NHL 2011-2012: Possible Uniform Changes

[IceCap]

I love the 35 style leaf, and would like to see it used full time. That being said, I know it's not going to happen. MLSE seems content to stick with the Ballard leaf. Given that the current home/road set is very, very good. I'm happy with it.

[_RH_]

Note the video on NHL.com about the Preds new duds. At about 0:22 you can see a camo jersey in the background, not that it means anything, just cool. I'm surprised you guys love these jerseys so much...they're ok but I'm going to be bothered by the lack of left shoulder patch and the yellow background around the NHL shield at the throat. I think it makes the collar look really weird.

[charger77]

Do we have any pics of Jagr in a Flyers jersey yet?

[Lights Out]

The throwbacks they're going with represents the last time the team won the Cup. The first sweater you posted is representative of decades of futility. It's a nice design, and I have a replica myself, but it's not really a part of Leafs history that the organization should play up.

I understand that, but they already wear sweaters with classic striping as their regular home and away set. They should either switch it up a bit with the third or just not have one.

If fans really dislike the '70s sweaters, they could always go with my concept.

[hockey week]

Reaction to the Jets logo is pretty funny, we've heard it's round, blue with a two toned silver jet, and has a maple leaf and everyone is saying it's the best thing ever. lol, let's see it first. I agree with one of the above posters about feeling disappointment over the fact they're relying on the maple leaf design element crutch. It's becoming as played out as the Texas state flag and lone star motif is done in Texas. An air force inspired look would be awesome though. The Air Force ice hockey team and the Houston Aeros have shown that some pretty good looks can be pulled off with that theme.

Well if they're going the Air Force route they kind of have to use a maple leaf since, you know...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roundel_of_the_Royal_Canadian_Air_Force_%281946-1965%29.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RCAF-Roundel.svg

I mean if you want to see them go the air force route it kind of has to reflect the Canadian air force, no?

Again, how is the maple leaf motif overplayed in the NHL? Toronto has it. It's relegated to the back of Ottawa's helmets (a logo that, according to the team, isn't even official). Calgary's use of the flag is stupid for reasons unrelated to the maple leaf as a design element. Montreal, Vancouver, and Edmonton don't use it. So where is this "they're overusing the leaf" sentiment coming from?

Yes, McDonalds Canada uses a maple leaf on the golden arches, and yes it's stupid. How that effects the NHL is beyond me, however.

Yeah my post doesn't read at all like I meant when I re-read it. lol

What I'm trying to say is I think the air force theme could work really well. My (separate) point about the maple leaf being it seems to be lazily slapped into a lot of logo packages...

Well if the Jets go with a RCAF/CFAC theme then the maple leaf wouldn't be lazily slapped on, would it? The maple leaf is the central emblem on the RCAF/CFAC roundel. From all reports the Jets' new logo is a homage to the RCAF/CFAC roundel, so the leaf works. You say the Blue Jackets get a pass on using a star because the flag of Ohio features stars prominently. Well the emblems of Canada's air force feature a maple leaf prominently. Consistency, man. Consistency.

...not exclusive to the NHL but across all levels of hockey. A contingent of fans do lap it up though so I guess you can't fault someone for playing to the crowd.

First of all, NHL teams and teams in the minors do not play each other. From a design standpoint each league exists within its own vacuum. Who cares if the leaf is overused in the minors? It's not in the NHL, and further the Jets' use of the leaf would entirely be justified if the logo homages the emblems of Canada's air force.

Secondly, is the leaf overused in other levels of hockey? Turns out it isn't.

The AHL has four Canadian teams. Hamilton, Toronto, St. John's, and Abbotsford. Toronto uses the leaf (two actually), but then again they're the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs, so can you blame them? Hamilton doesn't use the leaf at all, St. John's hasn't unveiled their identity yet, and like their parent club Calgary, Abbotsford's use of the Canadian flag doesn't integrate the flag into the team's identity, it's stupid for unrelated reasons. So only 1 of 4 AHL Canadian teams use the leaf, and their parent club is the Maple Leafs.

The ECHL doesn't have any Canadian teams.

The C(entral)HL doesn't have any Canadian teams.

The LNAH has 7 Canadian teams. Not a single one uses the maple leaf as a design element.

The OHL has 18 Canadian teams. Not a single one uses the maple leaf as a design element.

The QMJHL has 17 Canadian teams. Not a single one uses the maple leaf as a design element.

The WHL has 17 Canadian teams. Two use the leaf. Vancouver and Victoria. Victoria could be given a pass, given their patriotic name, but we'll include them anyway.

So across the primary minor leagues there are 63 Canadian franchises. 3 of them use the maple leaf as a design element. 4.76% of minor league Canadian hockey organizations use the leaf. Even across "all levels of hockey" use of the "design crutch" that is the Canadian maple leaf is rare. Even if the St. John's AHL franchise does use a leaf, it wouldn't raise that percentage substantially. So I ask you again, where is this "the maple leaf is overused" sentiment coming from?

As an experiment I counted all the American teams across these leagues, noting the ones that made use of patriotic American imagery.

The AHL has 26 American teams. 2 make use of American imagery as a design element. Houston and Rochester. Houston's is understandable, as like the new Jets, they're going with an air force theme.

The ECHL has 20 American teams. 1 makes use of American imagery as a design element.

The C(entral)HL has 17 American teams. 1 makes use of American imagery as a design element.

The LNAH doesn't have any American teams.

The OHL has 2 American teams. 1 makes use of American imagery as a design element.

The QMJHL doesn't have any American teams.

The WHL has 5 American teams. 1 makes use of American imagery as a design element. Like Abbotsford we won't count Spokane's use of a flag.

So across the primary minor leagues there are 70 American franchises. 6 of them use American imagery as a design element. 8.57% of minor league American hockey organizations use American imagery. As it turns out American imagery is more of a design crutch then the Canadian maple leaf.

What does this all mean? The "the maple leaf is a design crutch" complaint has lost all validity, at least until that 4.76% comes up a bit

I honestly think this whole perception is based on stereotypes (which isn't helped by the numerous businesses that use the maple leaf in Canada, including McDonalds, Subway, Wendys, etc) and the amount that the maple leaf is used in concepts on here. I think we've jaded ourselves because WE all think that everything Canadian should include a maple leaf.

Personally, I'm stoked for the Jets. I did the RCAF theme Jets a while back and I think it's an awesome design that should be resurrected. What better time and team to do it?

[Fregus]

I love the 35 style leaf, and would like to see it used full time. That being said, I know it's not going to happen. MLSE seems content to stick with the Ballard leaf. Given that the current home/road set is very, very good. I'm happy with it.

The thing that really bothers me with the old, 35 point leaf is how it looks like it's bent forward right underneath "Leafs".

Or am I the only one who sees this illusion?

[IceCap]

Sorry man, not seeing it. The thing that bugs me about it is the off-centre script, but that seems like an easy fix.

I honestly think this whole perception is based on stereotypes (which isn't helped by the numerous businesses that use the maple leaf in Canada, including McDonalds, Subway, Wendys, etc) and the amount that the maple leaf is used in concepts on here. I think we've jaded ourselves because WE all think that everything Canadian should include a maple leaf.

Personally, I'm stoked for the Jets. I did the RCAF theme Jets a while back and I think it's an awesome design that should be resurrected. What better time and team to do it?

Yeah, the leaf is overused in the corporate world up here, but that's not what's twi said. There seems to be a prevailing notion that Canadian sports teams will shoehorn the maple leaf into their logo, regardless of if it fits or not. Looking at the numbers, at least as far as hockey is concerned, that's simply not the case.

[IceCap]

dp

[steve61]

I love the 35 style leaf, and would like to see it used full time. That being said, I know it's not going to happen. MLSE seems content to stick with the Ballard leaf. Given that the current home/road set is very, very good. I'm happy with it.

The thing that really bothers me with the old, 35 point leaf is how it looks like it's bent forward right underneath "Leafs".

Or am I the only one who sees this illusion?

The thing that really bothers me about it is that it only slightly resembles the shape of an actual maple leaf. Veins aside, it's always just seemed a bit too rectangular to me. I think that the current stylized Ballard version still manages to look more like the real deal.

The team Canada alternate manages to combine the realism of the 35 point leaf with a much more accurate shape IMHO....

[uniformity]

if people are going to get up in arms over the jets using a maple leaf because there is already a team called the maple leafs, why does columbus get a free pass to use a star as their logo?

A million teams in the US use a star in their logo. A star is incredibly generic. It's not the same thing as using a maple leaf. Personally I find it annoying when any team in Canada feels the need to add a maple leaf to their logo. It's like they're reminding us that Canada has no culture other than beer and hockey.

[Gothamite]

A million teams in the US use a star in their logo. A star is incredibly generic. It's not the same thing as using a maple leaf. Personally I find it annoying when any team in Canada feels the need to add a maple leaf to their logo. It's like they're reminding us that Canada has no culture other than beer and hockey.

So a generic national symbol is okay in the United States, but a generic national symbol in Canada is somehow out of bounds?

[Lee.]

U!S!A! U!S!A!

[TheOldRoman]

A million teams in the US use a star in their logo. A star is incredibly generic. It's not the same thing as using a maple leaf. Personally I find it annoying when any team in Canada feels the need to add a maple leaf to their logo. It's like they're reminding us that Canada has no culture other than beer and hockey.

So a generic national symbol is okay in the United States, but a generic national symbol in Canada is somehow out of bounds?

I'm not saying that I agree with that arguement, but there is a huge difference. First off, stars are pretty generic and have other symbolism, whereas you don't see too many maple leaf images outside of things specifically relating to Canada. In 1st grade you get a gold star on your paper because it meant excellence, not because they were brainwashing people to be patriotic or anything like that. Movies are rated with stars, top performers are refered to as stars, etc. Furthermore, the stars on the flag are little, whereas there is a giant maple leaf in the middle of Canada's flag. I don't think stars are nearly as symbolic for the US as the leaf is for Canada.

[Gothamite]

I don't think stars are nearly as symbolic for the US as the leaf is for Canada.

Well, it certainly is in Texas.

I don't think any of these logos are necessarily lazy just because they incorporate a star. The star works pretty well in most of them.

[mania]

Goth, there is also...

[Gothamite]

Who?

Of course, can't believe I missed that one.

Still, the star works within the design. No sense of being tacked-on. If the Jets use a maple leaf as well as (most of) these logos use a star, then there won't be a problem.

[hockey week]

It seems pretty obvious that Texas loves its star. Makes sense, being the lone-star state, but it's definitely well-used.

to be continued...

[hockey week]

That's all of the five-pointed stars in the big four leagues. There IS a lot. Quite a few of them, like the Phillies, are completely unnecessary, and therefore have a patriotic sense.

I think what it comes down to, is if you changed all of those stars to maple leaves, would this conversation still be going on?

[steve61]

no shortage of stars

[nash61]

I love the 35 style leaf, and would like to see it used full time. That being said, I know it's not going to happen. MLSE seems content to stick with the Ballard leaf. Given that the current home/road set is very, very good. I'm happy with it.

The thing that really bothers me with the old, 35 point leaf is how it looks like it's bent forward right underneath "Leafs".

Or am I the only one who sees this illusion?

The thing that really bothers me about it is that it only slightly resembles the shape of an actual maple leaf. Veins aside, it's always just seemed a bit too rectangular to me. I think that the current stylized Ballard version still manages to look more like the real deal.

The team Canada alternate manages to combine the realism of the 35 point leaf with a much more accurate shape IMHO....