Tuesday: The Inbetween

Welcome back to HJC for another Tuesday post. We're at an interesting place in the year, where (American) Thanksgiving has come and gone, but Christmas music isn't acceptable yet. It's a bit of a No Man's Land in terms of holidays, much like the jerseys for the outdoor games. The NHL 100 Classic was revealed a while back, and the Winter Classic's were just revealed this past week. That just leaves us waiting for the Stadium Series, with the Leafs and Caps.

While we wait, we have four concepts today to review. As well, all of our New York Islanders entries are in and voting is now live! It's a top 3, so hopefully that makes your decision a bit easier, as we've had some pretty good concepts, as usual.

COTW Nov 17-23 vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

NYI ReDesign Top 3 vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

Let's see those concepts!

Adam G.- Michigan Stags

Adam starts us off in my home state of Michigan, with the Stags of the WHA. There's a lot of color on these, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but not handled well here. The amount of color between the black, red, and white doesn't work well with all together; they seem to be fighting for attention. The brightness of the red and yellow certainly doesn't help in that regard. The striping pattern is nice, and I always appreciate when it matches the logo. The striping is less successful at the yoke, however, where the stitching doesn't work with the design. The stripes stop abruptly at the seams, while the yoke continues down. I know the Bruins do something similar, but it doesn't look good there either. Pants with no stripes rarely work, especially with the rest of the design so colorful.

Grade: C-

 Avi S.- Columbus Blue Jackets

Avi takes us to my current state of residence, Ohio, with a Jackets concept. The emphasis on blue is the best aspect of the design. The head to toe blue on the home set is a much better homage to the team's namesake than the current set with red pants. On the away, the contrasting upper arm sleeve was a good way add a strong blue element without drowning the jersey with color. The stripes are a nice touch to match the Ohio flag. My only criticism of them is that the pants stripes doesn't match the pattern. The biggest drawback to jumping fully on board with this design is the hem. The lone ring around the bottom is too minimalist even to match the rest of the design, especially on the road when the blue would camouflage itself into the pants.

Grade: B

 Cole W.- Moose Jaw Warriors

Cole shoots over a home and road set for Moose Jaw. This is a great example of how a design can be busy without being overwhelmingly so. I like how the red upper arm sleeve match the logo, with the black and white to accent it. The only issue with the striping is the inclusion and placement of grey. It's not necessary, and is too close to the white, almost to the point where it's hidden. If the jerseys are full and colorful, the pants should be so as well. The shoulder patch adds too much to an already full jersey. On execution, the logos and the numbers on the back are unnecessarily large. 

Grade: B-

 Nick B.- Arizona Coyotes

All good things must come to an end, but Nick sends out today's post with a bang with this Coyotes' look. It's almost impossible to imagine an Arizona concept with this Southwest pattern, and Nick doesn't disappoint. Continuing it on to the hem would have been better, however, as the hem suffers similarly to Avi's Jackets concept. The blank pants aren't fitting to the rest of the design here, while the red helmet reminds me of Carolina's current look, which I think would be better is it was black. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of this template, as it conceals how the sleeve attaches to the body. There's different ways to handle that (see Arizona, Vegas, and Pittsburg), and how that design was handled would have been nice to see.

Grade: C+

My COTW nominee goes to Avi's Columbus Blue Jackets. That will do it for today. Be sure to vote in both of our polls, and send in a mailbag question for our weekly podcast while you're at it. And remember, keep your stick on the ice.