Monday: Not Another Countdown!

I'll talk about the playoffs once the series are over, but it may be time to say goodbye to the Lightning.

This week, I'm counting down players instead of designs. I've always been fascinated with goalies. I played goalie (in practice/back up) when I played hockey, and my favourite players have always been goalies.

Honourable Mentions:

Tukka Rask: Rose from the shadow of Tim Thomas and proved that the Leafs made a HUGE mistake in trading him instead of Justin Pogge (note: the Leafs did NOT make a mistake trading for Raycroft, he was decent at the time, but did not trade the right prospect in return, loosing out on a Vezina contender and Cup champion)

Curtis Joseph: Saw him come in for the shootout and get the win in 2009. Nice guy, hope to meet him someday, too bad he never played for a contender after the lockout

J.S. Giguere: Another goalie who fell victim to injury and bad Leafs management. A class act who isn't afraid to call out the Avs youngsters for waiting fir their awards, and played his heart out for the Ducks for many years

Freddy Brathwaite: He may be a career backup, but seeing him play his heart out every game, even winning the Spengler Cup and DEL MVP. Also, the wizard save on the Wings in the 90's was amazing.

3. Felix Potvin

I may be cheating on this one, because I never saw Felix the Cat play, but being in Toronto, this guy is the stuff of legends. He's the guy who beat Ron friggin' Hextall in a fight, backed the Leafs to Conference finals and was one of the last goalies to leave Toronto on a good note (think about it). Leafs fans will back me up when I say that he should be honoured by the Leafs at some point.

2. Sergei Bobrovski 

Steve Mason just missed the list, but his replacement in Columbus is one of the most exciting goalies to watch in the NHL today. Vezina winning, check, fun name to say, check, but what I like about him the most is the heart he pours into every game. It looks like he is having so much fun inbetween the crease, and when his young defensive core can't handle the load, he's there to make the save. Jay Onrait put it best: BOBROVSKI!

1. Cory Crawford

This spot, prior to this season, would have gone to Pavelec, but once the Jets were all but eliminated from the playoffs, I had to ask myself, "what's so great about the Blackhawks". Crawford played in both the NHL and AHL, which, among other perks, makes Crawford a lot more experienced than most starters. If Bobrovski plays his heart out every game, Crawford does double in the toughest division in hockey. Not to mention, his mask is beautiful.

Who are your favourite goaltenders?

Voting! You saw the beating Potvin laid on Hextall, imagine what he'll do to you if you don't vote. If you don't believe me, watch this!

 so you may as well vote

COTW April 14-20 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

Oilers Steel Drop Top 5 votes (due Friday @ 11:59PM Eastern time

On to the concepts

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Boston Bruins Concept (By: Christian L.)

The Bruins with any modern logo I'm not huge on, and this one, though it looks decent, reminds me of the Austin Bruins of the NAHL. That doesn't mean I don't like this concept, far from it, but the logo really drags it down. While I'm not usually on the Bruins in brown, making it the primary colour with yellow and white, reminds me of the Bruins first jerseys back in the 1930's, and the striping from the 50's, mixed with the font from the 2000's, mixes eras quite well. Just change the logo and you're A O K. (8/10)

Calgary Flames Concept (By: Bastian S.)

You don't see many concepts with the new Calgary shoulder patch being used as the primary logo, but it can work. Case in point: this concept. The little slits in the striping to match the wheat field are probably the best way to blend the logo into the jersey, and I'm glad to see the script used on the current alternate used on the pants and helmet, where script logos belong. I'm not huge on the simplified flaming C, but other than that, excellent concept. (8.75/10)

Carolina Hurricanes Concepts (By: Bastian S.)

I think most of us can think of 10 things wrong with the Canes current jerseys, and having a bad season in them doesn't help. The hurricane flag striping is an easy way to look good, and adding the silver keeps it from blending into the red. keeping the uneven square yoke isn't a bad idea, but I'm not huge on the white yoke, maybe increasing the black or silver and using that would keep the jersey from looking like Red Wings with accent colours. One good change I really like is the new font. I'ma  fan of the round font, but the squared off numbers match the yoke and would be new to the NHL. A mixed bag, but the execution is amazing as always from Bastian. (7.75/10)

Columbus Blue Jackets Concept (By: Colin M.)

Colin continues his NHL Alternate series, making some fixes to the Blue Jackets alternate that needed to be made. The striping looks good, not to mention the double stripe yoke, but just getting rid of the vintage white upgrades the jersey. The oversized name makes the jersey look like it's from the late 40's, but adding the numbers to the helmet and pants looks somewhat military like. Well executed, as expected from Colin, and look forward to more fauxbacks (8.75/10)

Newport Roadrunners Concepts (By: Andrew W.)

This was Andrew's entry to the Roadrunners redesign contest a couple weeks ago, and puts the next incarnation in Newport, Vermont...interesting? Sure, Vermont could use a pro team, but it may be too far south of the border for the QMJHL. The jerseys are really simple , the lack of TV numbers brings down the execution, along with the way the gray blends into the red and white, it almost hurts my eyes (6.5/10)

New York Rangers Concept (By: Colin M.)

Pinstripes have yet to make their NHL debut, and the city that gives us the Yankees and, lesser so, the Mets, should be the first. Lady Liberty coming back is an obvious change the Rangers could use to appease fans, and works well with the pinstripes. This style of yoke I've never seen, but I like it, though the shoulder patch is a little small in comparison to the yoke size. Not a fan of the inverse lacing, but everything else looks great (8.25/10)

Team Portugal 2014 World Cup Concepts (By: Stephen T.)

A month and a half until the 2nd biggest world sporting event, and it's about time some hockey crossovers come in. It's just putting the Portuguese soccer kits onto a hockey jersey and adding some arm stripes, but it looks good. I would certainly add a logo to the upper chest, and thicken the arm stripes. Not much else to say, but the backs of both jerseys are boring. (6.5/10) 

Seattle Ice Hawks Concepts (By: TG)

Yes, TG, what if the Super Bowl champion Seahawks were an NHL team? The logo doesn't need the crossed hockey sticks, the logo looks fine on its own, we get it's a hockey team, it's on a hockey jersey. Seeing the Hawks without green makes me sad, since hockey lacks green so much, this would be a great place to inject it in. The striping is very Seahawksy, which is good, but the white jersey needs more blue. i know that in football, colour balancing isn't that big of a deal, but in hockey, it can make/break jersyes. Well executed, but needs some fine touching to make it better. (7/10)

St. Louis Blues Concepts (By: Steven G.)

Rumours are swirling around the Blues redesigning their logos or jerseys, but this would be a good compromise for both fans of a modern blues or a classic blues. The striping is clearly from the 70's  and why not, the jerseys looked good then and look good now. The hem striping is a little thin and maybe using the gateway arch alternate or referencing the arch in someway on this concept would make the jerseys more unique. Nice new Blues logo, Steven. (8/10)

Tampa Bay Lightning Concept (By: Justin F.)

The next jersey news swarm will be around Tampa as they have confirmed they will wear a black alternate next season, and one will be given to their season ticket holders. The striping used here isn't great, the sleeves look like they've been dipped in blue , but the white stripe shows potential. I think having an actual striping pattern and then adding a pattern to the hem would keep the simpleness of the redesign. It looks unfinished, but has the potential to be great.(6/10)

Team USA 2014 World Cup Concepts (By: Stephen T.)

Team USA, I don't see much love for them in Canada, but they are fellow North Americans, and have a small chance of winning (maybe it's the Popsicle jerseys). The striping is certainly based on the USA's soccer jerseys from years past, though using the diagonal striping is straightened. The font is awesome, and the oversized logo saves the jersey. Again the back of the jersey is really boring and remember to credit where you got the logo from (it isn't a well known hockey logo). HJC logo policy 4vr. (6.75/10)

That's the post dudes and friends of dudes. Remember to vote and comment, nominate and all those great things. I'm Jets96, Go Jackets Go, have an awesome week!