January 28, 2009

2011 All Star Concepts and More

In 2010 there will be no All Star Game because some of the players will be playing in the Olympics. So the next scheduled All Star Game is in 2011 in Phoenix...that is, if they still have a team at that point. (Highly unlikely)

Just in case, I have come up with some concepts for the All Star logo and jerseys.


The font on the jerseys is based off of the new Coyotes' wordmark...

Some more concepts.

This Canucks jersey sucks, but I have an idea and I just couldn't execute it.

If the Bruins were to play in a Winter Classic here is a play on a vintage jersey.

The Predators' jersey may be the one I dislike the most. Here's a new idea.

A crazy Flyers concept using the old alternate logo.

If Columbus were to get an alternate jersey, it may look something like this.

And I'm spent.

January 22, 2009

All Star Game Ideas

With the NHL All-Star Game coming up this weekend in Montreal, many players have started backing out wanting to avoid possible injury. Some players would prefer to have that time off rather than play in a meaningless and often, boring game. Many would like to see the game scrapped entirely, but that won't happen as sponsors love the weekend to show off their brands and the players who wear them.

So here are a few ideas to increase player participation and attempt to make the game more exciting.

The skills competition is often more interesting than the game. So why not have a two day, bracket style tournament where the top 16 players compete against one another. The winner of the tournament recieves the car and a trophy.

Second idea is to have the game in conjunction with the NHL Awards at the end of the year. Make it a special weekend event. Cities would bid, Super Bowl style to host the All-Star Game and Awards ceremony.

Lastly have the game and skills competition run in between the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. The NHL likes to have Finals games on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays for optimal ratings. Why not have the other top players in the league have the Skills Comp. on the Tuesday and the All Star Game on the Thursday?

Just some food for thought.

January 8, 2009

Expanding to 32 Teams

There is talk that the NHL has hopes of expanding to 32 teams in the future. Of course, with the current economic situation those plans are most likely on the back burner. There is also the issue of four cities which can barely keep their teams as is. Nashville, Florida, Phoenix, and Atlanta are all on the bubble. If the NHL wants to expand, it should look at correcting those situations first.

When you look at those four cities, not one of them jumps out as a place where hockey might be popular. Atlanta is on their second NHL franchise, Phoenix doesn't even play in Phoenix, Nashville just wants to play football, and Florida already has one team.

Lets pretend that all of those situations have been fixed. Lets look at possible new locations where the NHL wants to put teams and where I would like to see some teams.

1. Las Vegas
The NHL wants to be an attraction on the strip. Getting enough season tickets sold might be a challenge. Initially it might be a good sell, but when the novelty wears off will the locals and vacationers still be there?

2. Kansas City
They have an arena ready to go. I believe they also have potential owners ready to go who believe in hockey in Kansas City. If they believe, I say give them a shot. The tough times would be during the NFL season, but most teams get through that period by having a lot of road games in Canada at the beginning of the season and not playing opposite the NFL team on Sundays.

(Srint Center in Kansas City)

3. Winnipeg
Winnipeg thinks they desperately want a team. Problem is, when they are given a chance to prove it they can't. During the 2007 pre-season the Maple Leafs played the former Jets, the Phoenix Coyotes, in Winnipeg and they fell a few thousand seats short of selling out. Possibly the market is just not big enough in Winnipeg

4. Quebec City
Can't see any problem here. There would be an automatic rivalry with the Canadiens, and right now hockey in Canada is bigger than ever. A puck, stick, and ice could sell almost anywhere in Canada right now. A new arena would be needed, thus of course private and/or public money would be needed.

5. Saskatoon
Again, maybe not big enough of a market. If there could be some sort of Winnipeg/Saskatoon team where each city hosts 20 home games that might sell. That would be a bad situation for the players though, as they would not be able to establish a permanent home for themselves or their family.

6. Toronto
Everyone will hate me and think I am biased for saying this, but another team in Toronto would work. Leaf tickets are extremely hard to come by and Toronto is the 5th largest city in North America. Plus surrounding areas have very accessible public transit into Toronto. On the down side, any hockey that is not the Leafs has been a hard sell. Edmonton had their AHL team in Toronto for a season and left due to poor attendance. The Leafs' AHL club now plays in that arena (in the downtown core) and also has trouble packing the place.

7. East coast Canada
This team would be supported heavily. The problem is that they would be the most eastern team in the NHL and all other teams would have to travel further to play them. In the AHL, all teams on the east coast eventually moved because of the travel costs and inconvinience of fly into the east coast. Then again Vancouver and LA are west and they work.

8. Seattle
I have the same attitude toward a Seattle franchise as I do towards a Kansas City franchise. The difference being that Seattle doesn't have a rink or owners ready.

If the NHL were to expand to 32 teams, it could return to its 4 division system. Currently, divisions only matter if you win yours. Other than that they just deicde which teams you will play the most during your 82 game schedule. A return to the 4 divisions could also mean a return to Divisonal playoff matchups. 1st versus 4th, winner plays the winner of 2nd versus 3rd for the playoff divison championship, then conference championship and Stanley Cup Finals.
I was always a fan of that system.

Also, I'm perfectly content with 30 healthy franchises also. Although there are a few teams I would like to get rid of. I'll cover that some other time.

January 2, 2009

Some things and some jerseys.

Winter Classic was very good this year. It was a great game to watch and the crowd seemed a little louder this year. That may have been the TV mic's though. As I predicted here, we saw Ty Conklin start his third straight outdoor game. That really doesn't mean anything as his record is only 2-1. Maybe it would be a big deal if he was 3-0...damn that Edmonton game!

I was thinking, what if there was a disputed goal at the Classic? How could they go to video replay. Sure they would have lots of camera angles from around the rink and stadium, but they wouldn't have that all important overhead shot above the crease. Must not be a concern seeing as it has never been brought up.

Some jerseys I've made recently...

Colorado Avalanche using the old Colorado Rockies logo

I did Canada last time so here is a Team USA, home and away

Quebec Nordiques, using their never used logo and the Avalanche jersey.

I'm not a big fan of Anaheim's jersey or colours. I think they should be green. And they need a logo, not just a wordmark.

Calgary with a "white hot" version. Sorry, that was terrible.

Finally, Toronto.

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