Possible New Lightning Logo?

If you thought the San Jose Sharks logo I just posted was bad, you ain't seen nothing yet. This gem was posted on the same web site and I just saw it on Boltsmag and needed to post it here.

It's not the best I've ever seen. The city is still there. See that one there labeled "secondary mark" underneath? Love that one! Put it on the front of the jersey! Anyway, there's no official word from the team yet so this may or may not be the real deal. I suppose we'll find out for sure sometime this summer.

Leave your comments below and let us all know what you think.

UPDATE (6:44 PM): According to Tampa Trib Lightning beat writer Erik Erlendsson, the Lightning will unveil their new logo and uniforms at a "fan festival" on August 25. This is the first I'm hearing of an actual date. Incidentally, Erik wrote that he knows of the leaked logos I posted earlier and seems to believe they are in fact the real deal. When asked, the Lightning would neither confirm nor deny their veracity. Regardless, we should know for sure 43 days from now.

Possible New Sharks Logo?

A reader pointed me to this image of a potential new design for the San Jose Sharks logo. As I reported the other day, the Sharks will be unveiling a new logo on July 24.

Now if you want my opinion, take it with a grain of salt. It's a cool update on the current logo, but I think its just an artistically-inclined fan having a little fun on the internet. The way I understand it, the team is going with a complete redesign. It's rumored the new logo will feature an entire shark as opposed to just the front end. Now having said that, anything is possible and we won't know for certain for another 11 days, so check back here then.

In the meantime, feel free to leave your comments. What do you think it will look like? What do you think it should look like? What do you think of this design?

UPDATE (4:55 PM): Just came across this version of the Sharks logo. It actually shows the entire shark as I mentioned earlier. But its a wordmark, so it probably wouldn't be the crest.

What do you think of it? Great? Not great? Personally, I'm a little indifferent. It's an improvement on their current logo but I think they can do better.

Blue Jackets vs Blues

	vs
BLUE JACKETS		BLUES
4-1		4-4

The Aesthetics
Sometimes you can feel action in a still logo and I feel it in the Blue Jackets logo — in a good way. It's a very smart logo with appropriate attention to detail. I like the two-tone blue in the Blues logo but its not quite enough to steal this point away.
Blue Jackets

The Nickname
A Blue Jacket carries a bayonet. A Blues man carries a sax. Do the math.
Blue Jackets

The Analysis
The Blue Jackets name leaves little room to screw up the logo, although you wouldn't know it based on previous logos. This one just makes sense. The Ohio flag more than references the home state of the team while the Blues logo is really little more than a musical note with a wing. I don't really get the wing, but that's not why they're getting swept. The new Blue Jackets logo is just that good.
Blue Jackets

WINNER

3-0

 

Panthers vs Lightning

	vs
PANTHERS		LIGHTNING
7-1		3-3

The Aesthetics
Time to look at a pair of cross-state rivals. The two logos have almost no commonalities. And that works in favor of the Panthers. That being said, this is an easy point to determine. Just so I'm not cutting corners, I won't neglect the explanations. While the Panthers logo is a little more detailed, the words in the Lightning logo do it no favors. I love the bolt across the middle, but it needs more. Good thing for the Bolts, a new logo is in the offing this summer.
Panthers

The Nickname
Like most outdoor creatures, Panthers are vulnerable to a bolt of Lightning.
Lightning

The Analysis
Neither logo makes any effort at referencing their home cities, not that its really necessary as the team name does that for them. The colors are appropriate and cool and its tough to say who deserves this point. Unfortunately for the Lightning, this is one more instance where the 17 letters strewn across the logo will be detrimental.
Panthers

WINNER

2-1

 

Kings vs Blackhawks

	vs
KINGS		BLACKHAWKS
2-5		2-7

The Aesthetics
Both logos have a lot of detail but one thing I really like is their unique outlines. Imagine seeing just shadows of the logos. It's a good sign when you can place it based solely on that. More on that another day. Still, though, its the Kings with the obviously better looking logo. Defined and unique colors along with those subtle hockey sticks in the crown tip the scales in their favor.
Kings

The Nickname
I believe it was the King who ran the Indians and Chief Blackhawk out of town. He was a bastard.
Kings

The Analysis
The logos are appropriate for their teams. That's always a good start. The Kings logo, however, goes a step further in reference their home city with the suns on either side of the crown. Nothing really there in the Blackhawks logo. And it has too many colors.
Kings

WINNER

3-0

 

Rangers vs Devils

	vs
RANGERS		DEVILS
2-7		4-1

The Aesthetics
These two teams don't play very far from each other. Just across a river, really. The logos are very simplistic and lack a lot of unnecessary detail. What makes this decision easy is that while the Rangers logo spells out the name of the team, the Devils logo actually uses a subtle "NJ" to reference the home town.
Devils

The Nickname
The Devil is pretty evil. He can wreak a lot of havoc on anyone, Rangers included.
Devils

The Analysis
I like the red, white and blue in the Rangers logo, but I just really think darker versions of blue and red would look so much better. See the third jersey's crest and its shoulder patch. The Devils have good, strong colors and hell, red seems to be doing rather well in this competition.
Devils

WINNER

3-0