Saturday: I'll take potpourri for $1,000, Alex

Only a few concepts today, which is good because I'm in a bad mood thanks to game 2 of the Hawks/Wings series. Oh well, it's not like I expected them to sweep the Wings. C'est la vie.

Don't forget that COTW voting ends tonight at 11:59 Eastern time. On to the concepts.

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Ottawa Senators (by Adam)

Adam has three concepts today and his first features the Ottawa Senators. Really, any change you can make to the Sens is a positive change since their current template is bad, and that applies to the Penguins as well. More on them later. I really like the logo. It’s a definite upgrade over their current logo, which is already pretty damn good, and I like the inclusion of the leaves around the logo. That being said, I don’t like how the striping pattern looks on the pants, and the red jersey is far too drab. It needs some white. Also, the leaves around the numbers on the back doesn’t work as a design choice. Also, you left the eye hole on the helmet logo white on the two colored jerseys when it should match the background. Overall, I’ll give it an 8/10.

Pittsburgh Penguins (by Adam)

Next up from Adam is a welcome change back to the proper colors for the Pittsburgh Penguins. This one features an interesting sleeve pattern along with a chest stripe reminiscent of Pittsburgh’s gradient road jerseys in the 90s. I like the idea behind these jerseys. As I’ve said before, the Penguins are one of those teams you somewhat expect to be out there in terms of designs but this one wouldn’t be too bad to see on the ice. I’m not sure why the pants are outlined in yellow, though – that wouldn’t look good on the ice. Also, I don’t like turning the players’ sleeve numbers into a logo. That would clutter the sleeve too much, in my opinion. Finally, the logo should be smaller and the captain’s C should be on the other side of the jersey. Overall, I’ll give it an 8/10.

Seattle Metropolitans (by Adam)

Adam’s final concept is a bit out there, as is expected from a team from Seattle. Just take a look at the Sounders and the Seahawks – Seattle has a reputation for unusual uniform designs. However, I think this one might go a little too far out. I love the color scheme, but I just don’t think it’s executed correctly. The orange pants paired with the green jersey definitely doesn’t look good. The color clash is too much. Reverse the colors on the pants and there would be a huge improvement. Also, I don’t know if the blue-gray works as a jersey color. As an accent, it’s just fine but I don’t see it as a good color for a jersey. On the positive side, the skyline as a hem stripe is really cool and I love the logos. Overall, I’ll give it a 7/10.

Pittsburgh Penguins (by Brady)

Brady’s Pittsburgh Nike design is very interesting. It’s an idea that the team has never done before – gold as the sole dark jersey. Since they adopted black and gold as their colors in 1980, the Penguins have always had a black jersey. Sometimes their two jerseys were gold and black, other times white and black, but always there was a black jersey. Brady’s design revives the striping pattern worn in one form or another from 2000-2007 and it definitely works wonders compared to their current design, which as previously mentioned, is on a terrible template. I don’t care much for the roundel logo, though. The skating penguin works best on its own. Also, I don’t like the 2nd Winter Classic jersey number font. That font is just about the only feature on the WC jersey that has any history with the Pens and I really can’t get behind it. Apart from their inaugural year, the Pens have always worn block numbers and I see no reason to change that. Overall, I’ll give it an 8.5/10.

Anaheim Ducks (by Bren)

Ah, Anaheim – home of the most awkwardly-named baseball team in the MLB. They’re also home to the Anaheim Ducks, as you all know, and Bren’s concept gives them a San Francisco Giants-esque baseball uniform. I love all of these cross-sport designs and it almost gives me the urge to do an NHL-MLS series to combine my two favorite sports. Bren has observed the baseball tradition of putting the team nickname on the home jersey (city/location name goes on the road jersey, of course) but the look is hurt by the overabundance of black. The color would work better if it was just an outline instead of that big block running down the center, which runs into the logo. Change that to an outline (see the Padres’ current look, for example) and you’d make the jersey a lot better. Also, some orange trim on the hat logo would make it better. Overall, I’ll give it a 6.5/10.

Ottawa Senators (by Matt)

We close today right back where we started from – in Ottawa. Matt’s Sens concept takes them in a different direction which I really like. Since Ottawa has a long (though disjointed) NHL history, I’ve always felt that they would look good in a traditional look, not the jersey I’ve already harped on multiple times. I like the striping pattern, but it would look better if the hem stripes matched. It seems incomplete if they don’t match. Finally, I would make the jersey logo a bit bigger. I would have used the forward-facing centurion myself, but the original is not a bad design by any stretch so it works here. Overall, I’ll give it an 8/10.