The Hockey News Is Ranking The NHL Logos From 30 to 1

[UTVolCountry]

i really like the kings, caps, avs, and canes logos

Same

 

[IPostedWhat]

No. 11: Minnesota Wild

At No. 11 in the THN logo rankings comes one of the most intriguing, if not the most intriguing, design of all. The Minnesota Wild crest sparks strong opinions positive and negative. Is it a beautiful, multilayered piece of art? Or is it a jumbled, new-age mess to accompany a cheesy, new-age name?

We had staffers on either side of the debate, though the room skewed slightly more toward the positive. We view the logo as chaotic – but it’s organized chaos. Every bit of the design has a purpose. The outer shape forms the silhouette of an animal, and the sunset combines with the North Star, forest and stream to form a nature scene. Everything about it says ‘Wild.’ It feels like you can smell this logo. The odor would be pine needles and campfire, I think.

HISTORY OF THE WILD LOGO
Aside from the tribute embedded in the current Wild logo, you won’t find anything about the Minnesota North Stars here, folks. They belong to Dallas Stars canon.

If don’t like the Wild logo, its history suggests you’re in the minority. Why else would a franchise make no changes, at least to its primary edition of the logo, in its entire 14-year history?

The franchise’s ownership group got the green light from the NHL in 1997 and held a contest to name the team. The finalists were: Freeze (euw), Northern Lights, White Bears (Polar bears? Did they take a bus to Minnesota?), Voyageurs, Blue Ox (could be kinda funny-lookin’, in a general kinda way) and Wild. The Wild won, because it was the 1990s. Anything Xtreme and predatory was pure gold. If you’d pitched a team called, say, the Kansas City Bite with a cobra as the logo in 1997, you’d be wealthy today.

Breaking down what’s in the image itself, it’s undeniable it captures the concept of ‘Wild.’ The sunset adds to its intensity, too. You want to make sure your kids are home by dusk, lest they wander the forest with that creature lurking.

Speaking of the creature: it’s what holds this logo out of the top 10. On their own website, the Wild don’t commit to a species. Why? What’s wrong with a bear or a wolf? By giving us a generic beast, Minnesota invites criticism. The haters call it a hairy pig, a mouse, a Snuffleupagus. OK, the last one was me.

This design gets points for being one of the most complexly artistic logos in the NHL and all of sports, for that matter. In its current state, however, one of our staffers didn’t even know the outline represented a logo until we pointed it out to him. A tweak to give it more clarity would spike the ranking.

Dissenting opinion: “Not only should the Wild be higher, they should be No. 1. This is an absolutely great logo that encompasses nicely the spirit of team name while incorporating several funky dual elements into the design. It’s one of those great logos that’s cool from afar and up-close. The fact it didn’t get more support from the group is mind-boggling to me. – Edward Fraser

 

[Darkstone42]

I really love the Wild's logo. A lot going on, but it all works together for me.

 

[elocomotive]

The Wild's logo is weird because I love it and hate it all at the same time.

On the one hand, all the double usage of space (mouth and river, eye and star) and symbolism is great and totally represents the Northwoods. On the other hand, it's kind of a jumbled up mess. I think the contrasting colors aren't really stark enough.

 

[Comeds]

I really love the Wild's logo. A lot going on, but it all works together for me.

I agree. I hate their uniforms, and really the team name too, but love the logo.

 

[dash]

I really love the Wild's logo. A lot going on, but it all works together for me.

Yeah, I like it too (and does this mean the Pens logo cracks the top 10?)

 

[IPostedWhat]

 

[dare2be]

The mouth of the river making the mouth of the beast is just poetry to me. While it's busy, every element has a purpose, and many of them dual purpose as well. Top 10 for me.

 

[elocomotive]

The mouth of the river making the mouth of the beast is just poetry to me. While it's busy, every element has a purpose, and many of them dual purpose as well. Top 10 for me.

Not the mouth of the river - thems be the headwaters of the great Mississippi at Lake Itasca, matie.

 

[dare2be]

Hey, let me have my junior pun-making moment here...

 

[elocomotive]

Hey, let me have my junior pun-making moment here...

Sorry, didn't mean to disrupt your flow.

 

[Swamp Dragon]

its a fairly decent logo but its no way better than the habs or leafs. why habs and leafs are not 1 and 2 is beyond me

Cause The Hawks and Wings have those wrapped up

 

[Swamp Dragon]

Yeah, I like it too (and does this mean the Pens logo cracks the top 10?)

That is just wrong

 

[pixburgher66]

And the Pens are top 10. I like the logo, but not top 10 like.

 

[Swamp Dragon]

And the Pens are top 10. I like the logo, but not top 10 like.

Middle of the pack now the powder blue I'd rank a bit higher

 

[pixburgher66]

Middle of the pack now the powder blue I'd rank a bit higher

I like the original logo, like the circle/skating penguin/scarf, a lot more than the current one.

 

[IPostedWhat]

No. 10: Philadelphia Flyers

The old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies to the black and orange logo used by the Philadelphia Flyers since they joined the NHL in 1967 as part of the first group of expansion teams.

When seven THN staffers gathered to rank the 30 NHL logos, the Flyers were almost universally considered one of the better looks in the league. But it didn’t get enough love to launch it into the top five, so here it will settle at No. 10 in our rankings.

HISTORY OF THE FLYERS LOGO
The Flyers have been around for 47 years, but there isn’t a history of change behind the logo. When the team was accepted entry into the NHL, ownership opened up a contest to come up with a name for the team. Names related to past Philadelphia teams – Quakers, Ramblers – were popular, but Snider wanted a brand new “big league” identity. The Quakers were attached to the NHL’s record for fewest wins in a season (1930-31) and the Ramblers was the name of a minor league team.

And though nine-year-old Alec Stockard won the contest for submitting the name “Fliers,” that nickname didn’t get the most votes.

From the Flyers’ website and Jay Greenberg’s book Full Spectrum:

But (Bill) Putnam and Snider don’t remember anything grabbing them until one night on the New jersey Turnpike when Snider, his wife, his sister Phyllis and her husband Earl Foreman, and the Putnam’s stopped at a Howard Johnson’s, ordered from the list of 28 flavors, and kicked around some similar number of names.

On their way home after seeing a Broadway show, they were looking for a stopper name for their hockey team. “I was thinking of people skating and sliding around the ice,” Phyllis recalls, “and the ‘Flyers’ just popped into my head. Everybody thought it was great.”

According to that story, other names that were submitted included Greenbacks, Liberty Bell, Philly-Billies, Blizzards, Bashers, Sabres and Bruisers.

The logo was designed by Sam Ciccone, a designer with an ad firm located in Philadelphia, but the colors have their own roots. Putnam, who owned a share of the team and helped land Philadelphia its NHL franchise, was a University of Texas graduate and took the colors from his alma mater.

The Flyers logo is iconic, simple, representative and brought orange to the NHL. This logo has stood the test of time and, when the team introduced a silver alternate logo in 2002, it was shunned and eventually put into the wastebasket where it belongs. Never again should the Flyers mess with the classic orange and black winged-P that connotes hard-nosed hockey and harkens back to the Broad Street Bullies days.

Dissenting opinion: “There weren’t many negative opinions about this logo, because there’s nothing wrong with it. If I had to nitpick, I’d say this one should have been in the top five. Orange has to count for something! - Rory Boylen

 

[forty_three]

No. 11: Minnesota Wild

I don't like the Wild's color combos. I think the logo is pretty sharp, but the red sky above the wilderness reminds me of "Night of the Comet". I like the jerseys with the script "Minnesota" though. The rest I could live without.

No. 10: Philadelphia Flyers

Always respect that the Flyers didn't get into any of the trends with jerseys and didn't mess with this or make their uniforms look like the Buffalo Slug Head, Angular St Louis Blues or the Gorton's fisherman era Isles. Plain, simple and awesome. I would have put this one in the top three.

Bonus points for not including a Liberty Bell.

 

[elocomotive]

The Pens' logo is higher than the Flyers' logo?

Where is your outrage, Philly fans?

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I thought Philly might be top 5, the fact it's 10 and below the Pens is a crime. This is starting to seem like one of those let's make an intentionally outlandish, bullshit list to get people talking type lists.