Friday: New Panthers

The logo had already been leaked and we've known (in general) what the jerseys would look like for a while now, but the Florida Panthers made it official yesterday unveiling their new logo and jerseys.  Let's take a look...

Image from Florida Panthers on Facebook

There's two versions of the primary logo (which is inspired by the 101st Airborne Division patch), on the home jersey the logo reads "Panthers" but it says "Florida" on the road jersey.  The secondary logo is a Panther on top of a modified Florida state flag (a sun icon replaces the state seal), with the opposite wordmark of the jerseys primary logo above all that ("Florida" on the home jersey, "Panthers" on the road).  There's also an updated version of their now previous primary logo.

Image from Florida Panthers on Facebook

The jerseys feature a chest stripe which doesn't continue around the back.  The secondary logo is placed on the sleeves and the numbers are up on the shoulders.  There's blue along the hem to match the blue collars, and the collar laces are crossed to mimic the state flag.  There's also a new custom font for the name and numbers.

Image from Florida Panthers on Facebook

I quite like this new look for the Panthers.  The logos are all meaningful and well designed, and the jerseys are a nice blend of modern and traditional.  I think it was important to exclude the chest stripe from the back, it makes the jerseys much cleaner, makes the numbers easier to read, and helps distinguish them from the Canadiens.  What really wins me over though are all the small details.  I love the crossed laces, I like how the secondary logo is placed on the arm like a military patch, and I'm a big fan of their new number font.  My favourite feature though is probably the additional sleeve patch for the captains, I think it's a great nod to the stripes on a military uniform that indicate your rank.

Image from espn.go.com

There are a few things I don't like about this new identity though.  My first reaction to the new uniforms was "those stripes are a bit too thick".  I'm sure I'll quickly get used to the the thickness of the jersey stripes, but I think the sock stripes need to be thinner.  I also dislike how little red there is in the updated version of their old logo, in my opinion they should of kept some red on the paws and tail.  But overall I'm a fan of the Panthers new look.

Now that you've heard my opinion of these new look Panthers, I want to hear what you think of them.  Leave you thoughts in the comments.

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We have some logos for the HJC Open Logo Competition today...

by Jared L:

by Phil B:

by Vaughn R:

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San Jose Sharks, by Ryan C:

Ryan starts us off with a Sharks concept which uses angled striping to match the triangle in their logo.  I like the idea of the striping pattern, but I think the side panels should be angled less so they don't touch at the bottom, and I think the sleeve stripes should continue to the end of the sleeves..  I'm really liking the unique pant design though, and teal helmet looks good too.
Rating: 8/10

North Bay Battalion, by Zack R:

Next up is Zack's Battalion concept which uses chevrons as the sleeve design.  I love those sleeves, they look great and the chevron design is perfect for the Battalion.  The red military style name tags that match the shoulder patch are also a cool feature.  However I'm not a fan of the thinner yellow stripes on the side panels, I think it would look better with one thicker yellow stripe or no yellow stripes at all.
Rating: 8/10

Buffalo Sabres, by Zeke G:

Zeke's first of two concepts today is a Sabres concept using their classic royal blue and gold.  I love this shade of blue for them, I also like this striping pattern and the logo choices.  Design wise there's nothing I don't like, however there are some execution issues.  There's messy pixels around the edge of the template (they're are most noticeable against the yellow stripes), the sleeve stripes are higher on the right side, and the sleeve stripes should be perpendicular to the angle of the arms.
Rating: 7/10

Florida Panthers, by Zeke G:

After seeing dozens of similar prediction concepts for the Panthers it's great seeing something new.  The striping pattern is awesome, I especially like the single yellow stripe.  I also like that the numbers on the white jersey don't use any red.  Execution is still an issue though, on the white jersey part of the collar strings was left black, and there are some white pixels between the number outline on that jersey.
Rating: 8/10

Cincinnati Bengals, by Jay S:

Jay continues his NFL series with this Bengals concept.  This concept looks good, it's well executed, there's nothing wrong with it at all but there's also nothing special.  The hem and arm stripes are a common pattern, and I've seen Jay use this yoke design many times before.  I'd prefer to see something new, something like...

Now this is awesome!  I love the tiger stripe pattern!  It looks great, and it's not generic instead it screams "Cincinnati Bengals".  When I think of the Bengals, what first comes to mind is their unique helmet design (and jersey stripes), and this concept captures that perfectly.  This should be your home jersey, with a matching road added.  Just ditch the yoke design though.
Rating: 8/10

Boston Bruins, by Lucas D:

For this Bruins concept Lucas uses some familiar elements, while also bringing some new ideas to the table.  I like how the logo on the home jersey is recoloured to look like their 1949-95 logo, but I'd like it even more if the outline of the B was a bit thicker.  The square yokes look good as well, they remind me of their 1930's and 40's jerseys.  However I'm not a fan of the white numbers, or the amount of white in the striping.  I prefer the Bruins with more yellow.
Rating: 8/10

New Jersey Devils, by Jordan R:

I don't see the Devils changing their jerseys anytime soon, and neither does Jordan apparently as he keeps their current three jerseys virtually unchanged here.  The fourth jersey is brand new though, and I love the logo that was used.  It comes from the Lowell Devils (New Jersey's former AHL team), but I've never seen the head on it's own before.  The colour scheme is from New Jersey's state flag, and while I wouldn't want the Devils to wear orange and blue in real life, I like it as a concept.
Rating: 8/10

Winter Classic (Minnesota vs Vancouver), by Josiah B:

I mentioned last week that I'm not a fan of the Wild dressing up like the North Stars, but I'd be okay with it for a Winter classic game.  I actually like that you used vintage white here, it works well for the Wild since they already use "wheat".  The Canucks jersey looks good, I like Johnny as the main logo and I like the striping for the most part, however the Rangers style yoke isn't my favourite.  Additionally I'd like to see the sleeve numbers to know what the numbers would look like.
Rating: 8/10

Winter Classic (Philadelphia vs New Jersey), by Josiah B:

Josiah also sent in a Flyers vs Devils Winter Classic match-up.  The Flyers jersey is a great update of the old Philadelphia Quakers sweater, simplifying the arm stripes made a big difference.  I'm also super glad you used a thinner yoke, however I'm undecided if I like the Sixers style wordmark, I think I'd prefer if it said "Flyers" in this style.  The Devils jersey looks good too, it's a nice take on their original white jersey, I especially like the look of the red pants.
Rating:  9/10

Philadelphia Flyers, by Josiah B:

For his third concept Josiah gives the Flyers new home and road jerseys with sleeve stripes based off of the logo, which I think are very nice.  Normally I like dark jerseys more than white jerseys, but here the road jersey is actually my favourite, the yoke just seems to work better on the white jersey.  My only suggestion is to thicken the number outlines to better match the outline of the primary logo.
Rating: 8/10

Boston Blades, by Fernando M:

Last up today is Fernando's Boston Blades concept for his unified Women's National Hockey League series.  The black jersey based off of the Bruins 1974-95 sweater looks good, and I love the new yellow jersey.  The logo also looks great (and thank you for properly crediting the source of the logo).  I'm also glad you kept the players name above the number, I know some of the other writers think the name should be under the number to avoid being covered by long hair, but I think it looks better above the number.
Rating: 9/10 and my COTW nomination!

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That's all folks!