Jackets Also Without Alternate

The news just keeps coming. The Columbus Blue Jackets have become the third team to confirm they will not wear a third jersey this season. Eric Smith at HockeyBuzz interviewed Jackets Marketing VP Marc Gregory.

Smith: A lot of interest in regards to a 3rd jersey. Any plans for this?

Gregory: Not for this season. Last year was the first year for the new crest or the old 3rd jersey crest and we really want to leave time to have it build this identity. We have had several changes to the jersey in the past with different shoulder patches and really just wanted to give the current design time for the fans get comfortable with. Doing a 3rd jersey this early wasn’t something that we had planned. A 3rd jersey is on the radar but no time table has been set for a release.

So I'll keep an eye out for the possibility of a Blue Jackets alternate jersey in the future.

Habs Unveil 100 Seasons Logo

I've gotten about a dozen emails about this so most of you probably know already. The Montreal Canadiens released a new 100th anniversary logo that will be used this season. The announcement was made yesterday on their official web site.



The logo is described as "using the style of numbers found on the Canadiens’ current white jersey worn on the road." It will also be used at center ice. A rendering of what that will look like is on the team's web site.



For what it's worth, the logo says "100 Seasons" right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the last 100 years we have had at least one year without a hockey season. Did the Habs perhaps play two seasons in one year at some point prior to the formation of the NHL?

The article makes no mention of the vintage jerseys the Habs are rumored to be wearing throughout the season to commemorate their centennial.

IHA Poll: Columbus Brigade

Cast your vote and leave a comment about your decision. Then tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!

Starts Tue Aug 26
Ends Fri Aug 29

Ducks PR Confirms No Third

Not that this is going to come as a huge surprise to anyone, but the Anaheim Ducks will not be among the handful of teams wearing third jerseys this season. It was confirmed today on the team's official web site by PR man Adam Brady in his blog.

...there hasn't been anything official about this yet, but there is talk that several NHL teams will be adopting third jerseys for the 2008-09 season. I can tell you with 100 percent confidence that the Ducks will not be one of them. However, several clubs will apparently be following the Ducks' (and several other teams') lead by adding black jerseys, including the Kings (though they already have black jerseys), Bruins, Hurricanes, Sharks, Blackhawks, Senators and Coyotes.

Somebody's been reading Icethetics.

And in an effort to perhaps remind us why sometimes third jerseys are a bad idea, he shared the worst two in history.



But to that I have to add that I love that Kings logo and I actually own that horrible Ducks jersey. No shame here.

So you can now officially include the Ducks along with the Capitals on the list of teams that will under no circumstances wear anything but their home and away sweaters this year.

Bergeron Dons Bs' New Third?

A new video on TSN.ca appears to show Patrice Bergeron in what could be the Bruins' new third jersey — or something close to it.

First, a few stills from the video.



If you go watch the video — which is titled "Road to Recovery" — you'll find a few seconds of him skating in this jersey around 2:35.

Now, some background. Back in February, I posted a video clip from an NESN broadcast that showed a guy skating around in what was described as a third jersey "finalist" for the Bruins. Despite wearing a Bergeron jersey, it was not Bergeron. Here are some stills from that video.



The differences between these two jerseys are fairly obvious. Notice the crest. On the TSN video, there's a white stroke around the logo. Not so on the NESN video. There's also a yellow stripe around the bottom of the NESN jersey while there are no stripes on the bottom of the TSN jersey.

Just some things to think about as we anticipate the Boston Bruins' new alternate sweater. No word yet on when we should expect it. Thanks to Steve for the tip.

Hurricanes/Whalers Jersey Contest

This upcoming season will mark the 30th anniversary of the Hurricanes franchise — this includes their time in Hartford as the Whalers. The guys over at Hockeybums have a contest going to mark the occasion. It's something a lot of you might be up for.

They want artists to submit designs incorporating both the Whalers and Hurricanes jerseys. I'm guessing they also want some sort of hybrid logo as well to keep it from being too easy. They're also promising a "special prize" to the designer of the best jersey.

The contest runs until the start of the season.

IHA Poll: Buffalo Bison

Cast your vote and leave a comment about your decision. Then tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!

Starts Mon Aug 25
Ends Thu Aug 28

From The Ground Up: Divisions

Check the pollbar. You can now vote on your preferred divisional boundary alignment for the Icethetics fantasy league.

Since I can't offer higher resolution images within the poll, I'm offering them here with a list of cities available to each division. All divisions here are named by geography.











Here are some things to think about with regard to the divisional boundaries. The larger the division area, the fewer teams you get out of that area in a way. Remember, every division gets 5 teams. Smaller divisional areas have a better chance of getting a city you want, for example.

So, if you think there should be more Canadian teams and fewer southern teams, you'll probably want to pick D. If you want more eastern cities than western, go with C. A has the best geographical spread. B and E rely heavily on northern cities. Just a few observations. There are plenty of other ways to look at each setup.

Happy voting!