Original Canucks logo designer tells his story

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The Vancouver Canucks treated us to a great video today with the story of how the original 1970 logo came about.

Former graphic designer Joe Borovich is interviewed in the three-minute video about his timeless contribution to the franchise.

When I first designed the logo I was a graphic designer. I'm retired now. But at the time I was freelancing on my own. I was a hockey fan all my life and then in 1969 I heard rumors that the Canucks were coming into the NHL.

With that in mind, I decided to take some time and come up with a logo and see if I could submit it.

When you do a logo, they indicate that you should try and bring in the initial of the company and also what they do. I ended up with the initial "C" for Canucks — although a lot of people didn't see it initially — made up of the overall shape of the hockey rink with a stick going through making the "C." And of course the stick is the tool they use so I had three components there.

I worked about a week on this situation. I came up with the stick in the rink and then I applied it to the uniforms. I decided on blue and green and white. Then I took it to the Canucks office.

The Canucks resurrected Borovich's original logo and uniform design for a few nights during the team's 40th anniversary in 2010.

A modernized version of the logo has been in use on the Canucks' uniforms since 2007.

By the way, I have to credit the video producer for acknowledging the club's hilarious variety of visual identities right off the bat, saying: "Canuck fans have have quite a selection of team logos and uniforms to cheer for over the years."

That they have.

2013-14: Season of Change, Part 2

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2013-14: Season of Change, Part 2

In Part 2, we take a look back at the special uniforms worn in the six outdoor games that took place during the NHL's 2013-14 season.

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Heritage Classic Uniforms Unveiled!

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Photos from Ottawa Senators

Senators officially reveal new outdoor jersey

The Ottawa Senators unveiled their 2014 NHL Heritage Classic jersey at a special press event this morning in Ottawa. And it looks even better than it did in yesterday's leaked photo.

In essence, though, it's nothing more than a light version of the black Heritage jersey the Sens debuted two years ago — which is all it needs to be. Here's a look at the full uniform.

Photos from Ottawa Senators

The third Heritage Classic will take place at B.C. Place in Vancouver 99 years after the original Senators club met the Vancouver Millionaires for the 1915 Stanley Cup series. The Millionaires swept them. Will history repeat itself this winter?

We were treated to a few sneak peek photos of this jersey over the past week, but one aspect we hadn't seen was the shoulder patches. They are, of course, the same as what we find on the black jersey. The team's name in English on the right shoulder, in French on the left.

Photo from Ottawa Senators

Canucks will reprise Millionaires sweater

The other big news to come out of this morning's announcement was confirmation that their opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, will indeed bring back last year's Millionaires jerseys for the big game. Jason Spezza and Henrik Sedin were on hand to model the throwback-inspired sweaters.

Photos from Ottawa Senators (via Instagram)

Should be a great-looking, stripe-filled game! And I'm looking forward to being there.

Sens to Unveil Heritage Classic Jersey

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Ottawa's new sweater to launch on Nov. 28

While America celebrates Thanksgiving, Canada will celebrate the arrival of a new NHL sweater. The Ottawa Senators announced Sunday they will unveil their 2014 Heritage Classic jersey on Thurs., Nov. 28. The outdoor game will be hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at B.C. Place on March 2.

As we've come to expect, the next 11 days will be filled with photo and video teasers through the Sens' social media avenues. In case you want to follow them, here are their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. But you can always count on seeing them here as well.

Also included in the press release was this insight into the big game.

The Heritage Classic game is a tribute to the 1915 Stanley Cup match where the Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) faced the Ottawa Senators (NHA). This would be the first time that the champions from both professional leagues would face off for the Stanley Cup.

Does this mean the Canucks will reprise those Vancouver Millionaires sweaters from last season?

File photo from Vancouver Canucks (2012)

It sure sounds that way. Those jerseys were too nice not to get a second go-around. But if that is the case, it would be the first time any Winter Classic jersey had been used prior to its outdoor appearance. (Yes, they've mostly been throwbacks, but you know what I'm saying.)

If the Canucks sport maroon, the Sens would have to go with something lighter. Many readers have expressed a desire to see a "vintage white" version of the Senators' black third jersey — also known as the Heritage Jersey. At this point that's almost a shoo-in. It could make for a great-looking game!

I'm certainly looking forward to seeing it. (In person!)

Heritage Classic Logo Surfaces

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Photo from Noah Kallner (via Twitter)

Logo for 2014 event is remarkably similar to 2011 version

The logo for the 2014 NHL Heritage Classic surfaced on Twitter last night. Noah Kallner tweeted the photo above, which shows a Heritage Classic t-shirt emblazoned with the never-before-seen mark.

The logo is remarkably similar to the one belonging to the last Heritage Classic which took place in Calgary in 2011. If you need a refresher on what that logo looked like, here you go.

On first glance, they look exactly the same but for the skyline in the center. But the eagle-eyed will note a few more updated details — the ribbons, the frame, etc. I'm actually very happy about this. It'd be easy to say the league wasn't be creative by retooling an old design, but it was such a beautiful design to begin with. I'm glad it's getting a second life in Vancouver.

The 2014 NHL Heritage Classic takes place Sun., March 2 at B.C. Place in Vancouver, B.C. between the Vancouver Canucks and the Ottawa Senators. No official word on the jerseys yet, but it's rumored the Sens are working on a light version of their black Heritage Jersey introduced in 2011.

If that's the case, the Canucks could break out their Millionaires sweaters again.

It's possible this could be my last blog updated for a little while. I'll be on vacation until the beginning of August with very little web access. I'll try to keep up with Twitter so make sure you keep an eye there.