Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Dear Mr. Pegula,

If you are in fact intent on purchasing our beloved Buffalo Sabres, all we fans ask is that you never, ever allow the slug to return, and that our logo remains unchanged from here on out. Thank you sir.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Slug is still around...for good or not?

This is absolutely ridiculous. Right now as I understand it and hearing some off the record stuff, the 40th jersey is just a one year deal and what I was hoping not to happen most likely will...the slug as a possible third jersey in 2011-2012.

What is even more ridiculous is the Sabres director of Public Relations referring to the logo by its most affectionate nickname. Smooth move...you should have made your intentions for the identity of this team very clear back in September.

“We never said the ‘slug’ was going to go away,” said Michael Gilbert, Sabres director of public relations. “It’s on the scoreboard and elsewhere in the arena.”

Why such a vague quote? Can't he elaborate further? Why WOULDN'T it eventually go away?

I can only hope the 'slug' is only still around while advertising deals already in place that may have included use of the slug logo eventually expire and then...finally that stupid ass logo will too FOR GOOD.

Please tell Frank Cravotta to start cobbling a new slug free scoreboard and locker room board!

The Slug is going to stick around?

Saturday, October 9, 2010

It's the little things that matter ...

Trying to ignore the mess that happened in the new 40th jerseys tonight in Buffalo, I turned my attention to the Pirates. They've been de-slugged:

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

NY Times article...Quinn points at RBK...Reebok...Re-whatever for the Slug.

For me this kind of puts a bit of a final stroke on everything the last three years. At the moment, the new 40th Anniversary uniform is only going to be used this season (which could eventually change) but be sure and confident that the slug will never be used to represent the Buffalo Sabres again. From that, the fans, and maybe even the team who seemed glad the slug is gone, can move forward to bigger things.

Buffaslug Among Cartoonish Logos to Go Extinct

Friday, October 1, 2010

Wow

I don't know about you guys, but I've caught some Sabres pre-season games on TV and online, and all I can say is "WOW!" Those whites look amazing on the ice! I can't wait to see the throwbacks in action now!

But someone send Jonas Enroth the memo: get that slug off your mask.

Can't wait for the season to start! Let's go Buffalo!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Vanek is one of us

Question: You got new/old jerseys for this season. How do you like the return to the original logo?

Vanek: I think they are very cool and, honestly, I’m glad that the old logo has gone now. For me, our throwback jerseys are the best in the league. I loved the buffalo with the crossed sabres already as a kid. I also think that they made a great job with our new third jersey.

(From his personal webpage.)

Monday, September 20, 2010

Success Stories

Whether or not I was really the impetus for change, two of my recent attempts to eradicate the slug have been successful. The first was a request to WGR550's website manager to change out the slug on the puck for something more current. Here is the result:


The second was a request to Andrew at nhluniforms.com (great website, by the way) to at least change the "2008-" on the most recent slug set to "2008-10". Well, he did me one better:


Now, to see if we can get those slugs off of the Jumbotron ...

Updates: sabres.nhl.com now slugless except some ads, nhl.com now slugless, and Sabretooth now has a third jersey. We're making progress!

A little perspective on the slug's life.

In a discussion on SabreSpace, I started thinking about the timing of the events in the slugs life. We all know that Reebok played a big role in the design of the slug as part of their vision (which has never been fully embraced by the NHL) for re-branding the league. How much, we'll never know and it's not really an excuse; the Sabres could have and should have said no. However, here, I'm concerned with what happened after. Here's my guess at what happened:

- The Sabres decided that with the new jersey system, they would switch back to the blue and gold for the 2006-07 season, which most fans would agree was a good thing. (Note: that decision likely had to be made long before the 2005-06 playoffs, so it probably wasn't done to cash in on the team's popularity.)

- With "help" from Reebok, they designed and released the slug jerseys, which were met with immediate criticism. Also released, though in "surprisingly" delayed and limited quantities, was a throwback third. That jersey was very popular.

- (Speculation) After seeing the response to the three jerseys (not to mention being under fire after July 1, 2007), they probably realized that they needed to make a change. The league has minimum times for changes, so there would have been some time before the switch no matter what. They also knew that they had a 40th coming up in three seasons.

- Sometime during the 2007-08 season, they decided to release a throwback third in 2008-09 and began working on the design. These things aren't immediate in decision or design, so when you think about when it came out and how long the process takes, this decision was made shortly (one season) after the slug's release. This jersey would be worn for nearly half of the home games for the next two seasons.

- Two years later, the switch is completed with the release of the corresponding whites (and a non-slug third) as part of the 40th season celebration.

So, it seems reasonable that they realized their mistake very early on. They made the decision to start the process as early as the league allowed, but chose to delay completing the process a season (maybe two, depending on how quickly the league would have allowed for switching the second jersey) to correspond with an upcoming important and appropriate (since they are a return to the original logo) franchise event. If that really is the case, then despite the pain of watching the slug for a couple of seasons (nothing excuses its release in the first place), it's hard to criticize them for the time it took to switch.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Ding, dong, the Slug is dead ...



(Observation: brand labels on pants for all three uniforms. I believe that the previous third jerseys were all just Reebok shells over the top. Does mean that these are actually different pants or, at least, the normal shell is swapped for each rather than covered up by an outer shell? No navy blue pants poking out of the bottom on the third uniforms.)

T minus 6 hours and counting ...

The slug dies at 11:30 today.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A New Campaign

With the official passing of the slug at 11:30 this Saturday, SabresNotSlugs needs a new mission. I say that it should be stomping out the last remnants of the slug around internet and elsewhere. I have already emailed WGR's internet design person asking that she remove the slug in the puck, but we should all do likewise whenever we find one (no, I'm not talking about beating up fans wearing their slug jerseys or defacing anyone's property; this is purely a passive, non-violent campaign.)

Other known slugs: HSBC jumbotron (perhaps the most important one to change) and the wire frame on sabres.nhl.com.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Another sign ...

The prospect camp back in July featured, unfortunately, the slug. However, it appears that was simply because they got the leftovers. Looking a the rookies in training camp shows the practice jerseys are now slugless:




Video here:

Nice goal by Kassian on a great play by Ennis at 0:24. I wouldn't mind seeing more of that combo in the future.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

One of the most memorable quotes from the Buffalo News in awhile...

9/9/2010 article



"The primary jersey and logo from the past four seasons -- derided as the "slug" and largely lambasted since its introduction in September 2006 -- has been phased out."

Saturday, September 11, 2010

The Slug Still Haunts... For Now

According to a news post at WIVB TV's website, HSBC Arena crews are busy painting the ice in preparation for the upcoming season. But sadly, the slug still hangs from the score board.



On the plus side, they've added the 40th anniversary logo to center ice, and is it me or are they painting it in the original royal blue? And dig those stars on the red line!

But come on Quinn. All this effort to rebrand the team, and you still have that thing on the score board? Typical.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

My final version

I don't know why, but I had to put up one final drawing, even though it's based on actual, known designs. I guess it's because this is the point of this whole blog. So, here it is, full of Sabres and with no slugs to be found:

A sharper representation of the new white jersey

Dave (DRUTKA), talented designer sent me this to illustrate is a less foggy fashion how the new whites look.

I know, the slug is dead, stop complaining...but I really don't like that bottom stripe pattern and don't know why blue wasn't used to match the old white jerseys. It throws the balance of the jersey off from top to bottom...the yellow does not blend with the blue shoulder yoke. Was keeping the stripe patterns the same as the Navy blue jerseys done as a cooking cutting production cost saver? Is the Sabres creative team over their head or something?



Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Only a matter of time before the camera phone strikes!

Chris at Icethetics got these up today from someone who leaked the new white road jersey and the new 40th Anniversary sweater. While overall, they look pretty good, the white is not as bold looking as it could be. They might have been better off making the underarms blue instead of silver and making the bottom middle stripe blue instead of gold...like the old jersey below with Pat Lafontaine. I gather that uniform cobblers judged that thin navy blue paired with the silver looks better than than yellow and silver for which I think most will disagree. Keeping the striping patterns the same on both home and away jersey makes production costs cheaper too, surely factoring into the design. Carpandean's mock up of the whites with the Navy bottom center stripe look far better than this leaked photo below of the new whites.


BUT...I'm happy with both jerseys and like the return of royal blue and am very glad there is no baseball script wordmark. I'm hoping the text is actually done in off white but the cloudy picture doesn't reveal that. The only question since these are blank jerseys is where on the new jersey, if at all, will be the player numbers...

Larry must be pretty ticked that these got out a week and change early. That's like 0 for 4 in the team keeping new uniforms under wraps statistic.








Overall, I'm actually suprised that the new 40th anniversary jersey wins here in my opinion. I did not expect the Sabres to go along with something that resembles the old Bisons wordmark at all, either not willing to pay the Pastor family for license to use the mark or out of totally oblivion to what the fans wanted. I was expecting a terrific new white jersey and was disappointed with some of the styling, mainly those stripes, leaving it excessively bland and yellow.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Possible leak of new away in NHL11


(Hat tip to Tom Doran )

Probably not 100% correct, as EA's jerseys are rarely perfect, but probably pretty close. It has the blue piping, though looking thick like that silver vertical stripes on the Slug jerseys, that I had on my concept.

So, I'm going with:

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Phil asked, so ...

Gentlemen, We Have Details

The venerable Icethetics got a look at the new white away and oft-speculated-upon third jerseys and while he wasn't allowed to post pictures, he did spill the beans in his latest update to JerseyWatch 2010.


The Away Jersey
Since the last edition of JerseyWatch 2010, Icethetics has learned that the Sabres will wear a new road sweater — a white version of the new home jersey. It features a navy blue shoulder yoke piped in gold and a lace-up collar. To my knowledge, there is no shoulder patch on either sweater.

The Third Jersey
We also have new details on the Sabres' new third jersey. It's royal blue and celebrates the history of Buffalo hockey with a vintage white script across the chest inspired by the old Buffalo Bisons club. Beneath the script and set to the right side is the Sabres' 40th anniversary mark — the retro logo with 19 and 70 inside the blue circle.

The striping is somewhat unusual. Both the sleeves and bottom of the sweater feature two sets of yellow double-stripes — for a total of four stripes each around the sleeves an waist, perhaps symbolic of each decade the team has existed. The collar is yellow with vintage white laces.

Not sure at the moment whether the front of the jersey will feature the sweater number. However, the numbers will be vintage white with blue cross-stitching inside, as seen in graphics displayed on the Sabres' website. The nameplate on the back will be gold with royal blue lettering.


I reserve judgement on how the cross-stitched letters will look until I see them in person, but everything else sounds awesome. Comrades, think you guys can pound out come good looking concepts to post?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Couple more concepts

Glen submitted this with inspiration from the red thirds during the 'Goathead' years.




And WD brought this one to real life using the old Buffalo Bisons script on a current third jersey replica. Looks good.


This is getting to put the Sabres in a difficult spot because many of us are setting the Sabres up for the possible ride in their parade float around Failtown. Reason being there have been so many great concepts and ideas already out there for public viewing and now that I know that the 'Buffalo Bisons' script isn't going to be used, I personally expect to be disappointed and maybe others will too when we see the baseball-type script show up on September 18th.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Another 40th concept...

I'm not sure where this concept came from (hit me up so I can give proper credit) but it certainly is a front runner in the concept contest. I would easily hand over the dough for this one. Great use of the old Buffalo Bisons script. Now, with most of the mysteries kind of figured out with some good educated guessing, all that is left is how is the 'Buffalo' script will look on the jersey. Anything but the Buffalo Bisons style will be dissappointing and not really a fitting tribute to vintage hockey in Buffalo. I'm hoping for the best come September 18th.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Just for fun

As I mentioned in my comment on the previous post, the Puck Drop announcement had this to say about the new jersey: "This classically-designed uniform is a tribute to not only the history of Buffalo hockey, but early NHL jersey designs." I wondered a lot about that first part. I made a "sweater collar" (see insert) that would look similar to Jochen Hecht's undershirt collar from the Winter Classic (Google it; he's just coming on the ice.) I also looked at the logo that is all over sabres.com and thought about all of those crazy stripes that we saw on one of Montreal's centennial jerseys, as well as historical Blackhawks jersey and several others. So, I came up with this:

Monday, August 23, 2010

New 40th jersey...Checkered Numbers?

Sabres Hockey Central has uncovered some more possible details about the new 40th Anniversary alternate. Their source informs and claims that indeed a new white away jersey is set to arrive for the upcoming season and that the new alternate is going to have some unique surprises that may hit or miss with the fans.

"The new 3rd jersey will look very different from anything the Sabres have done before. It will be royal blue with a “Buffalo” script in white across the front, with the player’s number underneath. A vintage logo will be underneath the script with 20 on one side of the sabres and 10 on the other."

Ryan from Sabretake.com came up with a mock-up after hearing the details.




I think the 20 and 10 will however be inside the shield like the 'puck drop' banner that is available now.

I'm a little puzzled with how the Sabres decribed this new jersey in the puck drop announcement. If this is to be a new permanent alternate third jersey from here forward, why have 2010 slapped on the front? If the new jersey is just for this year, then does that mean a slug is coming back as a potential home alternate for 2011-2012? That would be illogical, but possible until the team comes up with another alternate uniform...maybe a gold one? Either way the slug is still on the way out, or at least a minimized role and that pleases me greatly. Now, I just stand confused about the third jersey future probably as much as the Buffalo Sabres are likely to be.

They are about as good as laying out a new uniform and promoting as Nicholas Cage is at balancing his checkbook.

*****UPDATE******

I have a source I trust who said there is no checkered designs involved with the new jersey. They did confirm that the nameplate on the back is correct with the colors used in the mock-up but other than that the quote when shown the picture was "Not even close".

Thursday, July 15, 2010

New Anniversary Banner

Found on the Mini-Pack renewal page at sabres.nhl.com:



(Hat tip to Tom Backyard at SabreSpace for pointing this out.)

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Friday, June 25, 2010

Much better!!

It's great to see our new prospects slug-free:

New script third logo on a hat?

Found this in my inbox the other day... It's a newly listed New Era brand Buffalo Sabres cap that could or could not be the script logo that is upcoming on the new Sabres 40th Anniversary sweaters. More of these NHL script hats are being sold online at Lids. What do you guys think?

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Another Third Jersey Fan Design

Here's a fan-created design for a third jersey I saw yesterday. I'm on the fence about it - some moments I like it and others I don't. What do you guys think?



What bugs me is how dissident the crossed sabers look as opposed to the rest of the jersey. Otherwise, it doesn't really offend my sensibilities. I just...don't like it sometimes, can't figure out why.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The slug slowly hits the clearance rack.

Another sign that the slug's days are definitely numbered as the online merchants everywhere are slashing prices on their slug inventory with Fathead being one of them. They have dropped $50 bucks off the price off their nightmare inducing four foot wide wall slug. Certainly, we remember the slug flying off the shelves during the Sabres' President's cup campaign but that is because those slimy bastards were stitched a winning team's hockey jersey. Now that the slug has to see itself to the door, I anticipate the gear to move closer inline with the gastropod mollusk's average speed of 0.03 miles per hour.

Monday, May 24, 2010

2010 Draft Hat = No Slug, Of Course

We know the Slug is dead to rights. But isn't it nice to see little bits and pieces of evidence that further it along?

According to a number of web forums, this is the Sabres' next draft hat:

Besides being kinda ugly, lookit that bright, beautiful crest front and center. No Slug to be found. Amen.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Sabres Not Slugs on Twitter...

Hey you, yeah you look over there to your right...Sure to be the most trailblazin' craptastic twitter page since Donte Whitner's!!!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

What A Little Ingenuity Looks Like

Seeing as how the chances we're going to get a quality gold third jersey are slim to none, a friend of mine took matters into his own hands to produce his own! Using the Wolverines gold jersey as a base, he made a number of customizations. First, he added the classic crest and shoulder B patches. Then, he added the NHL badge and laces to the collar. Finally, he custom-made a lettering set to turn it into a Perreault jersey. The finishing touch was a Reebok "Vector" badge on the back of the collar to give it a legit look.

Here's some pictures of it:




So, whatdya guys think?

Friday, May 7, 2010

OK, I've had enough time to mourn our early exit.

On to better things ...

Monday, April 26, 2010

Well...

At least the uniforms will be better next year.

The players in them, that's another matter...

Thursday, April 22, 2010

I feel dirty ...

... I'm actually hoping to see the Slug one more time this week (and several more times after that.) As much as any of wants to see that thing gone, I won't take much solace in the fact that the Slug will officially be done, if they lose on Friday.

Edit: OK, I got my wish. Now, I'm hoping to see it at least two more times after that.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

*cough* THIRDS *cough*


and a nice 2-1 win, too.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

A victory for the cause?

We all know that the Slug won't be back next year. However, with no regular season home games left, has the Slug seen its final game at HSBC?

A poster at SabreSpace "is hearing" that Florida was the final game with the Blue Slugs. In other words, they will wear the thirds during the playoffs at home.

If it's true, then this is a major milestone for SNS!

Friday, March 26, 2010

New Blue and Gold Project is still around.

And here is the script uniform concept that some of you were talking about that John designed. Excellent.

Fan idea or not, it would be nice ...


Didn't want people to get the wrong idea. The design would be OK with me.

A note on Charlies link

I'm going to say that it is just one fan's idea of what the design will look like. Compare the designs that Frank Cravotta works with to a commercial jersey customizer:





Which does the below design look more like?

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Another 40th Anniversary third jersey concept?

Sabres colors, paired with the vintage script of the AHL Bisons. It seems to align with the description from Icethetics' recent post from Chris' source. I think this is either a concept idea submission or a real deal 'mockup', which trys to make believable given the marketing language that is spliced along with the picture focusing on creating a look that will pair well with existing team merchandise offerings.

I know it's only a one year 40th anniversary special uniform but this or a likeness of it should please a lot of young and old hardcore Sabres fans alike. I certainly am not the biggest script logo fan, but even though they did go along with Minnesota's idea, they made it unique, not baseball looking, classy, and relevant to Buffalo hockey history. If this is close to the real thing, it will be well received.

If indeed that is a screen shot of a Sabres creative designer's monitor, then that is a well executed drive-by with the camera phone. FTW.


Image from a sportslogos.net forum posting and owned by LetsGoBuffalo83.

New Thirds?

Our friend Chris at Icethetics has a new update about next year's NHL jerseys, and there's some information about Buffalo's new unis, including the new third jersey. Chris has good sources so it sounds like the Sabres are getting a retro-themed third for the 40th Anniversary Season, complete with the original blue and gold colors. Based on the description, Chris mocked this up:



Not too bad, but the baseball-esque script could use some work. Consider that it's just Chris' mock-up. I'd have to see the real deal to make a real judgement. Minnesota's new thirds also feature a traditional script logo, which when first described sounded boring, but once they were unveiled, I thought they looked fantastic. If the Sabres can capture that and make it unique, I think it will be a great looking jersey.

What say you?

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Thirds still winning!

For anyone not keeping count, the Sabres are 8-1-2 in their third jerseys this season. It's previously been noted here that they were equally effective last season.

Here are the numbers as compiled on SabreSpace:

2008-09
White Slugs: 18-17-6
Blue Slugs: 11-11-8
Blue Thirds: 12-4-0

2009-10
White Slugs: 13-12-3
Blue Slugs: 12-5-4
Blue Thirds: 8-1-2

Note: they've worn the thirds on the road twice (in Toronto last season and in Philly this season) and their white slugs at home at least once (against the Flyers this season.) I think that I have them all correct, but may be off by one somewhere.

As an aside, the difference this season compared to last is that they have been winning more in the blue slugs. The white slugs continue to be just above .500 and the thirds continue to be unbelievably good. The blue slugs have gone from .500 to pretty good (12 wins, 9 losses.)

Friday, January 22, 2010

White Thirds Concept

Just tinkering with the idea of a white third jersey. Took some influence from the Montreal Canadiens. First with the B-logo.


And then with some crossed sabres, minus the gaping black hole the old red ones had.


Keep those concepts coming!

A little inspiration for you jersey designers out there ...

Since there hasn't been a flood of concepts in response to Drew's message below, I thought that I'd throw out the craziest design that I ever came up with:

Not something that I'd think they'd actually use, but maybe it will get people thinking and submitting. ;-)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

More pressure on the Sabres to bring Buffalo a championship...

Why? Because the Buffalo Bills are more f'd up than Nicholas Cage's checkbook.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The wait is killing me!!

Larry Quinn once again confirmed that they "will have a new look next season" in his State of the Sabres visit to WGR. I love that it is coming, but I hate waiting!


Oh, and because I forgot, a couple of shots from the Sabres 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs: