Friday, December 21, 2007

Coming Soon: The NHL's Worst Logo!

All right, yes, it may say in the header of this blog that we're on a quest to find the "best" logo in the NHL, but by popular demand, we're going to digress from that a little in the new year.

Following the Secondary Logo Tournament, we'll ring in 2008 by deciding on the worst logo in NHL history. And you will determine which logos will be part of the new bracket!

Here's how it's going to work. We'll start with a pool of 16 logos and narrow that down to the very worst ever seen in the league. Those 16 logos will be determined by nominations made by you, the readers of NHLToL. Feel free to make nominations by leaving comments. (But only comment on THIS POST. Don't email me directly and don't make your nominations on other posts. This is where I'll be looking.) I'll start tallying things up over the next few weeks and then reveal the final bracket in January.

Now as with any good competition, we have to have some ground rules. The only eligible logos include those in use from 1967-68 onward (the year the league expanded from the Original Six). While some of you may not like this limitation, I think it's fair to say that many of the NHL logos that made appearances in the 1920s and '30s aren't really up to par in terms of design as those created in the last 50 years.

Feel free to argue that point with me, though. I'm willing to do whatever you guys want, within reason, but why needlessly poke fun at the Hamilton Tigers, Philadelphia Quakers and St. Louis Eagles (and others) just because they weren't into hiring graphic designers in those days? I'm all about a fair fight.

So having said that, everything else that's ever been worn on a jersey is fair game. Primary logos, secondary (shoulder) logos, third jersey logos — whatever! You guys make your nominations here and in a few weeks we'll have our pool. Also, if you opt to nominate a more obscure logo, be sure to include an image link so that we can see it. If it's really obscure, I can't guarantee I'll be able to include it, but don't let that stop you.

Now start the nominations!

84 comments:

Unknown said...

I nominate the Buffalo Sabres' primary logo that is currently in use, commonly known as the "buffaslug" or "slugalo".

Anonymous said...

The California Seals.

Check out their wikipedia page for it. Gruesome.

Michaela said...

the blue jackets bee logo..

you know, this one.

http://bluejacketshockey.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/logo1.gif

ew.

Michaela said...

for some reason the link didn't post all the way.. I don't know why

Unknown said...

I nominate the New York Fishsticks logo and the Vancouver Spaghetti Plates logo!

rawrwar said...

flames horse logo

Pawscal said...

Phoenix cubik coyotes logo..
you know the first one that look like it was drawn by Picasso.

seejay14 said...

Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Colorado Rockies
Kansas City Scouts
Winnipeg Jets 79-90
And LA Kings 67-82

Unknown said...

Dallas Stars Mooterus!! What were they thinking!

Charlie @ Sabres Not Slugs.com said...

Yes! From what Larry Quinn and Co. hope fans would believe as a "Stylized Charging Bison" I second the nomination of the:

Slug
Rabid Squirrel
Charging Poop smear
Possessed Chipmunk
Donald Trump hair piece
Racoon hat

and

Angry horned yellow penis.

jesse111 said...

colorado rockies
quebec nordiques
california golden seals
Boston Bruins(bear head 3rd jersey)
vancouver canucks (V logo)
kansas city scouts

Unknown said...

Nashville Predators alternate

Jacob said...

Wow, so many possibilities.

Boston's bear head
Calgary's horse head
Dallas' Mooterus
LA's grumpy purple king
Nashville's 3/4 face tiger
Philly's skinny, shiny P
Anaheim's ice-bursting duck goalie
(Huh, all from 3rd jerseys.)

Also
California/Oakland's seal
Colorado Rockies' Mountain
Quebec's ...N? Is it supposed to be an N?
And if the Vancouver V-neck counts as a logo, then definitely that one too

Should be a good tournament, but a worst jersey contest would be even better. There have been some really miserable jerseys in the NHL.

Unknown said...

Slug of course

Scouts

Seals (OMG)

Blue jackets bee

Boston bear head

Colorado rockies (mountain=ugh)

PUCKY the whale (terrible)

Ugly king head of kings third

Ugly Mighty Ducks third

Vancouver stick (c'mon it's terrible...)

Colorado Rockies shoulder patch (PAC-MAN)

Atlanta thrashers soup cup

Pittsburgh first skating pen


I vote Pucky the whale as a terrible shoulder patch

jesse111 said...

i have one more logo i forgot:
Anaheim Ducks jersey 06-08

Sir Barbeton said...

The Blues logo with the trumpet is pretty bad.
http://sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=6750

This Bruins logo is absolutely terrifying:
http://sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=222

Jerm Deeks said...

Can I ask that the current Blackhawks logo make it on there? I just really don't like it.

And definitely Mooterus.

What about logos that didn't actually make it to the ice? As a Sens fan I'm ashamed to admit we had a logo before the Roman... I don't want to talk about it any more than that...

anonymous said...

Anaheim Mighty Ducks primary
California Golden Seals 70-74
Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins' Bear Head 96-07
Colorado's Bigfoot logo
Edmonton Oilers' current logo
Oilers' oil worker logo
Predators' front facing tiger
Islanders' logo 95-97
Penguins' first logo
Blues' logo 87-98
Lightning's logo 92-07


Also, why does everyone hate the Colorado Rockies logo?

Daryl said...

I'd have to go with the original Mighty Ducks logo. (Then again, their current logo isn't much better)

sjsharks112 said...

chicago blackhawks logo
thats right...I hate it

eddie jr. said...

i nominate the st. louis trumpet logos

Jacob said...

Man, I forgot about Pucky the Whale. That one's tough to beat. And they named it Pucky! Amazing.

The St Louis trumpet was pretty bad too. The Blues never should have worn red.

Anonymous said...

"Also, why does everyone hate the Colorado Rockies logo?"

It was a VERY simple Copy & Paste of the State Of Colorado flag...just put that white outline of the mountain over the flag and BOOM! There's your logo!

I nominate:

-Atlanta Thrashers Primary (What the hell is the thrasher in!?)

-Pucky The Whale (Uhh...where'd that "ERS" come from!?)

-Mooterus (Musta been a really big PR disaster for the Stars)

-Burger King (the Angry Purple King!)

That is all from me...

- Jordon

greyraven8 said...

sabres 'buffaslug'
sabres 'mad cow or goat'
dallas 'mooterus'
blue jackets bug
oakland seals
mighty ducks 3rd jersey logo
nashville 3rd jersey logo
carolina's 'toilet bowl swirl'
thrasher's 't'
calgary's 'horse with severe sinus problems'
capital's original "logo" - boring.
nyi's 'captain highliner'

there's nothing wrong with the rockies logo or the original coyotes logo; they are pretty good original logos. also, long live the vancouver 'v'

Jason said...

The Mighty Ducks' awful cartoon third jersey logo has be be in this. And "win."

wozniak said...

Cleveland Barons

California Seals

Cale Putnam said...

-Unused Nordiques
-Calgary Robosaurus Horse
-Bruins Bear Head 1
-Creepy Predators skull
-Flyers "Web 2.0" edition

Unknown said...

hey hey hey

lets leave pucky the whale out of this one...

seejay14 said...

Quebec Nordiques
Philidelphia Flyers Alternate
Phoenix Coyotes Picasso
California Seals
LA Kings Early Alternates
Boston Bruins Alternate 95-07
Florida Panthers Alternate, with the circle around the panther

And The Winner!!!!!
Anaheim Mighty Ducks Alternate 95-96, Coming from the bottom corner.

DaneykoIsGod said...

Wow, and I always kinda liked the Rockies logo. It symbolized Colorado (the state's flag) AND the rockies (a mountain). You can't get much better representation out of a logo than that.

As for worst (assuming that we're just talking primary logos here)?
- K.C. Scouts (a statue? really?)
- Quebec Nordiques (is it an elephant holding a stick? an excited igloo? a melting N?)
- Colorado Avalanche (it always looked like an A with a moustache to me)
- Carolina Hurricanes (a puck getting flushed down the toilet)
- Atlanta Tharashers (a bird getting flushed down the toilet)
- current Buffalo Sabres (talk about trying to fix something that ain't broke ... Buffalo has downgraded its logo twice)
- current Ottawa Senators (it's a freakin cartoon dude wearing a stupid hat)
- original Anaheim Mighty Ducks (although it was creative and original, it was too cartoonish)
- mid-90s Islanders (is that the Gorton's Fisherman? Or Stan Fischler?)
-

Anonymous said...

1.Islanders fisherman logo
2.Anaheim mighty-ducks logo 95-96 3rd jersey
3.Nashville predators puke yellow 3rd jersey logo
4.Flames horse logo
5.Dallas Stars Mooterus logo
6.Colorado Rockies logo
7.Boston bear 3rd jersey logo
8.Current dallas logo (very bland and boring)
9.columbus blue jackets bug logo
10.Old pengunins logo
11.Canucks V logo
12.K.C scouts logo
13.Florida panthers 3rd jersey (panther holding a broken hockey-stick)
14.old Phoenix robot-coyote logo
15.Old lightning logo
16.Quebec Nordiques logo

Drew Celestino said...

Sabres current primary. Hands down.

Drew said...

Anything with a buffalo on it.

Anonymous said...

I'm also nominating the current Sabres logo.

Edward said...

I nominate the Red Wings current logo

PRC. said...

Just make sure that the Phoenix Picassos, the Anaheim Darkwings, and the Tampa Bay Microsoft Word Cliparts are there.

Richard said...

1)the vancouver V jersey, not sure if that's a logo, other wise the crazy skate one they had.

2)The Quebec Wolf logo that was never used.

3)Isles fish stick logo

4)new sabers logo

5)boston bear head logo

6)columbus bee logo

7)nashville skull logo

8)mighty ducks third logo with pumped up duck

9)old pens jersey

anonymous said...

the senators front facing logo from 97-07

sam said...

I was never a big fan of the Blue Jackets bee logo. And of course ...the buffaslug!

sjsharks112 said...

oh yes i also nominat every canucks logo they have used they all just suck

Unknown said...

I agree with previous posts that nominate the abomination known as the Buffaslug.

Michaela said...

Rangers current.
Detroit current.

As you can see, I am not one who is shut out by the fact that the team has history. I'm looking at their logos, not how they are original six.

If Carolina or some other expansion team had one of those logos, it wouldn't be as popular.

Morgan said...

-2007 San Jose Sharks (The Full Shark in the Triangle looks horrible)
-The Buffaslug (Of Course)
-2001-2007 Columbus Blue Jackets Primary (Simply Doesn't work)
-2001-2004 Secondary (The Bug Logo)
-Atlanta Thrashers Primary
-Colorado Avalanche Secondary (big foot)
-Edmonton Oilers third logo (I know it won the Third jersey logo tournament but c'mon that looks terrible!)
-1998-2004 Nashville Predators Secondary (Gaylord Arena Tower)
-Nashville Predators third (too many colours!)
-2001-2007 Ottawa Senators Peace Tower
-Anaheim Ducks Primary
-Whalers Secondary (Pucky)
-Tampa Bay Lightning Primary (Both the new old ones look awful)
-St Louis Blues Secondary (trumpet logo)
-1975-1995 Washington Caps (boring)
-1970-1996 Buffalo Sabres Primary (One of the most overrated logos in the history of the NHL)
-1996 L.A Kings Third

Jacob said...

I'll second Tampa Bay - any Tampa Bay logo, but their original primary might be the worst. Very clip-arty. It's not as glaringly ugly as some of those third jersey logos, but of all recent NHL primary logos, Tampa's is definitely the most amateur looking.

Sorry Chris.

Emo said...

My first choice:

Thrashers.

Second, Hurricanes and third, Flyers.

I loved the cartoony Ducks logo :-\

Unknown said...

-All Calgary Flames logos (The C looks even more clip-arty than Jacob's argument for the Lightning, and the flaming horse speaks for itself. I also throw in the current flag shoulder patches. They're not necessarily ugly or anything, it's just an exceptionally lazy way of incorporating the team's location into the jersey. Is it really so hard to have an artist make something partially original? It did the trick for Phoenix.)
-Bruins bear head 3rd jersey
-Dallas Mooterus
-Current Buffalo AND original Buffalo (Yes, sacrelige, I hate both with a passion. People complain about shoddy logo design with what the Sabres wear now, then practically orgasm at the thought of two completely separate logos clumsily joined together with a circle. I call hypocrisy. The only jersey Buffalo's had that's even begun to get it right was their 3rd jersey from the black-red colour days.)
-California Seals
-Mighty Ducks duck-mask primary
-Vancouver's 'Flying V'
-KC Scouts
-all incarnations of the skating-duck Penguins logo (I'm sorry, even for a team called the Penguins it looks laughably ridiculous, especially the original one with the toque and scarf. This is the NHL, not peewee hockey.)
-original Coyotes primary
-3/4 3rd jersey Predators
-3/4 3rd jersey Senators/current Senators logo. (They had such a classic, awesome look with the profile-face logo, why get rid of it?)
-TML mash-up Leafs secondary logo
-standard Thrashers primary
-current Dallas home primary (Took a page out of Calgary's incorporation of laziness)

Sam said...

Here are there what I think are the worst NHL logos. All of these have to be in the tourny.

California Golden Seals Primary Logo 1971-74
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=265

Hartford Whalers Alternate Logo 1980-85
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=7319

Winnipeg Jets Primary Logo 1973-74
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=6ul3w51vtsahkei3f1gb

Anaheim Ducks Primary Logo 2007-
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=dggehfugf1ee8bfcaw9e

Atlanta Thrashers Alternate Logo 2000-
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=14

Boston Bruins Alternate Logo 1977-95
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=222

Calgary Flames Alternate Logo 1999-
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=51

Florida Panthers Alternate Logo 1994-
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=95

Nashville Predators Alternate Logo 2002-
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=131

Pittsburgh Penguins Primary Logo 1968
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=269

Vancouver Canucks Alternate Logo 2004-07
http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=209

Anonymous said...

Islanders Fisherman logo.
Minnesota Wild, Bear/Nightsky.
Carolina Hurricanes.
Black and Red Sabres.
Atlanta Thrashers.
The Christams themed New Jersey Devils(once they went to red and black it became fine.)
The Canucks Stick.

Kronis said...

The Rangers current logo. Always been the worst, always will be.

Rob Rowe said...

What about the blues' first third jersey that never made the ice? And the kings AND the ducks first third jersey!

Unknown said...

Mooterus
LA Kings (Gretzky era black and silver logo)
All the Vancouver logos (but stink n' rink first and foremost)
All the Buffalo logos (mainly the one that "won" the classic tournament)
KC Scouts
Nordiques
California Seals
Minnesota North Stars
Blue Jackets "Hornet"
Ottawa's Peace Tower logo
Tampa Bay Cliparts
Colorado Rockies

Anonymous said...

How about the "Dead Pigeon" logo the Pens used from '93 till 2000? http://www.chriscreamer.com/logo.php?id=3102

Other bad logos:
~The Buffaslug
~The Flyers (awful)
~Any Canucks logo (esp. that hockey stick one - just lame)
~Nordiques
~Original Coyotes logo
~Any Ducks logo
All of the Blue Jackets logos (can we have a tournament for worst team names while we're at it?)

Anonymous said...

i nominate the current sabers primary logo
the st. louis trumpet one and that dallas stars third jersey logo

Totally Not Ryan Krasman said...

The Canucks logos not among the best in the league, nor the worst. As people tell canuck fans not to vote for a mediocre logo, don't nominate a decent and classic looking shoulder crest or a classy looking primary for a worst logo contest.

This begins and ends with the Buffaslug.

breaktheice said...

I think the Av's primary is terrible. It has to be on the list. I prefer the "bigfoot" to that.

hockeyman44 said...

Maple Leafs 1960s

Senators 1920s (now the secondary logo)

Blackhawks 1930s

the Flames "horse on fire" logo

the Buffalo Sabres "slug" logo

Boston Bruins "bear" logo

The Colorado Rockies

The Dallas Stars 3rd jersey logo

Montreal 1930s logo

The purple ang yellow Kings logo

TX_Flame said...

I nominate:

Buffaslug (Piling on here, sorry)
Mooterus
Capitals current primary (I know several ppl here love it, but c'mon, the Original 1970's logo was boring and now they made it worse! The hockey stick is upside down, for crying out loud!)
Vancouver V (Stick logo was their best)

Some of these posts require clarification or links... eg. What the heck is a charging poop smear or a rabid squirrel? (None on that post make sense to me)

Finally, lay off the Flaming Horse, that logo was intensely cool! (For those who don't know, Calgary is host to the world's largest and richest [prize money] rodeo, so the logo represents both Calgary [horse] and Flames)

Anonymous said...

1. Buffalo Slugs
2. The LA Burger Kings
3. Wild Wing flying through the ice
4. NYI Fishsticks
5. Pluckey the Whale
6. Flameing Horse
7. Dallas Stars Bull Constellation
8. Bruins Bear Head
9. Columbus Blue Jackets Insect
10. Phoenix Multicolored Coyote
11. NJ DEVILS GREEN

Anonymous said...

Nashville's current secondary logo is just awful. I agree with those who said Columbus' old secondaries and Dallas' Mooterus. But I do have to say that Vancouver's 1978 'Flying V' sweater has my vote.

Unknown said...

I think they've all been said...

The current Anaheim Logo

The Buffaslug

The Boston Winnie-the-Poohs

The high-liner fisherman from the NY Islanders.

Cleveland Barons

Dallas "Mooterus"

Here is something original: The montreal Canadiens, in the 20s, had a globe as thier primary jersey logo because they were "world champions". I nominate that.

http://www.sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=254

Unknown said...

Terry's Nominations (in no particular order):

http://icebullshockey.com/chris/nhltol/logos300/ana.png
http://icebullshockey.com/chris/nhltol/logos300/ana3rd95.png
http://icebullshockey.com/chris/nhltol/logos300/blank.png
http://icebullshockey.com/chris/nhltol/logos300/bos34.png
http://icebullshockey.com/chris/nhltol/logos300/bos3rd.png
http://icebullshockey.com/chris/nhltol/logos300/buf.png

I've been disgusted going through the first bit already. Will go through the rest later. =P

jaydoz said...

you people are too harsh on the Seal (although I don't care for the 'Seals' script logo.) The original was great. I also loved the Nordique. Once I got to be a little older and realized that it was a stylized 'N', I thought it was great in the same manner that the Expos' was. Second worst ever? Cleveland Barons. Worst ever? The 'Nucks "V". The anti-logo. Conceptual masturbation.

Curtle said...

Here's My List.

1. Mighty Ducks (Wildwing) 1995-1996
2. Thrashers (Bird Silhouette) 1999-Present
3. Bruins (Bear Head) 1976-1995
4. Sabres (BuffaSlug) 2006-Present
5. Flames (Horse) 1998-Present
6. Golden Seals (Primary) 1970-1974
7. Blue Jackets (Yellow Jacket) 2000-2004
8. Stars (Mooterus) 2003-2006
9. Oilers (Oilman)1996-Present
10. Panthers (Stick/Palm Tree)1993-Present
11. Kings (Angry King) 1995-1996
12. Predators (Skull) 2001-Present
13. Devils (Christmas) 1982-1992
14. Islanders (Fisherman) 1995-1997
15. Penguins (Original) 1967-68
16. Blues (Third Jersey) Never Used

Godzilla1960 said...

Worst logo? Sabres Banana Slug. Second worst logo? That boring Vancouver hockey stick (how did that end up in the running for best secondary logo?)

Totally Not Ryan Krasman said...

Because it's the best secondary logo. Seriously. Simplicity is the essence of a good logo. The habs logo won best primary - why can't the canucks win secondary?

Canis said...

Vancouver ANYTHING!
Chicago ANYTHING
Columbus ANYTHING
Buffalo Current
Anaheim ANYTHING
Phoenix ANYTHING

IMO, when simple is good is when it lasts more than 10 seasons. For this fact Boston, Montreal, Detroit are great logos...maybe not the most creative but without a doubt solid logos because of their representation. Vancouver has the worst not because of their lack of creativity but because they keep messing with their image. Pick one and stay with it is all I suggest.

Anonymous said...

All of the Predators jerseys, Atlantas blue one, Stars 3rd jersey, lightnings 3rd jersey,sabers new jerseys(slugs),and the new sharks jerseys

Colton said...

Let me be the first to say the current New York Rangers logo...I hate it!

Anonymous said...

Nashville's alternate logo on the front of the mustard yellow unis....GUH. this one is hands down, and everyone who thinks otherwise is...wrong. it looks like a 4th grader drew it.

Hockey Freak said...

i nominate the oilers logo

Darryl said...

HockeyFreak...I concur

Anonymous said...

i nominate the ducks and everything they stand for. pucking fronger.

Unknown said...

I nominate the oilers primary logo it is horible

Unknown said...

BUFFALO'S " SLUG "
EMBARRASSING!!!

FullMonty said...

The Buffaslug is the absolute worst...nothing else even comes close. And it's even more embarrassing because the Sabres' original logo is one of the BEST logos ever! Anyone associated with the creation of that sorry excuse for graphic design should be fired immediately with extreme prejudice!! And give the Predators back their color scheme, too!

Unknown said...

i nominate the oilers primary logo it sucks

Unknown said...

i'll vote for the Phoenix Coyotes 96 logo...

wtf was that?

Whiter Mage said...

Pucky was awesome. I liked the seals. hahaha, even if it looked awful. I hated every Thrashers logo, and the current Lightning one, yes, the one that looks like they asked a 3 year old to draw florida with a lightning bolt on it. Not a fan of the Cleveland Barons old logo :x. Also, if we're gonna talk about horrible jerseys, what about those Hershey Bears Merry Christmas threads?

Anonymous said...

That mess on the Carolina jerseys are aweful and gotta agree with how bad that toupee thing in Buffalo is

Anonymous said...

*awful. My spelling is almost as bad as the hairy slug

Daniel said...

OK, these are my nominations:

1. The original Oakland Seals logo. (Is that triangular thing supposed to be a seal?)

2. The Blue Jackets' original primary logo. (Making "CBJ" out of starry banners and a stick just looked ridiculous.)

3. The Oilers' shoulder logo last year with the dude pumping oil with a hockey stick. Total cheesiness.

4. The Oilers' old alternate logo that looked like some sort of flying piece of hardware.

5. The Canucks' current shoulder logo. (Making the stick a little more angular doesn't make the most boring logo in all of history any better.)

6. The Maple Leafs' current logo is also incredibly dull.

...and finally, I don't care how traditional it is, but the Canadiens' logo is bad. A "C" for "Canadian" and an "H" for "hockey"? Good Lord, how much time did they spend on that one?

Daniel said...

OMG, how could I forget? THE WORST LOGO in the history of sports is Calgary's fire-breathing horse thing from a few years ago.

Anonymous said...

The Sabres' omage to Trump's hair, and the nashville skull from the yellow jersey

Chris said...

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know the nomination process is now over. I'm closing the comments now but keeping them visible. Huge thanks to everyone who participated!