NHL 2010-2011

[Timaa]

...

I don't think a base orange jersey would have looked that great, unless they managed to dull the thing down with more black. The Ducks orange is too bright for a full jersey. Look at that Sharks Halloween practice jersey. I wouldn't want something that bright full-time. I know the Flyers is bright, but they make it work pretty damn well. Plus you don't need too BRIGHT orange teams in the league.

...

TWO bright orange jerseys wouldn't be TOO much... IMO, there's never too much orange

I think The Flyers' orange BRIGHTtness is very appropriate for their fans who AREN"T themselves... I think they must have had problems with players being hit by projectiles, being mistaken for referees, less bright, would be too close to red, Santa's clolour...

p.s.: I had messed up the HTML quote tags attributing the above paragraph to the wrong member - Sorry!

...Says the guy questioning the intelligence of a team's entire fan base.

But seriously, I dig the new Ducks jersey, and definitely plan on getting one. I'm thinking, if Cam Fowler sticks with the team, I'll get his #54 jersey, even though I'm assuming he'll eventually change that number. As long as he's on the team, and still #54, at the time of the official on-ice unveiling, then I'll go with it. I kind of like having jerseys that are specifically dated by number changes. For example, I have a Getzlaf #51 jersey, from when he was a rookie, and he didn't get his choice of #15 yet.

I'm debating on getting either Bobby Ryan's #9 or Fowler. I've wanted a replacement #9 jersey ever since Kariya left how he did, but Fowler is the future. So I'm either thinking of just getting the #54 now, or waiting until he gets his number. We all assume it's going to be #4 (He wanted that in Windsor, but Hall already had it, so he took #24), but I don't want to jump the gun and get the wrong one. I probably wouldn't get #54, because especially if he is our future franchise defenseman, I don't necessarily want his rookie number.

Hell if Fowler does stay past the 9 games before their decision on sending him to juniors or not (which would be after Saturday's game in Detroit, which conveniently was his first NHL start and across the river from Windsor), he may get his number change early. It's happened twice before with Ryan Carter changing from 52 to 20 two years ago, and Bobby Ryan changed from #54 to #9 midway through last season.

It's been the Ducks thing under Randy Carlyle. The only rookies that have started with low numbers were Mark Hartigan (13) and Drew Miller (18), and that was only because their first starts were in the 2007 West Finals and 2007 Cup Finals, respectively. Kunitz (38 to 14), Penner (76 to 17), Getzlaf (51 to 15), Perry (61 to 10), Ryan (54 to 9), on down the line all started high. It's an easy way to tell the established players from the young players. And generally all free agents are asked to get low numbers. Like Jason Blake was asked to go from his normal 55 to 33 with the Ducks. The only old guy I can remember under Carlyle with a "high" number was Rob Niedermayer, but that was more because he was here before Carlyle and was grandfathered in.

It's funny you mention Bobby Ryan and Cam Fowler, because Ryan is part of the reason why I want the #54 Fowler jersey. I have a #9 Ryan jersey, but kind of regretted not getting a #54 Ryan jersey, so it would be more unique. I figure getting a #54 Fowler jersey would kinda', sorta' kill two birds with one stone, but that's just using my own brand of jersey buying logic. But again, if Fowler does indeed change his number before actually wearing the new 3rd jersey, then #54 is out of the question.

[oddball]

...

I don't think a base orange jersey would have looked that great, unless they managed to dull the thing down with more black. The Ducks orange is too bright for a full jersey. Look at that Sharks Halloween practice jersey. I wouldn't want something that bright full-time. I know the Flyers is bright, but they make it work pretty damn well. Plus you don't need too BRIGHT orange teams in the league.

...

TWO bright orange jerseys wouldn't be TOO much... IMO, there's never too much orange

I think The Flyers' orange BRIGHTtness is very appropriate for their fans who AREN"T themselves... I think they must have had problems with players being hit by projectiles, being mistaken for referees, less bright, would be too close to red, Santa's clolour...

p.s.: I had messed up the HTML quote tags attributing the above paragraph to the wrong member - Sorry!

...Says the guy questioning the intelligence of a team's entire fan base.

But seriously, I dig the new Ducks jersey, and definitely plan on getting one. I'm thinking, if Cam Fowler sticks with the team, I'll get his #54 jersey, even though I'm assuming he'll eventually change that number. As long as he's on the team, and still #54, at the time of the official on-ice unveiling, then I'll go with it. I kind of like having jerseys that are specifically dated by number changes. For example, I have a Getzlaf #51 jersey, from when he was a rookie, and he didn't get his choice of #15 yet.

I'm debating on getting either Bobby Ryan's #9 or Fowler. I've wanted a replacement #9 jersey ever since Kariya left how he did, but Fowler is the future. So I'm either thinking of just getting the #54 now, or waiting until he gets his number. We all assume it's going to be #4 (He wanted that in Windsor, but Hall already had it, so he took #24), but I don't want to jump the gun and get the wrong one. I probably wouldn't get #54, because especially if he is our future franchise defenseman, I don't necessarily want his rookie number.

Hell if Fowler does stay past the 9 games before their decision on sending him to juniors or not (which would be after Saturday's game in Detroit, which conveniently was his first NHL start and across the river from Windsor), he may get his number change early. It's happened twice before with Ryan Carter changing from 52 to 20 two years ago, and Bobby Ryan changed from #54 to #9 midway through last season.

It's been the Ducks thing under Randy Carlyle. The only rookies that have started with low numbers were Mark Hartigan (13) and Drew Miller (18), and that was only because their first starts were in the 2007 West Finals and 2007 Cup Finals, respectively. Kunitz (38 to 14), Penner (76 to 17), Getzlaf (51 to 15), Perry (61 to 10), Ryan (54 to 9), on down the line all started high. It's an easy way to tell the established players from the young players. And generally all free agents are asked to get low numbers. Like Jason Blake was asked to go from his normal 55 to 33 with the Ducks. The only old guy I can remember under Carlyle with a "high" number was Rob Niedermayer, but that was more because he was here before Carlyle and was grandfathered in.

As far as Fowler being sent down after Saturday's game against Detroit, he has 3 more games to go. It's not how many games you are with the team, it's how many games you play. So if they keep him out of the next couple games, he could play until next Saturday against New Jersey. But as far as the numbers go, I do think rookies should start with high numbers and earn low numbers. I get tired of seeing so many players wearing 70 something or whatever. Numbers over 50 should be for special players and rookies.

[Still MIGHTY]

...

I don't think a base orange jersey would have looked that great, unless they managed to dull the thing down with more black. The Ducks orange is too bright for a full jersey. Look at that Sharks Halloween practice jersey. I wouldn't want something that bright full-time. I know the Flyers is bright, but they make it work pretty damn well. Plus you don't need too BRIGHT orange teams in the league.

...

TWO bright orange jerseys wouldn't be TOO much... IMO, there's never too much orange

I think The Flyers' orange BRIGHTtness is very appropriate for their fans who AREN"T themselves... I think they must have had problems with players being hit by projectiles, being mistaken for referees, less bright, would be too close to red, Santa's clolour...

p.s.: I had messed up the HTML quote tags attributing the above paragraph to the wrong member - Sorry!

...Says the guy questioning the intelligence of a team's entire fan base.

But seriously, I dig the new Ducks jersey, and definitely plan on getting one. I'm thinking, if Cam Fowler sticks with the team, I'll get his #54 jersey, even though I'm assuming he'll eventually change that number. As long as he's on the team, and still #54, at the time of the official on-ice unveiling, then I'll go with it. I kind of like having jerseys that are specifically dated by number changes. For example, I have a Getzlaf #51 jersey, from when he was a rookie, and he didn't get his choice of #15 yet.

I'm debating on getting either Bobby Ryan's #9 or Fowler. I've wanted a replacement #9 jersey ever since Kariya left how he did, but Fowler is the future. So I'm either thinking of just getting the #54 now, or waiting until he gets his number. We all assume it's going to be #4 (He wanted that in Windsor, but Hall already had it, so he took #24), but I don't want to jump the gun and get the wrong one. I probably wouldn't get #54, because especially if he is our future franchise defenseman, I don't necessarily want his rookie number.

Hell if Fowler does stay past the 9 games before their decision on sending him to juniors or not (which would be after Saturday's game in Detroit, which conveniently was his first NHL start and across the river from Windsor), he may get his number change early. It's happened twice before with Ryan Carter changing from 52 to 20 two years ago, and Bobby Ryan changed from #54 to #9 midway through last season.

It's been the Ducks thing under Randy Carlyle. The only rookies that have started with low numbers were Mark Hartigan (13) and Drew Miller (18), and that was only because their first starts were in the 2007 West Finals and 2007 Cup Finals, respectively. Kunitz (38 to 14), Penner (76 to 17), Getzlaf (51 to 15), Perry (61 to 10), Ryan (54 to 9), on down the line all started high. It's an easy way to tell the established players from the young players. And generally all free agents are asked to get low numbers. Like Jason Blake was asked to go from his normal 55 to 33 with the Ducks. The only old guy I can remember under Carlyle with a "high" number was Rob Niedermayer, but that was more because he was here before Carlyle and was grandfathered in.

As far as Fowler being sent down after Saturday's game against Detroit, he has 3 more games to go. It's not how many games you are with the team, it's how many games you play. So if they keep him out of the next couple games, he could play until next Saturday against New Jersey. But as far as the numbers go, I do think rookies should start with high numbers and earn low numbers. I get tired of seeing so many players wearing 70 something or whatever. Numbers over 50 should be for special players and rookies.

Well yeah now it's 3 games. I posted that before he was sat down today against Columbus for his stiff neck/broken nose. I was assuming he'd be playing. But they're taking care of him. Babying him along, if you will.

And yeah, I agree with you. I like the practice of the high jerseys for rooks. And with veterans taking high numbers, Yeah not everybody can be Mario Lemeiux or Gretzky or even Ray Bourque. Like Modano with the Red Wings looks ridiculous with 90. I get that he can't be 9 because of Howe, but 90 looks dumb.

[SHaMROCK]

I just visited the Buffalo Sabres official website and noticed that the favicon (little logo in the address bar) is the "B sword" logo. Does this possibly mean this logo is alive and well and a part of the Sabres logo package? I really hope so because the "B sword" logo has appeared on Sabres jerseys since 1996 through font and colour changes. If this logo could get on the shoulders of the new retro inspired jerseys it would go a long way to unite ALL eras of the Sabres uniforms. It would beat the heck out of the Sabres answer for a shoulder logo on the original jerseys.

[FGWB]

I just visited the Buffalo Sabres official website and noticed that the favicon (little logo in the address bar) is the "B sword" logo. Does this possibly mean this logo is alive and well and a part of the Sabres logo package? I really hope so because the "B sword" logo has appeared on Sabres jerseys since 1996 through font and colour changes. If this logo could get on the shoulders of the new retro inspired jerseys it would go a long way to unite ALL eras of the Sabres uniforms. It would beat the heck out of the Sabres answer for a shoulder logo on the original jerseys.

Well. It's obviously not on the current uniform set. But it's listed as an alternate logo. I'm sure it'll pop up on merchandise and advertisements.

[jtthasportfreak]

Regarding the Los Angeles Kings, there are two things to point out. 1.) Jack Kent Cooke, who went on to own the Washington Redskins, called it Forum Blue when he owned both Forum tenents. 2.) Those white prototypes with the LA\Crown shield were displayed by youth players as they skated during an intermission of the Los Angeles home opener against Atlanta.

[FiddySicks]

Oh man, that Ducks jersey is AWFUL. It's way too busy.

[oddball]

As a Kings fan, I actually like the third jersey a lot better than the current set. I think the move away from the gold/bronze is a good thing. Keep the gold/bronze as an accent color only. I just think that they need to get rid of the current breezers as they just seem out of place all black with a single thin orange pinstripe. Either put color to them, or go all black.

[M4One]

The only thing that looks good on the Ducks jersey is the webbed D on the chest. And, I don't get why they are bringing back the original Ducks logo, even as a shoulder patch, when they did everything to move away from the Disney era with the dropping of 'Mighty' from the name and going with different colours.

[wildwing64]

I just think that they need to get rid of the current breezers as they just seem out of place all black with a single thin orange pinstripe.

Funny, you'd think that the team would want to add more orange to their primary uniforms seeing as it's seemingly their "favourite" colour.

They sell orange t-shirts, have orange fowl towels for playoff games, light the rink up in orange before every home game, yet it only appears in small doses on the home jersey.

[The_Admiral]

Their other colors are black and beige, so they don't really have much of a choice.

[uniformity]

So I noticed that icethetics keeps mentioning that the Florida Panthers MAY wear a red throwback this year. Does anyone in the know want to answer this rumour? I think we would have heard something about it here if it were true.

[Corvus]

I don't understand shoulder piping. If you're not going to use separate-colored shoulder panels like New Jersey or Boston, what's the sense in drawing attention to the fact that shoulder panels exist? You can reduce to absurdity and ask what the point is of anything on a hockey sweater with no clear functional merit, but the point is that it really doesn't look good. It looks like something that would be a popular element on women's teams. No, actually, you know what it is? It's the Concepts folder's old obsession with colored plackets on baseball jerseys, but in real life this time.

I have no idea what the deal is with that kind of piping is. RBK seems to love it, since it's rampant in the CFL as well.

[IceCap]

Ok, that Ducks third, if that is it, I don't like it. Pointless shoulder piping. Calgary Flames-esque vertical striping. The Disney logo on the shoulders. Not a fan. I hope that this stays as the alternate and they don't phase this in as the primary look.

I disagree. Just because a team started out with a bad design and didnt have the sense to change it for 26 Cup-Less years doesn't mean it has to be around now. The first thing you bring up when defending the logo is how long its been around for which proves my point. Its not kept for its artistic merit its kept for nostalgic reasons. And yes the Colour scheme of the Goat Logo (Your words) was not terribly original but neither was the Sabres original colour scheme. The St Louis Blues used that scheme, to a much a better result, three years before the Sabres existed. So swapping one unoriginal colour scheme for another doesnt seem like a huge deal to me.

Your whole assumption is based on the presumption that the original Sabres look was bad. It wasn't. You go on and on about how bland the original logo was. Why? Because it didn't have three different styles of shading? Because it wasn't overtly aggressive? Was the lack of a snarl the deathblow for you? To me the original (and current) Sabres logo struck a rare balance. It wasn't overly aggressive like most 90s logos, yet it wasn't static. You want to see a boring, dull Buffalo logo? See the Bills throwback helmets. The buffalo on the Sabres crest was iconic. It did, in fact, show motion. Yet it wasn't overly detailed. It managed to take a buffalo and make it iconic and simple, like the Leafs' leaf or the Cowboys' star. Any design that can get something as visually complex as an animal down to a simple, iconic logo is a good design in my book. It's not static like the Bills' throwback logo, or overly aggressive like the goat head. It's the sweet spot of buffalo logos. As for the sabres, I don't see the problem. They're two crossed swords. They look fine to me.

Colour scheme wise, I would like to point out that the black, red, and silver didn't represent a new era of dominance or anything like that. They still went Cup-less in that look. The blue and gold might not have been unique, but it was more so then the black, red, and silver. When the Sabres first came in, they shared their colour scheme with the Blues, and utilized it in a different enough way as to avoid confusion. The Sabres changed to black, red, and silver only a couple years after he Devils changed from red and green to red and black, and a year before the Hurricanes debuted with essentially the same colour scheme. The Sabres were just one of those teams caught up in the 90s era of design.

Which is why you will not see the black, red, and silver, or the goat head, come back. You see this all over. Teams that abandoned their traditional looks in the 90s for what was considered "cool" and "hip" only to revert to something more traditional later on. You won't see the 90s look return because it represented a failed break with tradition. Like or dislike the blue and gold, it was what represented the Sabres for decades previously. That's the colour combo associated with the team. The black, red, and silver? It's like the franchise's brief high school rebellious phase. It was new and different, but it wasn't the Sabres. The Sabres, even through the goat head look, were always a blue and gold team, really.

[BigShoop]

Funny, you'd think that the team would want to add more orange to their primary uniforms seeing as it's seemingly their "favourite" colour.

They sell orange t-shirts, have orange fowl towels for playoff games, light the rink up in orange before every home game, yet it only appears in small doses on the home jersey.

Who do they think they are? The Lightning and the color blue?!

[Morgan33]

Your whole assumption is based on the presumption that the original Sabres look was bad. It wasn't. You go on and on about how bland the original logo was. Why? Because it didn't have three different styles of shading? Because it wasn't overtly aggressive? Was the lack of a snarl the deathblow for you? To me the original (and current) Sabres logo struck a rare balance. It wasn't overly aggressive like most 90s logos, yet it wasn't static. You want to see a boring, dull Buffalo logo? See the Bills throwback helmets. The buffalo on the Sabres crest was iconic. It did, in fact, show motion. Yet it wasn't overly detailed. It managed to take a buffalo and make it iconic and simple, like the Leafs' leaf or the Cowboys' star. Any design that can get something as visually complex as an animal down to a simple, iconic logo is a good design in my book. It's not static like the Bills' throwback logo, or overly aggressive like the goat head. It's the sweet spot of buffalo logos. As for the sabres, I don't see the problem. They're two crossed swords. They look fine to me.

Colour scheme wise, I would like to point out that the black, red, and silver didn't represent a new era of dominance or anything like that. They still went Cup-less in that look. The blue and gold might not have been unique, but it was more so then the black, red, and silver. When the Sabres first came in, they shared their colour scheme with the Blues, and utilized it in a different enough way as to avoid confusion. The Sabres changed to black, red, and silver only a couple years after he Devils changed from red and green to red and black, and a year before the Hurricanes debuted with essentially the same colour scheme. The Sabres were just one of those teams caught up in the 90s era of design.

Which is why you will not see the black, red, and silver, or the goat head, come back. You see this all over. Teams that abandoned their traditional looks in the 90s for what was considered "cool" and "hip" only to revert to something more traditional later on. You won't see the 90s look return because it represented a failed break with tradition. Like or dislike the blue and gold, it was what represented the Sabres for decades previously. That's the colour combo associated with the team. The black, red, and silver? It's like the franchise's brief high school rebellious phase. It was new and different, but it wasn't the Sabres. The Sabres, even through the goat head look, were always a blue and gold team, really.

Well opinions on logos are subjective and I personally do not like the Sabres original look. I thought it was a bad look even before the "Goat Head" (Why is it called that, it looks like a Buffalo to me) jerseys were released and here a few reasons why...

Its not that the Buffalo doesnt feature three types of shading its because it features none at all. It looks 2 Dimensional and lifeless.

Putting two lines above and below the Buffalo is a pretty half assed way of depicting motion and besides, the Buffalo looks like he's two seconds away from a head on collision with the left Sabre. Why? I could understand it if the buffalo was positioned to look like it was jumping through the swords but it doesnt. Its just arbitrarily floating on a Blue Circle flanked by two oversized Sabres.

Also the orginal jerseys were as bad as the logo itself. Why were the colours on the Sleeve stripes reversed from the ones on the hem stripes on the white jersey? Wouldn't it tie the look together more if the striping matched? Why didnt the Blue jersey feature any white on the striping? Making one of the three yellow stripes white would go a long way to a more cohesive set. Lastly, why didnt they bother coming up with a secondary mark instead of replicating the primary logos on the shoulders? Did the jerseys really need three of those logos on them?

Hopefully that clears up why I dont like the Sabres original look. I realise its not a popular opinion but if everybodies tastes were the same these boards would be pretty dull.

[Eye]

Here is why I feel this logo sucks:

The buffalo is not as far away from the left sabre as it is from the right. The sabres themselves are symmetrical and are in a circle (which is obviously symmetrical), but the buffalo is not equidistant from the left and right sabre.

The buffalo is not in the middle of the circle. It is closer to the right by a wide margin.

There are motion lines going in two different directions for some odd reason. So what is the buffalo doing? Is it charging forward, but also somehow diving downward at the same time? Is it lowering its head to drill something, but also going airborne to headbutt something like Balrog/M. Bison? It comes off as neither and it seems as if the buffalo is just sitting there with random motion lines.

All this AND the fact that I feel it looks dated as hell with no detail in the buffalo or sabre. Perhaps an accent line or two (nothing too drastic) would not make it look old and "vintage"

I respect those who disagree with me, but I think this is an awful logo, one of the worst in the NHL. And by the way, the updated one with the silver is even more dreadful.

[The_Admiral]

I tried to center the buffalo and I took out the stripes. Does this look any better to you?

The shape of a charging buffalo is such that it's hard to get it perfectly symmetrical. The best I could do was move it down and to the left a little.

[Lights Out]

The original Sabres logo is no better than the Buffaslug in my opinion - but instead of a vaguely-buffalo-shaped slug, we get a vaguely-buffalo-shaped blob. It looks like the Bills logo drawn by a two-year-old with shaky hands. And don't even get me started on the 2D swords which look like lightsabers with medieval handles. Just because it's old doesn't mean it's good, people, and it's sad that more people don't seem to recognize that.

[The_Admiral]

Looks like a sabre to me.