Vintage Kings

Hello again!

Los Angeles Kings:

When I posted my last Kings concept on CCSLC, a few people suggested I switch the colours to purple and yellow.  I did that here, and I also switched the logos, numbers, and collar to something more vintage.

And here's a version using a darker purple and silver.

That's all for now!

Kings with Stripes

Hello everybody!  Did you miss me?  I'm sorry it's been so long since my last concept, I had simply run out of ideas.  But guess what, I've made a new concept!

Los Angeles Kings:

I was watching a Kings game the other day and for some reason I got the idea for a Kings jersey with two arm stripes, and this is the end result.  The altered primary logo I previously used on a Kings concept back in 2014.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back in Silver

Hello all!  I have some good news for anyone who uses vector graphics to make concepts (or anyone who wants to learn how).  Nick Burton has created a vector version of my hybrid template, which you can find on his blog Burton Hockey Design.  He also made a tutorial that would be very helpful for anyone learning to make vector concepts.  In other news, I have a new concept to show you folks.

Los Angeles Kings:

This concept is inspired by both the Kings' current jerseys and their 1980-88 jerseys.  I had wanted to try a silver Kings jersey for a while, and I thought it would look best if they was a good amount of black.  However that causes a bit of a problem because the jersey might be to dark for a light jersey and to light for a dark jersey, but since this is just a concept I'm not going to worry too much about that detail.

Thanks for visiting!

My Thoughts: 2015 Stadium Series Jerseys

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, or a good whatever else you may celebrate.  Today I'm going to discuss the Sharks and Kings Stadium Series jerseys, which were both unveiled in mid-December.  What do I think of the jerseys?  Even though there are some flaws, I think both jerseys are good on their own, but I don't like both of them together.

Note:  Since both jerseys are so similar I'm going to (mostly) review them together, instead of reviewing each team separately.

Image from sharks.nhl.com - Image from twitter.com/LAKings

Why do I think the jerseys are good (on their own)?  I like the fact that these jerseys are unique.  I think it's a good theme for the Stadium Series, if they went retro like the Winter and Heritage Classics it could get boring very quickly.  But I don't just like them because they are unique, I think the two-tone jersey is a good look, at least when done right.  I've seen several concepts that have had a light colour on one half and a dark colour on the other half, and I don't think that looks good, but both these jerseys avoided that problem.

There are some elements of these uniforms that I only like for a one off game.  I'd hate to see giant pant logos being used full-time, but I think they will be fun for this one game.  I also like the "carbon fiber" logos, but would be upset if a team kept them around (I'm still mad at the Islanders for promoting their "chrome" logo jerseys to a third jersey).

Then there are a also few features of these uniforms that I haven't decided if I like or not.  The biggest question mark for me are the Kings white pants.  I've always thought hockey pants should be a dark colour, but I don't think the white pants don't look horrible in this situation (also they could be a subtle nod to the yellow pants the Kings wore from 1970-79).  I'm also iffy about the fact that the jersey striping doesn't wrap all the way around the jerseys.  It helps the readability of the back numbers which I think is important, but it might look weird when the players turn around during the game (kind of like the Sabres third jersey).  I'll have to see them in action before I make up my mind on those two features.

Lastly, there are a few things I don't like about these jerseys.  As I alluded to at the start of this post, I dislike the fact that both jerseys use the same striping pattern.  I didn't mind last years' jerseys that used the same basic template yet had different striping patterns, however this years' jerseys don't have enough individuality for me.  The sleeve numbers are also on my naughty list, they are just too big and are lacking an outline.  My final complaint is about the collars, I don't like the shape of them or the way they are coloured (although I'm a big fan of the two crowns on the Kings' collar).

In summary, I think both jerseys are pretty good on their own, but I don't like both of them together (I might have said that already).

Sharks Grade:  B
Kings Grade:  C+
Grade of the overall look of the game:  C-

Have a good day!

Canada Guest Concepts and the Kings

Team Canada, by Jared:

Jared sent in this concept Team Canada concept he made in NHL14 for Xbox.  Aesthetically this is a very good looking uniform, the simple red and white colour scheme looks great, but the problem is this is just a recoloured Maple Leafs jersey.  The logo is even the Maple Leafs logo recoloured, and the socks use the same distinct pattern the Leafs use.  If the logo and socks were changed this would be a better concept, but really it be best starting over and making something more creative then just a recolour.
Grade:  C-

Los Angeles Kings:

Game five of the Stanley Cup Final goes tonight and for the second game in a row the Kings could win it all, so I thought it be a great time for a Kings concept.  The striping is inspired by the Kings Gretzky era jerseys, but I got rid of one of the silver stripes just to change things up.  I used their current crown logo as the primary logo, and a slightly altered version of their current logo on the shoulders.  The number font is their current font but without any outlines.

Thanks for visiting!

My Thoughts: Outdoor Jerseys

Speaking as a Canucks fan, this last week was a bit of a crazy week.  First of all I attended the Heritage Classic, then a few days later Luongo was traded, and the next day on trade deadline day the Canucks were rumoured to being making some big trades but ended up not doing much.  But for today's post I'm going to focus on the Heritage Classic, as well as all the other NHL outdoor games this year, as I'm reviewing the jerseys worn for those outdoor games.

Before I get to the jerseys I'll briefly talk about the experience of the Heritage Classic.  I went to the game with my dad, and while it was snowing at our house, it was raining in Vancouver which as you know meant the roof was closed at BC Place.  That was a bit disappointing, but I wasn't really expecting the roof to be open.  The result of the game was also disappointing, but the rest of the day was great.  Watching a hockey game with over 50,000 people is a really cool experience, we were doing the wave and chanting "WE WANT LUO!", it was a lot of fun.  We had decent seats about halfway up the lower bowl, and while the sight lines obviously aren't the best for hockey, BC Place has a giant big screen you could look at if the puck disappeared behind the boards.  Overall it was really fun, I'd recommend going to one of these games if you ever get the chance.

Heritage Classic:

(Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

Enough about the game though, what really matters are the jerseys.  If you've been reading this blog for a while (and you have a good memory) you might remember that this wasn't the first time I attended a Canucks game when they were wearing their Millionaire jerseys.  After that first game I said that the jerseys looked great, and my opinion hasn't changed since then.  The colours look so good, and I love how historically accurate the jerseys are.  It would have been easy to go with a lace-up collar and maroon pants, but the Canucks did the right thing by keeping it accurate.  Ottawa went in a different direction by not using a direct throwback, but I also think that was the right thing for them to do.  I don't think they would be allowed to use a full barber-pole jersey against the dark Millionaires jersey anyways.  What they ended up using still honoured history nicely, while creating something that people nowadays would like.  I heard a few complaints that it was hard to distinguish the two teams with them both using a lot of vintage white, personally I didn't have that problem when I was at the game but I noticed it later when I was watching highlights on TV.

Winter Classic:

(Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

Moving on to the other Classic game, which was much more classic weather wise than the Heritage Classic.  I've already briefly touched on my thoughts of these two jerseys back when I did a "fix it" concept for the Winter Classic, so I'll just quickly reiterate my thoughts here.  I'm a big fan of Toronto's jersey, there are just a few minor things I would have done differently to be more historically accurate (three sets of stripes on the socks, tan/brown pants and gloves, and no laces).  I wasn't really a fan of the Detroit's jersey, it was too much of a faux-back jersey, and it really didn't look like Red Wings to me.  I also wasn't a fan of the vintage white.  I did love that the game was colour vs colour (although I don't want colour vs colour to become a regular thing).

Stadium Series:

 (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

Lastly we get to the Stadium Series games, and the NHL went in another direction by going with modern jerseys for these games.  I think that's a good move, it keeps the two Classics more special.  I was a fan of the jerseys in general, including the chrome crests and funky numbers, but only as one-off jerseys.  I kind of thought of these jerseys like All-Star game jerseys, they're for a special event and you only see them once so you might as well try some new things.  Now we all know there was one team, the Devils, who didn't want to do anything new.  Part of me wishes they would have gone with modern jersey to fit in with the rest of the teams, but the other part of me likes how traditional they are with their jerseys.  In the end I like the Devils decision, they haven't had a new jersey since 1992, and I would hate to have seen that streak ended by the Stadium Series.

Now you know my thoughts on the NHL's outdoor game jerseys, feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments.  Thanks for visiting!

Pacific Division De-Edge Vintage Jerseys

It's vintage week on SG-94!  Each day this week I'll be bringing back a header (design at top of blog) that I've previously used, and today's is the first header used on this blog.  There were seven different headers I used before I switched to this blog template, so come back each day to see all seven old designs.  The headers are un-altered, besides being extended sideways to fit the current blog template.

Also I'm bringing back the NHL's vintage jersey program for my De-Edge series, but this time it will include all 30 teams, and I've made a few rules for myself.  Fist of all I can't alter anything, the jerseys have to be true throwbacks (not fauxbacks like the recent Winter Classics).  Also both the home and road jerseys must be from the same year.  Speaking of home and road jerseys, I made the home jerseys the light colour and road jerseys dark.  And this isn't really a rule, but I tried to throwback to jerseys teams had success in.

Anaheim Ducks Vintage Set:

These are the jerseys the Ducks wore during their trip to the Stanley Cup final in 2003.

Calgary Flames Vintage Set:

The Flames wore these jerseys when they won the Stanley Cup in 1989.

Edmonton Oilers Vintage Set:

This is the classic Gretzky-era Oilers set.

Los Angeles Kings Vintage Set:

This is the Kings original jersey design, but specifically this set was from 1979-80 (no gold pants but with player names).  The Kings now have five jerseys in my De-Edge series, and none of them are white.

Phoenix Coyotes Vintage Set:

These are the Coyotes original jerseys.

San Jose Sharks Vintage Set:

I also went with the Sharks original jerseys.

Vancouver Canucks Vintage Set:

For the Canucks I went back to the jerseys they wore when they went to the Stanley Cup final in 1994.

Feel free to let me know want you think of my choices for each team.  Have a good day!

Kings De-Edge Third

There won't be a third jersey for the Panthers, so the Kings are the next team.

Los Angeles Kings Third:

I made three or four different third jerseys for the Kings before I decided on this concept.  As you can see this features the team's "Kings" script inside of a chest-stripe (similar to the script inside of the hem-stripes on the primary jerseys).  There is a new helmet that also features the "Kings" script, but the pants and gloves are the same as with the home and road.

Full Set:

Here are all three jerseys on one image.

Thanks for visiting.

Los Angeles Kings De-Edge

I'm back with another De-Edge concept.  I also want to say that I probably won't be doing any My Thoughts posts very often anymore, I'll be focusing more on concepts.

Los Angeles Kings:

These jerseys are a combination of the Kings 1998-2011 jerseys, their 1980-88 jerseys, and some new stuff.  I thought I'd try a silver jersey for the Kings, since they didn't have a white jersey for their first 21 seasons.  I also used different logos for the home and road jersey, partially because the crown logo doesn't look good on silver, but also because both these logos have been primary logos in the past.

I'm not completely sure this concept works the way it is, so I'd love any thoughts about what needs to be changed.  Thanks for visiting.

Kings Concepts

Here a four LA Kings concepts.  All of them use the same striping pattern, the only thing different between them is their colour scheme.  The striping pattern for all of them are inspired by the Kings 1980-88 set.  I used a version of their retro crown logo as the primary logo, and a re-coloured version of this logo as the shoulder-patch.

Option 1:  A simple purple and white colour scheme.  They would have their own colour scheme for the first time in franchise history (no more copying the Lakers, Raiders, or Sacramento Kings).

Option 2:  Same as concept one, but with silver added (same colour scheme I used for them in my NHL Redesign).  This colour scheme would also be unique to them.

Option 3:  Similar to option 2 but re-coloured in their current colour scheme.

Option 4:  Just like option 2, but Vegas Gold replaces silver.  This colour scheme could be seen as an update to their original colour scheme.

Any thoughts on which concept is better?

LA Burger-Kings

Here is a post dedicated to the LA Kings "Burger King" logo.  The first concept was actually made before Ryan announced the "Make the Burger King logo look good" contest.  The second jersey is my entry for the contest.

Jersey Update:  For this concept I was just trying to improve the Kings "Burger-King" jersey.  I made the base-colour black, removed the purple and gold, changed the name and number font, and gave the jersey their own socks.  I also updated it to the Reebok Edge jersey system.

Contest Entry:  I made a silver jersey with the Burger King logo front and center.  I also replaced all the purple in the logo with silver.  The equipment is the Kings current equipment.

I'll be posting some more normal King's concept in a few days.

Bonus NHL Redesign Concepts

I have posted a home, road, and third jersey far all 30 teams.  Here are a few more concepts.

New Jersey Devils (St. Patricks Day):  For the last few years the Devils wore a rerto red jersey.  To change it up a bit, and also because I like the white version of that jersey better, I would have them wearing their retro white jersey.

Toronto Maple Leafs (St. Patricks Day):  As I said in my "We Need More Green!!!" post, I think Toronto should wear St. Pats throwback jerseys on St. Patricks day.  Here is a 1919-22 throwback jersey.

All Star Game:  I liked the red and blue jerseys that have been used the last few years, but I also think it is time for a new design.  I kept the current colour scheme, and used striping inspired by 1947-59 Jerseys.

Winter Classic:  I liked Winter Classic jerseys best when they were true throwbacks, so that's what I did.  Detroit's Jersey is from 1932-37, and Toronto's is from 1934-37.

Stanley Cup Finals:  Also, here is what this years final would look like with jerseys from my NHL Redesign.

Oilers, Panthers, and Kings

Three more teams in the NHL Redesign today.  This time it's Edmonton, Florida, and Los Angeles.


Edmonton Oilers:  New home and roads with slightly different striping, a slightly darker blue, and their 1997-2011 logo.  Their current home jersey becomes the third, as a throwback to the Gretzky-era.

Florida Panthers:  I actually think their current jerseys could be great with some changes, so I made those changes.  The third looks more like a traditional hockey jersey, it even has hem-stripes!!!

Los Angeles Kings:  The Kings have had a few different looks over the years, but I think there are problems with all of them, so I went in a different direction.  Dark purple and silver become their colour scheme, and an old crown logo is brought back.  To complete the look, their current throwback jerseys are promoted to third jerseys.

Minnesota, Montreal, and Nashville are the next teams to be posted.