Wednesday, July 30, 2008

What I expect from the Sabres September 20th...

Today on Icethetics, we saw a big scoop as a photographic sampling of several NHL teams' possible new third Jersey logos was put up on his great site. I love the internets.

Icethetics Third Jersey Logos

It seems like with any leak you are usually guaranteed a few things. Sketchy details from the 'leaker', shitty pictures, and tons of speculation. This is no different as included was a shitty picture of the Sabres and a slightly different than we remember vintage logo.



Notice there are indeed silver elements in the sabre handle and bordering the circular part of the crest. Well I have been thinking long and hard and truly believe that this picture as bad as it is, to be authentic.

I also confidently expect the following elements to be added:

1. Dark Blue to match the current jerseys (not a big surprise for most)
2. Front Numbers
3. Front tie-up laces

This will be introduced as an Alternate jersey. Note it cannot be called a vintage uniform anymore because of the distinctive elements not present in the royal blue 1970-1996 version or the 2006 Royal blue alternate.

My take on the design:

The Sabres know full well there will be a large number of vintage logo/uniform enthusiasts somewhat skeptical of the new RBK Edge system and its well publicized issues compared to its air-knit predecessor. So their answer to appeal to the masses was to design "vintage style" uniform. The old royal blue classic uniform is a bit dated and in my opinion, not as attractive as the white classic uniform. So they created a new look very respectful of the classic design but contains new elements that would persuade fans to make a trip to the merchandise stand, Sabres store, or NHL shop.


EDIT: Mad props to Dave (user DRutka) from the Sabres board putting together a very solid high resolution idea of what to expect.



I think this is pretty damn close to the real thing. Nice job Dave!

From a SabresNotSlugs perspective:

The darkening of the jersey to match the current HSBC "paint job" and and potential popularity of the jersey could be the beginning of the end of the slug as the primary jersey. We all heard the talk about not making the circular logo work, and now all of a sudden we are going to be skating around in circular "vintage style" glory. If the team got this forthcoming design right, fans won't want to see the team wear this for 15 games all over again like in 2006. We saw how great an RBK Edge white jersey would look in the winter classic. We now know the circular logo not working crap was indeed a line of crap...the success and popularity could parlay into a logo mutiny leading to the demotion of the slug to an alternate jersey/logo or the removal of it all together.

So read this and hold onto this idea...if you wind up loving this new look coming down the road...don't just sit there and say to yourself how you really like the vintage style jersey on the ice and in the arena full-time but the Sabres will never do anything about it. Do something about it this time and let the team, news, and local TV know about it!

4 comments:

Drew Celestino said...

Assuming that's what we can expect, I think it looks great! Now let's make it the ONLY home jersey, then progress to phasing out the Slug entirely.

Unknown said...

I like it! I have no problem with this what so ever.

John said...

compared to what we have now, it's definitely an improvement... i'm still not crazy about the silver (same thing with the bills). i'd rather both the bills and sabres approached their identity with the same conviction that the canadiens, packers, bears, red wings, cowboys, and leafs do.

Anonymous said...

Keep the Slug. We love The Donald's Hair!