in the Vancouver Olympics, with their solid red and white uniforms with black equipment. I think it's a way for Dallas to really stake claim as THE green team of the NHL, without going full-out head-to-toe green, which can look overwhelming in some cases (especially with brighter greens like the shade I chose). I also drew inspiration from the now-defunct Iowa Stars, who used gold numbers on their green sweater, rather than the customary white.

The alternate jersey was inspired by the old London Knights black sweaters (Tavares-era) which were in-turn inspired by the 91-Cup-Run era Stars jerseys. The logo on this sweater was actually designed by a good friend of mine named Ken Chernoff. I made a few color tweaks and alterations to it, but the genesis of the entire logo design came from that man's mind. It's basically a Dallas version of the classic North Stars N-Star, with a D for Dallas. Rather than having the Star in the "northern" part of the logo, it's in the southwest corner of the D, also giving the logo a subtle boot-and-spur shape. It's pretty ingenious, so I made sure to ask him for permission so I could include it in my concept. Interestingly enough, I showed that very logo to Brett Hull about a year ago during a conversation about the Stars up-coming alternate jersey that he has had a hand in designing, and he was intrigued. He said that our future alternate jersey would be green and inspired by the North Stars aesthetic, but I haven't heard any word on what he plans to use as the logo... Ken said that he hasn't heard anything back from Brett on the design in a year, so we're hoping it's not going to turn into a Baltimore Ravens situation. Regardless, I think it's genius, and that's why I'm rambling on.

Without further ado, here is my concept for the Dallas Stars, in all their Kelly-Green-Glory.

I'd get one of those alternate jerseys in a heartbeat, and I'm not one that's fond of black uniforms!! I hope that's found somewhere in the next Stars set (whenever it comes out).

[ColeJ]

Well, last time I posted a team, they relocated to Winnipeg. So lets see if this makes the Avs go back to Quebec...

My main goal here was to ditch the nondescript reebok template that they currently wear, giving them something that could be considering proprietary and their own. another thing i hoped to do was remove black from their color scheme. while it's always been there, and isn't really all that offensive, i found it to be completely unnecessary in their identity. maroon is their color that i feel they own in pro hockey, so i wanted them to keep that as the focus, and find a way to keep only one of blue and black. i felt the blue added more to the look than the black, but since the blue was so light, it looked awful without the black gloves/pants/helmet to anchor the look, while showcasing the maroon. the simple solution was to kill the black and make the blue darker. i really like how it turned out.

now, if only i could find a solution to my st. louis blue problem. that's what been holding me up. the blues and blue jackets have me in a rut. and the devils alternate.

[Bayne]

love the bruins in brown. I always think that black and gold is too striking. brown makes it blend a bit better and is easier on the eyes.

[HawkeyHouse]

Looks really nice. I'd rather see a blue alt for the Aves, but its alright. Home and Road are winners.

[CAB]

If there's one thing I can say about these, it's that you make some of the cleanest damn paint concepts I've seen. If everybody did their "tweaks" like this then they would be much more tolerable, and I don't think there would be as many complaints. It shows that you really put time and effort into each concept. People need to realize that even though you are fairly limited with what you can do in paint, you can still make clean concepts. I know you're not the only one, I have seen many other clean and well thought-out paint concepts (bigmike, TylerBray8, among others). Kudos to you.

As for the concepts, I'm not a huge hockey fan. However most of these seem like they would be an improvement over what they currently wear.

[CGL77]

You have serious talent. The Phoenix set is out of this world. I love the Chicago set too and you've improved on some other identities too. Awesome job.