Sunday, September 28, 2008

Flames Developing Third Jersey

According to an article in today's Calgary Sun, the Calgary Flames will sport a third jersey for the 2009-10 season. They're keeping the design under wraps until next fall.

Sun writer Steve MacFarlane spoke with Flames president Ken King about the new sweaters.

Excited, maybe even a little nervous, you'd think it would be tough for Ken King to keep the new design under wraps for an entire year.

After speaking with the Calgary Flames president about a third jersey the team is going to launch next fall, there's little doubt King will be able to keep the secret.

Four franchises have unveiled new alternates, with another 14 rumoured to be doing the same in the near future. King confessed the Flames are in the final stages of putting theirs together, but was tight-lipped about the new look.

"It's pretty much complete," said King. "We're working on one aspect of one shoulder patch that we're figuring out a little bit, but the rest is complete. It's 95% complete."

So the Flames will join the Minnesota Wild who are also rumored to be planning a third jersey for their 10th anniversary next season.

I hate to copy so much from a single article, but this is a good one filled with lots of new information. MacFarlane went into a little more of an explanation about what to expect from the new design. Sounds interesting.

Hazarding a guess after grilling a few people who have peeked at the new threads and trying to read between the lines of a 10-minute talk with King, the Flames sound like they're putting together something of a departure from their Flaming C design that has become a best-seller.

Not quite an out-of-nowhere fire-breathing horse head — the last crest to adorn an alternate jersey in Calgary — but definitely a new twist.

"It's a different look," said King. "We like to think we've got a reasonable feel for our audience. You look at what other people do. You do look at what the trends are. You look at what you're working from and then what you do is try and come up with something that isn't a compromise.

"You also have to have some courage."

They could make a return to a black base like the horse head sat on, or put the new logo on a classic look similar to one from their past.

"We took a lot of colours into consideration," said King, apologizing for being unable to reveal more. "We looked at black and we looked at red and we looked at variations of them, and I think we settled on something that will work."

Confident as he is the public will approve, King says the venture is always a little scary.

"I'm pretty comfortable, pretty confident people will appreciate it."

I like the idea of third jersey introducing third logos. The idea is that it's something different for the fans to look at on a given night. The Bruins didn't seem to understand this notion at all.

I'll start keeping a list of rumored third jerseys for 2009 once we get them all unveiled for this season. And for whatever it's worth, I'll level my guesses for next year's crop of thirds. Aside from the Wild and Flames, I'd bet on the Avalanche, Predators, Rangers and Capitals.

12 comments:

Woody said...

It's about time the Flames get back into the third jersey game. The last one was great, not as great as their red one. But the black was sweet! The fire breathing horse head was a great concept being that Calgary is a very Western place. It'll be good to see another concept. I just hope they don't go vintage. Vintage is great and all but I feel that the third jersey and logos should be a move forward not back. Granted it does work for some I just would like to see something different for Calgary.

Unknown said...

Sounds good, can't wait to see their new look!

Mr. Negative said...

Cool stuff, good find!
I actually hope we see something that nods towards the Calgary Cowboys of the WHA, they had a cool logo and Calgary is notorious for being a country and western place.

Kevin Y said...

This sounds pretty good. It'd be nice if they went to a more lighter red and yellow like the old mid-80s/90s jerseys from the Theoren Fleury/Al MacInnis days. The red and black is a nice combination, as I've said so many times, but I don't think it's right for Calgary. You look at a fire, and you see bright red and orange. You don't see black flames.

Anonymous said...

wow what a depressing article, it basically admits that they base their designs on what everyone else does... Do something unique! (unique and aesthetically pleasing) and NO BLACK!

Whiter Mage said...

I don't really want the Caps to have a 3rd, but if you listen to the Caps General Manager and Ted Leonsis, they won't have a 3rd jersey for some time, as GMGM has basically said on record that there won't be one for at least the next few seasons, and if he has his way, there won't be one while he's there.

Anonymous said...

i dont understand why they try to keep "tight lipped" about a f'ing uniform... it's not like its a top secret military file or something. why the hell does it matter?

Anonymous said...

Calgary going vintage would not work. The Red and Yellow looks awful without the black accents. Black basically completes the Calgary Flames.

carpandean said...

sabresownu: if they were military files, somebody at HSBC would have been executed for treason. In all seriousness, they do it so that they can have a big reveal. You create a buzz and an air of anticipation, with excitement building up before you show it to the world.

Whiter Mage said...

Another reason to hide the jersey, is a lot of people will preorder it before hand - even if it stinks. And even then, if they haven't, they think, AWESOME I WILL BUY THAT at the unveiling, and then they get it in the mail and they think "Wait, I just wasted my money."

Jason said...

They've done red, white and black. One colour left. I wonder if they'd do a yellow jersey?

Kevin Y said...

I think a yellow jersey would look very sharp for this team. The Flames have never really looked bad on the ice (obviously, fire beats ice), although I still question the decision to put the Flag of Alberta on the shoulder, especially because they aren't the only Alberta team in the league.. in fact, the other Alberta team in the league was founded (in the old WHA) before the Flames moved from Atlanta. But seriously, a lite-blue shoulder patch on a solid-red jersey? That just completely clashes.

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