Wednesday: AND HERE WE GO!

Two days left before all hell breaks loose. FREE AGENCY!!!! Who is going where, why is your GM not fired for not getting this guy, and STAMKOS! My head is already hurting from all the nonsense and complaining from Islanders fans all over the place. Can we just shut up and let the chips fall as they may? (I'd say thank god for MLS but with a summer transfer window AND a winter transfer window we deal with this ridiculousness the entire year). Also, every free agent is rumored to go to Toronto so take those rumors with a grain of salt.

JUST KIDDING! HELL HAS ALREADY BROKEN LOOSE! TRADES EVERYWHERE! BIG news that just broke: Edmonton trades Hall to New Jersey for Larsson, Weber to Montreal for Subban, too. EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING! Sorry that we're late, but now you know why.

EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING INCLUDING THE HJC OPEN! 31 artists have entered, 16 will advance. 1 will win. Who decides? YOU (And Ryan if there's a tie)! Vote for COTW while you're at it too.

HJC Open Round Robin vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

COTW June 17-23 vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

ON TO THE CONCEPTS


Bradley D: Charlotte Checkers Concept

So Bradley brings us a nice calm set to distinguish the Checkers from their parent club, the Carolina Hurricanes. That striping pattern is awesome, because of how it works with the bottom portion of the logo. Very clever. Personally, I have never been a fan of isolated black stripes, see Owen Sound Attack for that. Just a personal preference. Otherwise brilliant.

Checkmate: 85%


Bradley D: Charlotte Checkers Alternate Concept

And lets make things even fancier with, well, checkers. Appropriate. Everything here is brilliant, except for two things, the logo choice, wordmark logos are not a good look, and the yoke. If you are going to put checkers on the yoke, I'd recommend a squared off yoke, as well as a checker pattern that accurately follows the lines of the yoke. It was done well on the sleeves, but needs work on the shoulders.

King Me: 83%


Jordan R: Austrian Empire (1816 World Cup) Concept

When Austria met Hungary in Euro 2016 this year, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire jokes were flying. And now here we are. Quality look of using only yellow and black. Good call on the player choices, considering the geography, so long as Franz Ferdinand isn't playing. I just don't think yellow socks with a black jersey works well, and the other way around for the other set. I'm looking forward to this series. Name and number are separated a bit too much. maybe lower the nameplate.

Historical: 81%


Jordan R: Ottoman Empire (World Cup 1816) Concept

As we continue through the Central Powers, we basically have a team Turkey concept, but they were the Ottoman Empire. Classic look for an older era. Double red is an interesting look, one that doesn't work as well as double blue, but definitely a quality look. Chest stripe definitely works well with the moon and star logo, since seeing it in something other than white seems somewhat sacrilegious.

It's all Turkish to Me: 84%


Jordan R: United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway (World Cup 1816) Concept

Another chest stripe but vertical because why not. Surely a unique look but I don't like the white trim. I'm also happy the stripe doesn't go down the back, good call there. I miss seeing the triple crown logo, but this new (old?) shield looks good in its place. Those numbers on the sleeves are HUGE. Calm it down there. Simple as you'd expect from Sweden, but with a little Norwegian flair.

United: 83%


Ryan C: Florida Panthers Alternate Concept

I don't exactly know what to make of this. The logo choice makes it look like a 1920's style jersey, and the striping helps with that look. I would LOVE to see a red version of this. The stripes are balanced enough from the top down so as the pouncing Panther logo has space to breathe. I'm not too keen on a blue helmet with a white jersey only because this is an NHL level concept. Dark helmets with white jerseys aren't always the best look (see Colorado Stadium Series 2016).

Classic: 87%


Spencer R: Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) Concept

Presentation here is nice (need helmet logos though), and working with a double blue color scheme is expected. Execution is killer here, as well as some design choices. Let's start with execution. White jersey has a blip of light blue on the sleeve above the striping. Number font seems a bit too ridiculous to go with this logo, and the numbers themselves are too close together. Sock stripes are curved. As for design choices, it's very hard to make a phantom yoke and side panels work. This falls short as well.

Thunderstuck: 62%


Tyler M-S: Colorado Avalanche Concept

Right off the bat I'll tell you I am no fan of the thin striping. I'll also tell you that the logo is really small. I do like the move to put light blue in the logo. Makes the logo look better and allows the navy blue to make sense in the Avs' color scheme. The Colorado pride jersey is a nice touch, and I'm glad it looks different enough from the flag to make it work better for a hockey jersey. Maybe darken that yellow though.

Adventurous: 78%


The winner of my COTW nomination is:

 RYAN C 

 FLORIDA PANTHERS ALTERNATE CONCEPT 

Well I'm off to work and I'll probably miss a lot as the day progresses with NHL offseason news. See you next week when everything has happened.