The All-New NHLToL!

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Icethetics returns to its roots on Monday!

I've been leaving cryptic clues all week, so what do they mean? Glad you asked. We're revisiting what made this site so great in the first place. If you want a history lesson about Icethetics' origins, check the About page.

If you just want the basics, Icethetics was born in 2007 as the NHL Tournament of Logos — a website in which readers like you would cast votes to determine the best logos in the NHL, and other leagues. Starting on March 8, the ToLs are back and better than ever!

Take note you're on a new page. This is NOT the Icethetics blog. This is the new Vote! page where you'll come for all your tournament/voting-relating needs. Currently it's the default page when you visit icethetics.info but that will change back to the blog after this weekend.

With these new tournaments, there will be shorter schedules and tons of polls to vote on at the same time. No more one-and-done polls that eliminate great logos too soon from competition. The best of the best will stand out. So here's how the all-new NHL Tournament of Logos will work:

The Basics

I won't deny that the Olympics gave me some inspiration on how to best present this competition. Instead of all 30 primary NHL logos being randomly thrown into a rigid bracket, a round-robin preliminary round will commence the tournament.

All 30 teams will be divided up into 6 groups of 5, based on conference. The Eastern and Western Conferences will each have 3 randomly generated groups of 5 logos (not the same as NHL divisions). From there "play" will begin in the preliminary round.

Preliminary Round

Each team will face every other team in its own division once, for a total of 4 matches per team, over the course of 5 weeks. A match will be a head-to-head poll featuring two teams. Users will vote for one at their own discretion. At the end of each match, both teams are awarded points equal to their percentage of the vote (rounded). A total of 100 points will be awarded in each match. In all cases, every poll will be open for 7 days.

For example, if Logo A receives 55% of the vote while Logo B receives 45%, Logo A would be awarded 55 points and Logo B awarded 45 points in the standings, and so on with each match. Teams are ranked within their conference by points, from highest to lowest, with the group leaders placed as No. 1, 2 and 3 (similar to NHL playoff seeding).

Wildcard Week

Following five weeks of divisional action, Wildcard Week will allow each team the opportunity to bring back points from the other conference. In other words, every Eastern Conference team will face a random Western Conference team for one final poll before the Quarterfinals. Points will be awarded the same as in previous polls but the key here is teams get to bring in points from outside their group.

Quarterfinals

After each team has completed 5 polls, the top 4 seeds from each conference will advance to the Quarterfinals. The teams with the most points in each division will be seeded No. 1, 2 and 3 based on points within their conference. The 4th seed will be the team remaining with the highest number of points.

The bracket will then be set up as follows: Eastern Conference Seed #1 (E1) will face Western Conference Seed #4 (W4), E3 vs W2, W1 vs E4 and W3 vs E2. Teams will not be re-seeded at the end of the Quarterfinals.

Semifinals

The 4 winning teams from each Quarterfinal will advance to the Semifinals. The winner of E1vW4 will face E3vW2 while the winner of W1vE4 will face W3vE2. The winners of these two matches will take part in the Final.

The Final

Obviously, the winners of the Semifinals will meet for one final poll to determine the true logo champion. The bracket has been set up in such a way that would allow the Final to be made up of two Western teams, two Eastern teams, or one from each conference.

Repeat Polls

It is possible that two logos that met in the Preliminary and Wildcard rounds could meet again in later rounds, however it is highly unlikely as early opponents were selected at random. In the event of a duplicate match, the poll will go on as normal. A repeat of the same result may be likely but is not definite.

Why Change the Format?

I changed the format from previous tournaments for a few reasons. First of all, it provides a ranking of sorts as each logo has the opportunity to garner more points than the others. Also it separates these new tournaments from ones we've done in the past, hopefully providing a more accurate result. (Yes, we're starting with the NHL but there will be more!) And finally, because you guys can't get enough logo voting.

In addition, this weekly format is easier on me, in terms of maintenance. Instead of being forced to make daily updates, I'm only needed once a week, leaving more time to keep up with other aspects of the site, such as the blog, concepts page and jersey galleries (which have been on temporary hold while I get the tournaments re-launched).

Questions?

If you still have more questions regarding the new format of the tournament, drop by on Saturday for a live chat. I'll answer all your questions and I'll also be revealing the breakdown of the six groups! I know you're dying to find out.