Friday: Exhibition Season

Hello folks!  The NHL's exhibition season has begun, which means we finally get to see brand new jerseys in game action.  I'll review later in the post how the Panthers, Penguins, and Maple Leafs new jerseys look on the ice, but first let's begin with some concepts.

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Atlanta Thrashers, by Phil B:

Wednesday writer Phil starts us off with a new set of jerseys for the defunct Atlanta Thrashers.  My favourite part of this concept is the yoke, I love how the thick stripes on the end taper into thin yoke outlines, and I also like the use of their triangle pattern instead of shoulder logos.  I'm not a fan of the sleeve stripes though, as the design would form a deep valley where the bottom of the sleeves meet up, and I don't think that would look good.  I do like that Phil used all four of their colours prominently in the striping, but I don't like the yellow name and numbers on the road jersey, I think navy or maroon would work better.
Rating: 7/10

Toronto Maple Leafs, by Lucas D:

Lucas is up next up with De-Edge concepts for the two Canadian original six franchises, starting with the Leafs.  This concept combines the Leafs new logo, the hem and sleeve stripes from their 1967-70 set, and a yoke similar to that from their Ballard-era jerseys.  I think the combination of those three era's work quite well, but I'm not completely sold on this style yoke.  I like the uniqueness of stopping the yoke at the sleeve stripes, but it also looks a bit strange to me.
Rating: 8/10

Montreal Canadiens, by Lucas D:

For the Montreal Canadiens, Lucas took their famous horizontal chest stripe and transformed it into a sash stripe.  While I wouldn't actually want the Canadiens to use a sash full-time, I love it as a concept.  It's a unique design that also makes sense historically, since the Canadiens wore a sweater with a sash stripe in their pre-NHL days.  I also like that Lucas didn't perfectly match the striping patterns, each jersey looks better than it would using the other jerseys pattern.  I do have a few minor complaints though, the sleeve numbers are hard to read on the white jersey, the names are too close to the numbers, and I prefer their logo without the additional white outline.
Rating: 8/10

Team North America (Version 1), by Ryan H:

Unlike the 2014 Olympics, each team in the World Cup only had two jerseys.  For this concept, Ryan imagines what a third jersey for Team North America might have looked like.  As you can see orange is the main colour here, which I think makes the most sense for them.  Overall I like the striping pattern, it shares some similarities with their black jersey but it's new as well.  My only issue is the silver gets lost in sleeve stripes, I'd either remove it or re-work it so silver isn't surrounded by orange.
Rating: 8/10

Team North America (Version 2), by Ryan H:

Ryan also sent in a second version of his Team North America concept, with the only difference being orange and silver swapped for one another.  I know I just said an orange third jersey makes the most sense for Team North America, but I love the look of this silver jersey.  Unlike the silver accents on the orange jersey, the orange accents here really stand out, and I still like the rest of the striping pattern just as much as I did before.  I also think the logo looks better on a silver background.
Rating: 9/10 and my COTW nomination!

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Here are the final entries for the Senators Redesign competition.  There are eight entries today alone, and I think around 20 total!  Good luck to everyone who entered.

Alan H:

Burkus Circus:

Glen W:

Noah B:

Patrick N:

Phil B:

Ryan C:

Zeke G:

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Now let's take a look at some game photos of the new NHL jerseys that were unveiled over the summer (at least the jersey that have been worn so far).

Image from @FlaPanthers on Twitter

Since the Panthers made such a major change to their uniforms, I really wanted to see how they looked in action, and for the most part I'm quite pleased.  I like the overall look of their new uniforms, and I also like the details.  The more unique features; like the the captain's sleeve patch, the crossed laces, and shoulder numbers; all look just as good or better than I expected.  My one concern is with the cut off chest stripe, I've seen a few photos where it looks awkward, but it looks fine in the small amount of video I've seen.

Image from @Penguins on Twitter

It was a lot easier to picture what the Penguins new road jersey would look like on the ice, since they've worn this design in the past.  I actually saw one of their games on TV, and my first reaction upon seeing the jerseys was that it just feels right, these look like what the Penguins are supposed to wear.  They look very old school as well, which I don't necessarily think is a problem, but I still think these jerseys could have been improved with some slight modernizations.  I shouldn't be complaining at all though, because these jerseys look great.

Image from @MapleLeafs on Twitter

Last but not least, the new Maple Leaf jerseys have also seen game action.  I'm loving their new logo more and more every time I see it, and it looks especially good on the front of the jersey.  The simplicity of the rest of the jersey really allows the new logo to stand out.  I'm still not completely sold on the mismatching hem and arm stripes, but it's starting to grow on me a little bit.  The hem stripe kind of matches the pant stripe, so it doesn't look completely out of place.

What are your thoughts of these new jersey now that they've taken the ice?  Has your opinion changed at all since they were first unveiled?  Let us know in the comments.

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There will be two votes this upcoming week.  The polls should be up later today, or tomorrow at the very latest.

COTW Sept 23-29 vote (ends Friday, Oct 7 @ noon Eastern)

Ottawa Senators ReDesign vote (ends Friday, Oct 7 @ noon Eastern)