Aesthetically Speaking

The Islanders Go Black

So the New York Islanders are back with another uniform, and at least this time it's not captain fish sticks, actually, I would much prefer that bearded old maritimer over these wannabe basketball jerseys that some American teams are trying to push lately (I'm looking at you Dallas).

The Islanders have an interesting jersey history that's almost as wild as the Canucks' (...almost). They've gone from their classic blue, white and orange, to adding aqua waves and a fisherman to the front of their jerseys.

Throughout the first half of the 2000's they had a fully orange and navy blue alternate which got scrapped once the new RBK Edge style took over the league in '07. They've recently gone back to basics rocking their original jersey set which looks fantastic, but then they go and release these…

I will commend the Islanders with going with something bold (again) which is definitely an alternative look to their current home & roads, but like I mentioned above, this looks more like a long sleeved basketball jersey instead of a hockey jersey. The team name arching over the player's number doesn't belong on the ice in my opinion, and seriously, where does the black come from? The Islanders have never donned anything black before in their entire existence, are they trying to appeal to a different demographic or something?

The Islanders, even though they've only been around since '72, they've always felt like a more traditional hockey club, especially when you compare them to many other American teams, and this jersey feels like it's trying too hard to be modern and cool, and then you throw things on like a lace up collar which doesn't even fit with the style…

This jersey isn't terrible, it definitely has some interesting things going for it, but it just doesn't feel 'right', it looks like a flashy jersey that Atlanta would try putting out if they hadn't failed and moved for a second time.

EVIL Rating: C+

Luongo's New Mask?

At the beginning of the season, Roberto Luongo was quick to launch his new mask. This was in tribute to Johnny Canuck . We do not know why, but these are the official pictures of the other new face of Roberto Luongo. This is a replica of Curt Ridley, a guardian of the Canucks in the late 70's.

My informant who saw almost said it will be crazy once the gate asked. The design was done by FX Kustom Art.

Potential Jersey Leak - Philadelphia Flyers Winter Classic

On January 1st, the NHL will be showcasing its with annual Winter Classic event, this year featuring the New York Ranger and the Philadelphia Flyers (for the second time since 2010).

Much speculation has gone into the specialty jerseys that the teams with be dawning on new year’s day. Both clubs currently sport jerseys that are almost identical to what they’ve traditionally warn, so there’s not much to draw back from, especially the Flyers who already brought back their original sweaters in 2010.

Fans speculated that the Flyers would go further back to a different franchise in their city’s history for a uniform design, insert the Philadelphia Quakers who only played one season in the NHL from 1930-1931. Mock ups even circulated around the web with Chinese counterfeits also hitting the market just based on speculation.

This current leak has many people convinced that this will be the Flyers’ look for the upcoming Winter Classic. If it’s a fake, then it’s a darn good one, much better than what we’ve come to expect from Chinese knock-offs.

I quite dig the design, it has a basic striping and yoke style that is utilized by others teams (Rangers and Bruins), but works really well with Philly’s orange, black and vintage white colour scheme.

I’m curious to see what the Rangers come up with, it’s safe to assume that they’re going with an off-white cream coloured base, but what will they do on the front? Many people think it’ll be a throw back of their current logo and not diagonal text, but we’ll just have to see.

I give this jersey a good solid B and can't wait to see it on the ice.

Sens and Leafs Leaked

The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs have been planning to unveil their new alternate sweaters, but they didn't expect it to happen this soon.

Icethetics.info broke the story yesterday when one of their readers sent them cell phone pics of the new jerseys at the Buffalo Sabres team store which are already being sold.

The new sweaters will be replacing current alternate jerseys that the Leafs and Sens wear.The Senators claim that the jerseys were mistakenly sent to the retailers by Reebok prior to their official release.

"While we are very disappointed to have our new jersey revealed in this manner, we are pleased to see the early comments from fans are extremely positive," said Jeff Kyle, Senators vice-president of marketing. "We believe that this jersey will be a top seller in the National Hockey League this season, especially as fans learn the story behind how it was designed."

I will wait until the sweaters have been officially unveiled to fully comment and rate these jerseys, but off the top I'm just going to say that I love em, especially the Senators jersey.

The Jets are back in blue

They're finally here! The Winnipeg Jets have unveiled their home and away jerseys that give us a full look at their new post-Atlanta identity.

Right off the bat I wasn't sure what to say, I stared at them for a minute, blinked, then re-focused. The first thing that attracted my attention was the sleeve striping, I've never seen stripes like these before on a hockey jersey, and I actually really like them. The sweaters alone are relatively plain with a pallet of 'Aviator Blue', 'Polar Night Blue' and white with a hint of silver splashed around.

Once I looked closer, I noticed some more details that really made me appreciate what the Jets were able to come up with in such a short timeframe. The only place you will find red in the jerseys is in the inside collar, which I think is a good move so they don't look like another Red White and Blue team, or le Blu, Blanc en Rouge if you're a Canadien. The secondary shoulder crests look great on both jerseys and the use of 'Polar Night Blue' and silver really make it pop, especially compared to team with similar colour schemes.

Other little things like the lace up collar give it a classic feel, yet the angled letters and numbers make it feel modern at the same time.

“We wanted to create a look that worked well with Reebok’s modern and innovative “Edge System” uniforms,” said Kevin Cheveldayoff, Executive Vice-President & General Manager of the Winnipeg Jets in a release. “However, it was also vitally important to us to honour the rich history of hockey in our city, and fit the era of the Royal Canadian Air Force which inspired the primary crest design. The result is clean, simple and traditional.”

I think the Royal Canadian Air Forces theme works well for the Jets and I can't wait to see them on the ice on October 9th against the Montreal Canadiens.

EVIL Rating: B

Ugly Ducklings

Back in 1995, The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim released this beauty of a hockey jersey to some pretty toxic reviews that led to it getting shelved after only one season.

I don't get why everyone was so bent out of shape. Having a half man, half duck

bursting out of a frozen pond isn't stupi.... Nevermind, this jersey is f**** ugly and is just another example of a large corporation like Disney not knowing the first thing about hockey, yet shoving their brand down our throats.

I love the Mighty Ducks colours and was always a fan of their jerseys before their 2007 rebrand by the team's new owners, but at the very least I can say that this sweater has some personality, far more than those boring rags they wear now.

OH! WAIT! I think i've found a way to salvage this jersey.

The Ducks can bring it back as a 'retro' sweater since that's all the rage these days.

New Look Predators

The Nashville Predators have unveiled their brand new home and away jerseys for the 2011-12 season.

The new sweaters have a gorgeous streamlined logo set and colour scheme which makes them one of the most colourful and fun jerseys in the NHL. It's the small details though that really make these shine, guitar strings across the numbers and piano keys across the neck line really embrace where they're from without making is look like a cheesy minor league uniform. They also have a shoulder crest which is a guitar pick featuring the three stars in a circle found on the Tennessee state flag, and "Nashville" is written across the back collar.

The Preds did a great job and I kind of want one of these...

The jerseys were originally leaked leading up to the 2011 NHL entry draft, but were officially shown off to the public when presented to their first draft pick.

EVIL Rating: A-

The Panthers Back In Red

The Florida Panthers will have a new set of home sweaters for the upcoming 2011-12 NHL season, and they're red!

When the Panthers entered the league, they wore red jerseys that were quite unique and colourful, but those were dropped when the 2000's came and the whole franchise basically sucked in every aspect (especially jerseys).

Now the cats are back with some slick new duds that will be replacing their current ugly dark jerseys and face off against a slough of other new uniforms from their divisional rivals Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets.

The new jerseys are primarily red with some navy and yellow trim, it goes along well with their road sweaters and looks so much better than their blue home uniforms. Along with the Panthers, the Nashville Predators also unveiled their new jerseys at the 2011 NHL entry draft.

Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

EVIL Rating: B

Some new faces.

Why So Blue Lightning?

The Tampa Bay Lightning have unveiled their new classiclly-inspired sweaters that will take them through the 2011-12 season and beyond.

New General Manager Steve Yzerman wanted to put an original 6 stamp on his new club, and that he did. Black and silver which have always been a Lightning staple have all been stripped out to make room for an exclusively white and blue sweater design. The logos have also been over hauled, and at first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but they've grown on me in this short time, even without seeing them on the ice.

Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos modeled the new jerseys at the St.Pete Times Forum back in January.

Let me know what you think of these new Lightning jerseys.

EVIL Rating: B+