Monday: Hope is Lost, Concepts Are Found

Hey Readers,

First things first, voting! COTW voting is going on right now, remember to vote by Thursday, concepts are found in the COTW section. Secondly, the popular Minnesota Wild contest is going on right now, so remember to vote for that, as there are A LOT of quality entries, votes are due by Friday for committee members. Remember to send your votes to HJC Contest and not to the regular concept email.

In case you missed it, here's a link to yesterdays weekend post and podcast, remember the weekly poll has been restarted up, so comment all questions to that post, as well as answers to the poll

I give up on news relating to the Lockout unless it ends, because nothing is going to happen that will matter, both sides have faults and I side with neither, they are both just in it for the money, they are all millionaires, and to reject 3 offers in 10 minutes....I think it was Jamie McLean, former NHL goalie and TSN analyst who said "I've read boxes of cereal in more time".

Recap

Wild ReDesign Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm EST)

COTW Oct 15-21 vote (ends Thursday @ 11:59pm EST)

On to the Concepts, theres quite a few of quality today, so lets dive in!

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Pittsburgh Penguins Concept (By: Detroit 1388)

This is something that the Pens have never done, honour the Pirates of the early NHL. Detroit has made a sort of mashup between the Pens and Pirates, and theres quite a bit to like. Its very well executed. It loos much better than their current alternate and the double blue doesn't feel so forcibly vintage. Theres is some stuff I'd change thought: The Robo-Pen doesn't really fit with the 60's skating penguin, I'd go with one era or the other, but not both., perhaps just a P like on the Pirates jersey but I can see what was being attempted. Also, I 'm curious to see what yellow and blue would look like, it would be more creative than the double blue Pittsburgh always uses. Overall, its a cool idea (7.5/10)

Montreal Allouettes Concept (By: Me (Jets96)

No secret, I'm a CFL fan. Montreal has the most interesting history in the CFL, and recently they have simply DOMINATED the east, you either love them or hate them. The idea with this jersey was to come as close to matching the football jerseys as possible, while also adding some originality and hockey elements. I kept a lot of elements from their real jerseys, like the script above their logo, the blue yoke, the red and silver arms, but also tried to make it look more hockey like with the shoulder patch, the red cuffs and actual logo on the front.

Winter Classic 2012 Concept (By: Phil L.)

First off, the template is not something I'm a fan of, but Phil has done a good job of making these  look good. The Detroit jersey is nothing new, but it doesn't have to be, it still looks really good. The cursive script and numbers were a nice touch, and yoke outline works too. The Toronto concept is a bit different. It looks like a mixture between the 90's and the 40's.. The triple yoke outline is cool, the striping works , and so do the invisible numbers. My only complaint is the the stitching should stop where the striping continues and not continue down through it. Still, I think we can all agree that as long as the team wear something like this...and that there is a Winter Classic, we'll be good (8/10)

Philedelhia Flyers Concept (By: Matthew L.)

The home and road are okay. The striping is nice, but the logo is not. It looks like someone smudged the Flyers logo into a bird, and a logo with such history should not be changed. The alternate is cool though, I'm a fan of the 3-D logo, and a black jersey is something the Flyers could use. The sides are what loses me, they look so...cookie-cutter like. I'd add a hem stripe to it and try to add some creativity to it to make it not look like Nashville or St. Louis. (6/10)

Quebec Nordiques? Concept (By: Stephen T.)

I'm actually not sure if this is a Bulldogs, Nordiques or team Quebec jersey, but I like it. Blue and White look good, but its hard to keep it from looking like a maple leafs jersey, but heres, Stephen has done a good job of keeping that from happening (take note Tampa Bay). The Fleurs d'lie (I think that's how you spell it) are a cool addition, especially in lieu of the TV numbers. The Q is  also nice, and O with the Fleur d'lie forming the Q makes is unique, which is something the NHL hasn't really had with Reebok. Execution is good other than the stitching going past the striping, but I still really like this one (8.5/10)

Carolina Hurricanes Concept (By: Thomas H.)

Theres nothing like a black Carolina concept, its something Carolina should and hopefully will do at some point, their alternate is okay but these are much better. Its time for Carolina to move forward, its now the Staal bros era, no longer the Irbe/Francis era. The execution is really good and the hurricane flag striping looks good as usual, and with black is comes out more. I'd add the flag as a shoulder patch but still these are really cool. (9/10)

Florida Panthers Concept (By: Thomas H.

This is something again, most would want Florida to wear, including me. One thing, the panther looks like it doesn't have any eyebrows...supposing panthers do but sill these are really cool. I think if the arm striping and the bottom striping were them same then it would be more uniform, but again, these still look really cool. The shoulder patch is something that needs to say and the panthers do usually play better in red, so all the 400 Panthers fan can enjoy more playoff hockey. (8.5/10)

Hamilton Tiger Cats Concept (By: Me (Jets96)

I live in between the Argos and  the Ti-cats, and I can safely say I don't like either, but Hamilton does have better jerseys. Buffalo's 70's jersey striping is nearly identical to Hamilton's striping, and adding the tiger in the middle of the striping very football like. Saturday's game would make me think about not putting Luca Congi's name on the back of it but he's still their best player. Basically the idea again was to get as close to the football jersey as possible but still have some hockey elements.

Nashville Predators Concept (By: Steven G.)

This is something no one I think as thought of, bringing back the original Predators look from the late 90's, and personally, I really like it. The original Preds jerseys were unique and turning the page in jersey design, these do the same thing, they take a relatively boring look to this, but keep the originality of their current jerseys. The numbers I think need to stay, and the shoulder patches are good. This is a striping pattern that I think a lot of teams could use, so overall, its a definite improvement.