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

[Darkstone42]

The Ducks' logo is terrible.

And I like most things.

 

[mattola]

How the ducks is top 10 is mind boggling. Lol the mighty ducks logo was better than this. Good grief I know we have our own tastes but putting is ahead of Philly is ludicrous. Philly is top 5 IMO

Red wings
Canadiens
Maple leafs
Blackhawks
Flyers
Rangers
Bruins
Blues
Sabres
Islanders
Flames
Oilers
Sharks
Penguins
Blue jackets
Canucks
Kings
Panthers
Capitals
Jets
Devils
Senators
Wild
Lightning
Coyotes
Hurricanes
Predators
Ducks
Avalanche
Stars

 

[IPostedWhat]

No. 8: Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins win this Battle of Pennsylvania, but it was close.

On Monday, the orange and black of Philadelphia came in at No. 10 on our list of logo rankings and today, Pittsburgh falls in at No. 8. The skating penguin, who lost his scarf somewhere on the pond, was a fairly popular logo in our discussion, but could have ended up a little higher if the triangle was the yellow it used to be.

HISTORY OF THE PENGUINS LOGO
“The Penguins? No, really, what will the team be called? You can’t call a hockey team ‘the Penguins.’ That’s ridiculous.” – Freelance Pittsburgh artist Bob Gessner in 1967 after the results of a “name the team” newspaper contest were revealed.

Gessner, who was paid $1,500 to design six logos for the Penguins, favored the name “Hornets” for the new NHL expansion team. This nickname had been used for the city’s American League team from 1936-1956 and again from 1961-67. Plus, he designed the Hornets logo when they returned in the ’60s.

“How can you make a penguin look mean? They are slow, small and awkward.”

The first Penguins logo is what I like to call “Beer League Penguin” because it’s the only one with a gut. He’s the most happy, harmless looking logo in the team’s history, with his smile, wide eyes and dangling scarf. But he didn’t appear on a jersey until the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field (the second penguin design was used at the 2008 outdoor game).

The Penguins used the beer-leaguer as their primary logo for just one season and though he appeared on pucks and other merchandise, the team’s jerseys only had “Pittsburgh” printed diagonally down the front.

Though the Penguins’ original primary color was blue, the triangle in the logo represents the city’s downtown “Golden Triangle.” And, eventually, yellow and black would replace the blue altogether.

n 1968 the Penguins started putting a logo on their jerseys for the first time, although Beer League Penguin shed the friendly scarf and bulked up over the off-season. You’ll notice that on the ’68 penguin, his round gut was pushed up to his chest to make him look stronger and his facial expressions became a lot more menacing. Roid Rage Penguin?

The circle around the Penguin was also made bolder. The lettering was made larger and turned white, while the background became a dark blue. This logo was used until the early 1970s, when it was altered slightly into a logo we recognize today.
penguins2

In 1971, the lettering on the logo was removed, leaving the skating penguin on his own for the first time. When you think of this logo today, you might picture Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Tom Barrasso and Jaromir Jagr winning Cups in those classic black and gold jerseys. But for the first eight years after removing the border lettering, this black and gold logo was the eye-grabbing centerpiece on a blue jersey.

In the past, the Bruins had protested Pittsburgh using black and gold as jersey colors, since it was a combination exclusively associated with the Boston squad. This forced the Penguins into a color clash on the jerseys for a while, but in 1980, when the MLB’s Pirates (’79) and NFL’s Steelers (’80) were champions of their leagues, the Penguins wanted to share the colors of the other professional sports teams in their city.

The precedent was there for Pittsburgh to use black and gold, since the NHL’s Pirates used the colors in the 1920s. According to the Penguins’ team website, the team first wore black and gold jerseys on Jan. 30, 1980. In about a decade, they’d become a championship team too.
penguins3

The skating penguin that has been with the team through most of its history took a leave through the 1990s and early ’00s. For this, the Penguins receive a major penalty for downgrading their logo and had to feel shame for nearly a decade.

It was a curious time to change the logo. The Penguins were a powerhouse, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with a superstar who had won three Art Ross’ and a Hart Trophy at the time. But in 1992-93, Corporate Penguin was introduced to the jersey. Some called it modernizing the logo, but most considered it a huge step back. Blame Howard Baldwin.

Making matters worse was a third jersey that was introduced during the 1995-96 season that would eventually become the full-time road jersey. It took the Corporate Penguin to a new level of terrible.
penguins4

Finally, in 1999-00, the skating penguin returned, albeit to a black third jersey. But since he was off the bench, it was only a matter of time before Corporate Penguin was flushed, hopefully for good.

In 2002, the Penguins officially reverted to the old logo, but made a change to set it apart. The bright yellow was replaced with a darker “Vegas Gold” which, in my opinion, keeps it from moving up a little higher in these rankings. Most of the time I’m not a fan of cartoonish logos (it’s part of the reason I dislike Colorado’s so much), but I’ve always enjoyed this one. Never innovate again, Penguins. And if you do ever tweak this logo, just go back to the gold.

Dissenting opinion: “The Penguins in the Top 10? As Keyshawn Johnson would say: “C’mon man!” Perhaps if they were still rockin’ the ’90s version it could get consideration for the upper half of the league’s logos, but the current incarnation is neither intimidating nor kitschy cute; it’s outdated (why is the Penguin still wearing ’80s gloves?!), boxy and, quite frankly, boring. Wilkes-Barre is better.” -Edward Fraser, managing editor.

 

[elocomotive]

WHAT?!?!?

I take the Avs and Jets logos (both in the bottom 10 on this list) over the Ducks and Pens logos any day. The Pens logo is fucking terrible. And I'm NOT being a hater here because the Caps logo is worse than fucking terrible in my opinion.

The Pens' penguin is (1) two-dimensional, (2) bludgens you over the head that "YES, this is a hockey team - we gave him skates, gloves, and a stick just in case you forgot you were watching a hockey game already, " (3) unintimidating, and (4) uninteresting. It's also black and white - only two other logos (Kings, Flyers) are predominantly or totally without color (and the Flyers use is sparing but effective.

Florida's Panther is way more dynamic, colorful, intimidating, etc. than the Pens. Don't get it. Ducks and Pens are both bottom 10 for me.

 

[IPostedWhat]

All I know is that the Sabres logo will make the top 7, so the list isn't all that bad.

 

[elocomotive]

All I know is that the Sabres logo will make the top 7, so the list isn't all that bad.

Yeah, who's left at this point...

Buffalo
Chicago
Detroit...

 

[forty_three]

All I know is that the Sabres logo will make the top 7, so the list isn't all that bad.

The current/classic Sabres logo deserves to be there.

Those two 90's early 00's abominations, though...

 

[IPostedWhat]

Yeah, who's left at this point...

Buffalo
Chicago
Detroit...

and...

Bruins
Blues
Coyotes
Stars

 

[IPostedWhat]

The current/classic Sabres logo deserves to be there.

Those two 90's early 00's abominations, though...

Yeah, those were Ruff times.

 

[dash]

And I'm NOT being a hater here

Oh, I think there's a little bit of hate here (hee hee)

/Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[elocomotive]

Oh, I think there's a little bit of hate here (hee hee)

/Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Nice callback, sir. Hahaha.

 

[forty_three]

and...

Bruins
Blues
Coyotes
Stars

 

[Darkstone42]

The Yotes and Stars logos are both terrible...

 

[DragonfromTO]

Yeah, those were Ruff times.

You May be right about that, things were rather Drury.

 

[forty_three]

You May be right about that, things were rather Drury.

That's what they get for making a deal with Satan.

 

[dash]

You May be right about that, things were rather Drury.

That's what they get for making a deal with Satan.

You guys are a couple of Rick De-Jeannerets

 

[dare2be]

Similar comments could be made on the Pens previous logo abomination. At the very least it was much Fata.

 

[forty_three]

You guys are a couple of Rick De-Jeannerets

Put the Shields up. There is no stopping these puns.

 

[DragonfromTO]

Put the Shields up. There is no stopping these puns.

They just keep Peca-ing away, things are getting rather Woolley

 

[mattola]

boy we really know how to dominate this puns