NHL Uniform Project

[IceCap]

Well yesterday was my birthday, but I'm going to mix up tradition here, and give a present. I give you my second NHL Uniform Project.

I posted my first one a while ago, but since then I've redesigned or touched up many of those concepts, and I want to share the finished product with all of you.

Thanks to Chris and RC for the logos, templates, and fonts.

As expected, C&C is welcome.

Eastern Confrence

Atlantic Division

New Jersey Devils

New York Islanders

New York Rangers

Philadelphia Flyers

Pittsburgh Penguins

Devils-New Jersey's current home and road uniforms are modern day classics; uniforms, that in 50 years, will be spoken in the same breath as the uniforms of the Canadiens and Red Wings. Given this, I decided to leave the home and road unis alone. I did add a balck alt though. I wanted to give it the look that slashes of the red sweater would be visible in the striping, and I think I acomplished it.

Islanders-First thing's first, the logo I used was not my creation, it is the brilliant work of SyPhi, who created the logo years ago, and owns all rights to it. When I originally came up with this concept I used the lighthouse logo, but it just didn't work with the template I came up with. I tried a few other ideas, but not only was SyPhi's the logo that fit the best, it fit like a glove. The template is based off of the four stripe alternate logo they currently use, to commemerate the club's four Stanley Cup wins.

Rangers-I keept the road white as is. I only slightly tweeked the home blues, seperateing the stripes so they more closly matched the road jerseys. For the alt I dumped the navy, silver, Liberty Head logo, and modernized crest. I simply used a red version of the blue jerseys. My reason for this goes back. When I was 10 or so my family recieved a sports merchandise catalog in the mail. One of the products they were selling were NHL jerseys in their respective team's secondary colours. One of the sweaters used for the picture was a red Rangers jersey, which I thought was the coolest thing ever at the time. Since then the idea of a red version of the Rangers sweater has facinated me.

Flyers-Not much change here. I dumped the current orange thirds, and moved the balck jerseys into the alt slot. I brought back the old orange jersey as the home sweater. My biggest change was the name font on the orange and black jerseys. I simply replaced the font used on these sweaters with the font used for the road white sweaters.

Penguins-The home and road uniforms are based off of the sweaters the Pens wore when they won their 2 Stanley Cups. I decided to keep the vegas gold; I wanted a modern look that was based off of a vintage uniform, not a retro uniform. For the alt I originaly had this jersey in vegas gold. Thinking about it though, I decided that a vegas gold jersey would be a difficult thing to get away with; is it a road or home jersey? Can the opposing team wear white if they're the visiting team? So I decided to turn it into a black jersey. I think it's different enough from the black home in design to stand out on its own.

[Delux247]

I actually kind of like that Islanders logo.

[IceCap]

Northeast Division

Boston Bruins

Buffalo Sabres

Montréal Canadiens

Ottawa Senators

Toronto Maple Leafs

Bruins-Yes, I used the alt template. The template's not bad at all, the Bruins just use it poorly. Here I used it in an attempt to come up with a classic looking uniform with modern flair that related to team nickname.

Sabres-My first concept here, and it's changed very little since then. I keept the unique template the Sabres currently use, it's something the team should hang onto, IMO. The colours are inspired from the royal blue and yellow, but I went with the more modern looking navy and "true gold." You may also notice that neither logo used here features a buffalo.

Canadiens-Changing the Canadiens home red sweaters would be like changing the Yankees pinstripes. The one change I made was the addition of a white tie down collar to give it even more of a classic look, especially considering the team is fast approaching its 100th birthday (2009). I took the current road white, and made it the alternate. Then I updated the vitage white/blue stripe sweater to match the classic home red. I did add a white outline to the numbers for the sake of legibility.

Senators-Here I streamlined the Sens look, cuttuing their logo designs from four to two, and uniform designs from to three to two. The current black alt jersey becomes the template for the home and road sweaters. The current red "swoosh" home jersey was made the alt. Logo wise, all three sweaters feature the 2-D logo as the primary, and the "leaf/peace tower" logo as the alt. The 3-D logo and "S" logo were both dumped.

Maple Leafs-All traces of Ballard's reign of terror, silver, and the TML logo have been removed. The classic leaf takes its rightful place as the primary logo. The road white is basically the current alt, minus the mesh (the current alt is in itself a throwback). The home blue is simply a blue version of the road. The alt is a throwback to the team's first identity, the Toronto Arenas. As the Arenas the team won its first Stanley Cup. That Stanley Cup was also the first one won during the NHL's first season, the 1917-1918 campaign.

[Shane Does Art]

I really like the devils alt, And it was my birthday yesterday too, Happy belated birthday!

Great job on the Northeast division I love the boston one, and the Senators all look good except for the red one i would of rather seen the 3-D senator on it.

[Neon_Matrix]

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!!!

I'm liking some of the jerseys (like the Leafs home and away as well as the Sabres set) and some of them are pretty interesting (the NJ alt). Good stuff, while the Bruins hurts my eyes, the rest is quite interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing what else you've got.

[nyk]

i really like the black devils alternates

[jOkeR]

The Home canadien jersey needs another outline around the numbers, to match the other 2 jerseys and for legibility. I really like your bruins idea - the alternate template looks tons better without the pooh bear. Cant wait to see the rest of the NHL.

[bulldogbarks55]

Now that's what the Blue & White should ALWAYS wear. How about making up another white third-jersey similar to the early '30s with the three equal stripes on the sleeves, waist, upper chest and socks.

[Eye]

These for the most part are really good. I like the Devils black alt and I also like how you incoporated the striping pattern on the Bruins jerseys that they use for their thirds with the bear on them.

[IceCap]

The Home canadien jersey needs another outline around the numbers, to match the other 2 jerseys and for legibility. I really like your bruins idea - the alternate template looks tons better without the pooh bear. Cant wait to see the rest of the NHL.

Well the Habs currently have (and always have had IIRC) white numbers with blue outlines on their red sweaters. I know it's inconsistant, and that's kind of bugging me. Still, I did do a version with double outline numbers on all three sweaters, and it just didn't look right with the home reds.

Here it is, for comparison's sake:

[IceCap]

Southeast Division

Atlanta Thrashers

Carolina Hurricanes

Florida Panthers

Tampa Bay Lightning

Washington Capitals

Thrashers-Since joining the leauge in 1999 the Thrashers uniforms have said one thing;"We're not your tipical NHL team." I wanted to create a uniform concept that reflected that. I decided to use their poweder blue alt as an insperation. I, however, decided not to use the powder blue colour. I may love the colour, but honestly it isn't a big enough part of the Thrashers logo to warrent its own jersey. So I went with maroon for the home jersey. Ad far as I know no current NHL team uses maroon as a primary jersey colour. I also settled the Thrashers primary crest issues, relegating the Batman rip-off to alt status, and using the thrasher/hockey stick logo as the primary mark.

Hurricanes-When I did my first NHL Uniform Project I gave the 'Canes the current Sharks template. I have to admit following them during the playoffs really made me appreciate their uniforms. So I re-did it, reverting the home and road uniforms to their current status. I did add a balck alt, with the warning flag logo switched with the hurricane logos.

Panthers-Originally I had used the navy jersey as the home uniform, but I decided to go with red in the end. Everything's pretty much untouched, except for the logo. I don't really care for either crest they use, I don't like the perception we see the panther from, and with the broken hockey stick it seems like a Sharks rip-off. That said, I'm not fond of just the panther head either. So I went with the team's "corperate" logo. It has the feel of an updated version of the old Balckhawks and Panthers logos.

Lightning- Basically I tried to fix every problem with the Bolts current uniforms. I made the blue lighter, I made blue the primary colour, I added some silver to the uniforms, and I ditched the clip-art logo they currently used, and eluvated the bolt/Florida mark to its rightful place as Tampa Bay's primary logo. I used a simple "TBL" monogram logo as the alt.

Capitals-If you play in the capital of the United States, and on top of that you're named the "Capitals" red, white, and blue need to central to your identity. The blue, black, and bronze stuff never made sence to me. So I went with red, white, and blue. I added powder blue as a trim colour. I used the current eagle logo, it's the best logo they've had. I ditched the Capital Dome logo, it's too cluttered. I used the current road white template for both sweaters here, it's a template that's easly identifiable to the team.

[uguerrero]

I love the Devils jerseys and the Red NYR jersey. I think the Boston Bruins one has potential and I'm printing out the Buffalo Sabres one and I'm going to sleep with it tonight, it's perfect.

[Brendan]

For the Thrashers while your idea is of using the alternates template is good the idea of using brown as the primary is not. Im not a fan of brown and never will be. The lightning jerseys seems way to plain to me. And for the Capitals add some color to the logo and i would make blue the primary. Also maybe add some stars to the jersey and get rid of the blue under neath the bottom stripping.

[jOkeR]

The Home canadien jersey needs another outline around the numbers, to match the other 2 jerseys and for legibility. I really like your bruins idea - the alternate template looks tons better without the pooh bear. Cant wait to see the rest of the NHL.

Well the Habs currently have (and always have had IIRC) white numbers with blue outlines on their red sweaters. I know it's inconsistant, and that's kind of bugging me. Still, I did do a version with double outline numbers on all three sweaters, and it just didn't look right with the home reds.

Here it is, for comparison's sake:

Youre right - the montreal jersey with another stripe looks bad.

I love your new set of teams. But you said no team in the NHL uses Maroon - Colorado does. And The only thing you need to do is clean up the logo on the third Carolina jersey.

[IceCap]

For the Thrashers while your idea is of using the alternates template is good the idea of using brown as the primary is not.

That's maroon, not brown.

And for the Capitals add some color to the logo and i would make blue the primary. Also maybe add some stars to the jersey and get rid of the blue under neath the bottom stripping.

I tried all of these suggestions for the Caps, and non of them worked, IMO.

I love your new set of teams. But you said no team in the NHL uses Maroon - Colorado does. And The only thing you need to do is clean up the logo on the third Carolina jersey.

Completly forgot about them.

I know about the 'Canes alt jersey, but that's the best version of that logo in that size I could find.

Thanks for everyone's C&C so far....four former NHL teams up next.

[maz]

I love the Pens ones. Great job, all of them.

[IceCap]

Former NHL teams

Hartford Whalers

Québec Nordiques

Winnipeg Jets

Oakland Seals

Whalers-Basically I took the 'Canes template and played around with it until I got something I liked.

Nordiques-I figured that if the Nordiques were still around they would have ditched the very 90's purple/teal/wolf head unis after a few years for a more traditional look. So I took the template from the wolf head unis and give them traditional colours, fonts, and logos.

Jets-Basically just a traditional look.

Seals. First off I used Sharks font/Nabokov's name and #. There are some who state that the current San Jose Sharks have ties to the old Oakland/California/Cleavland Seals/Barons team. Seeing as I used the names of players from the 'Canes, Avalanch, and Coyotes for the Whalers, Nordiques, and Jets jersey, I used a Sharks player for the Seals concept for continuity. The template itself is a creation of mine. I wanted the striping to resemble the ocean when viewed from the beach.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

Devils - no need to comment on home and away as it is what they use. however the alternate i'm not feeling. i like the idea of a black alternate.

Islanders - I love the logo, its simple but effective. Striping pattern might take a bit to get used too but i could grow to like it.

Rangers - i'm more of a bigger fan of the alternate jersey but thats me but this works too and is just as effective.

Flyers - Perfection. end of story.

Penguins - i really like the use of vegas gold. IMO, this is a good all around improvement and really is what they should use.

Bruins - all the others have been fairly conservative in design and this is more radical especially compared to what they have now and i like it. i'm more given towards more radical designs, again that is me. i really like the road whites, but the home blacks have a bit too much black but that is more or less the result of the template. you would almost have add another color to balance the black. but overall i really like what you have going on here.

Sabres - thank you for not using buffaslug. i really like this set and wouldn't mind if they used something along these lines.

Canadiens - perfection.

Senators - my only issue is the logo itself. it seems a bit dated compared to the uniform style. substitue the flat sens logo for the 3-d head logo, and you have perfection.

Leafs - i'm in the vast minority but i actually like the silver trim/TML alt. again that is me. But this set works too. only thing i would do is drop the third, i really don't think the leafs really need an alternate uniform after switching to this.

Thrashers - while certainly better than baby blues, i'm not a big fan of the one arm bandit template. this is a certain improvement - no baby blues, no 'atlanta' down the arm, however make the left arm side match the right arm side and you have perfection.

Hurricanes - i definately digging the black alternate.

Florida - not a big fan of that particular logo. i really like the one they used up until the recent change.

Lightning - i like the addition of the lighter blue; its a better fit than the royal and black which bleeds together. i'm not sure if it solves their uniform problems, i just think they need a complete overhaul. starting from logos, colors and template.

Capitals - this is the direction they should have gone in when they changed back in 96. the only thing i don't care for is the use of light blue, substitute it for gold like color and you have perfection.

Whales, Nords, Jets and Seal - all i have to say is

[IceCap]

Capitals - this is the direction they should have gone in when they changed back in 96.  the only thing i don't care for is the use of light blue, substitute it for gold like color and you have perfection.

The suggestion of gold intreigued me, so I made a second Capitals sweater with gold instead of light blue. I have to say I like it much better.

[IceCap]

Ok, onto the....

Western Confrence

Central

Chicago Blackhawks

Columbus Blue Jackets

Detroit Red Wings

Nashville Preditors

St. Louis Blues

Blackhawks-This one's probablly going to the most contreversial set in this entire project. The white uniform was left unchanged. I made the black alt the primary home sweater. I know the name "Blackhawks" has nothing to do with the colour black, but IMO if your team name includes a colour, you should feature that colour as your uniform's primary colour. Besides, the black alt's striping matches the white uniform while the red sweater's striping does not. I still kept the red sweater, just as a throwback. I also gave it a black tie down collar for a vintage look.

Blue Jackets-I used the primary logo on the current alt sweater as the primary here. I used the Civil War hat logo as the alt here. Rather then use the current alt template I used the current home and road template here. IMO it's better at conveying the American flag theme, which benifits the name of the team that much more.

Red Wings-Home and road where left unchanged. I did a throwback-inspired alt. I used the vintage D/shield logo as the primary, with the wing logo as the alt logos.

Preditors-I used the mustard yellow template here, but ditched the mesh side pannels (didn't leave any room for the numbers). Despite using the alt template I ditched the mustard yellow. Blue is the colour of the primary home colour, with yellow and silver as trim colour. I also ditched the 3-D logo, IMO it's one of the NHL's worst logos. I also decided not to use either the skull logo (looks like the primary logo died) and the N/tower logo (like the Sabres goat head and buffaslug it represents the city and not the team name). So I decided to just use the primary logo.

Blues-I know everyone loves the current Blues set. IMO they're nice, but not above change. I decided to play around and see what I got. I settled on this variation of the current theme, using white rather then yellow as the secondary colour. Yellow is still promanatly used, with navy keept as a trim colour.