Friday: Black and White and Red All Over

Hey y'all, and welcome to another Friday post here at HJC.  After a brief warm front, we're back in a cold snap down here in Georgia, which would normally put me in the mood for hockey.  The only thing keeping me from that usual frozen fervor is the lackluster performances that the Rangers have been putting on lately.  After a three game win streak, the Rangers have lost the last two games in spectacular fashion, including a 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Jets and a 5-3 loss in their first game against the Lightning since trading McDonagh and Miller to "Rangers South", as the Bolts have come to be known.  It's hard to feel good about a trade after a shellacking like that, even if none of your former players scored.  There's nothing quite like a loss against so many former teammates to make you question your future as an organization.  While I do have faith in the front office during this time of rebuilding, it is worrisome to see such mediocre results in the early stages.  Only time will tell if management knows what they're doing, but so far it's not looking great.

In voting news, we have the regular COTW vote for March 2-8, as well as the COTW February vote, both of which end Friday at noon EST.  Additionally, anyone who made it to the playoffs in our Season Competition, congratulations!  Be sure to submit your new designs by NOON EST TOMORROW, as voting begins on Sunday.  Don't be like me in last year's round robin and forget to submit an entry for the playoffs after winning a spot.  It's a rookie mistake, and it haunts you when you think about what could have been. 

 COTW vote Mar 2-8 (ends Friday @ noon EST) 

 COTW February vote (ends Friday @ noon EST)

 The Season Playoff Concepts (due TOMORROW @ noon EST) 

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Now on to today's concepts!

Lucas D.- Detroit Red Wings

Our first concept of the day is Lucas D.'s design for an alternate for the Detroit Red Wings.  I like the striping pattern, it seems to draw from the 1927-28 Detroit Cougars striping, which is a nice nod to the past if it's intentional.  I'm not a huge fan of the original logo, it's a little too cartoonish and it reminds me of the Blues' logo a little too much.  While the name and number font do match the logo, I'm not sold on the rounded look for any team, and I hate the use of lower case letters for the name.  I'm not sure about the use of grey as the base, but with a two color scheme, the Wings are tough to make a distinct third for.  Finally, with the new striping on the jersey, I would come up with striping on the breezers that better matched it instead of the ones from the primary set.  Final verdict: a bold concept for a classic team, but it just falls flat for me.  6/10

Ryan H.- Team Canada

Next up is our very own supreme overlord Ryan H. with a "fix" for Team Canada.  Right off the bat, these are a vast improvement on the dumpster fire that was the Pyeongchang jerseys.  I like the use of the futuristic crest, that was the one salvageable part of the 2018 jerseys.  The simple striping is a great look that Canada used at the 2010 games, and is one I would love to see make a return.  The color balance on the two primaries is great, and I love the font that matches the wordmark below the maple leaf.  The black alternate does a great job of using the extended yoke to give the jersey its own feel while also retaining the striping pattern from the main set.  My only gripe with this set is that I would have liked to have seen the gear that goes with it to get a better idea of the overall look.  Final verdict: a great looking set for Team Canada that I would love to see take the ice.  9/10 and my COTW NOMINEE!!!!!

Shai R.- Team Canada

Our final concept of the day is Shai R.'s take on a new Team Canada set.  This set seems to take design cues from many eras of Canadian Olympic hockey and attempts to incorporate them into one design.  I really like the simple arm design, it's an understated look that really helps the color balance of the set.  I was never a huge fan of the First Nations inspired logo from the 2010 games, I always thought there was a little too much going on in that logo.  While I do like the idea of incorporating the leaf hem design from the 1972 Summit Series, part of what made that work so well was that it wasn't competing with another maple leaf design like it is here.  It becomes too busy and detracts from the overall aesthetic of the design.  As for the black jersey, I wasn't really a fan of the 2014 alternate that it was based on, and the changes made here don't really fix it for me.  Final verdict: fantastic presentation, but there's just a little too much going on in this design.  7.5/10

That's all for me this week, see y'all next Friday!