Monday, January 7, 2008

NHLToL: Quest For The Worst

It's a big day here at NHLToL. First, I'm introducing the new logo tournament which will be starting soon.

Introducing...



There's currently a video at the top of the page so you can learn which logos made the cut for this competition which will crown the worst logo in the history of the NHL.

You might also notice that the graphics in the video don't quite match the graphics on the site here. I'm considering a design overhaul for the site. You can see the rough idea I've come up with in the preview below. It's very much a work in progress at this moment so don't expect to see it any time soon.



Just wanted to keep you guys posted on what's going on here. I welcome any comments or criticisms. Thanks for continuing to visit the blog!

UPDATE (1/9 5:21 PM): As you may have noticed the video I referred to in this post can no longer be found at the top of the page. Instead, I've moved it here to the bottom of this post for posterity. Enjoy!

38 comments:

Unknown said...

I like the new skin a lot, just looking at it. By the way, Canucks fans vote the stick-in-rink and the flying skate to the finals, w00tZ~!

By the way, did you make the video? If you did, great job! New skin FTW!

Chris said...

I like the new skin a lot, just looking at it. By the way, Canucks fans vote the stick-in-rink and the flying skate to the finals, w00tZ~!

By the way, did you make the video? If you did, great job! New skin FTW!


Glad to hear to like the new layout. Hopefully I'll have it ready within the next few weeks. And I did make the video. Thanks!

PRC. said...

Go with the new layout. Tabloid-style looks great.

Atownjacket said...

Wow!, I wasn't expecting such a professional video to come with this tournament! lol
I really like the (possible) new site design.
Do you think since you're creating a new layout, you'll also create a new URL without the .blogspot.com at the end?

Nick said...

I like the current look!

Cool flash video.

Tony Tanti said...

Great video, you're taking this great site to a whole new level.

Anonymous said...

That was an awesome video! took me by surprise when i opened the site. I personally don't think the first lightning logo should be in the bracket. It must have been hard for you, Chris, to put that in there seeing that you are a Tampa fan. Anyway, the new skin for the site is awesome! Good job on both!

Thehurricane said...

so is there gonna be 32 teams

Totally Not Ryan Krasman said...

Great video. And finally, a logo contest the canucks can't win...... unless there are as many canuck haters out there as canuck fans.

I knew there had to be a part 2. There was a distinct lack of CURRENT OILER LOGO (though I don't think you'll put that in anyways)

Grinder said...

Hi Chris,

The new look is great, although I'm sure it will take us some time to get use to it.....that's always the way when websites change. It's great that you're still putting so much effort into this thing.

So the other day I asked if you were going to update the uniform rankings, as I had noticed some movement. I accepted your reply but my curiosity got the better of me and I couldn't resist checking for myself.

There was a lot of movement in the middle third of these rankings. By far the largest jump was Vancouver, going from 20th to 9th (probably another Canucks conspiracy right?! LOL). The biggest drop was Philly going from 16th to 20th.

Here is the full list of new results for the uniform rankings:

1) Boston (4.265) E
2) Montreal (4.138) E
3) Washington (4.051) E
4) St. Louis (3.969) E
5) Chicago (3.958) E
6) Columbus (3.907) E
7) Detroit (3.764) E
8) Tampa Bay (3.737) E
9) Vancouver (3.690) +11
10) Phoenix (3.606) -1
11) New Jersey (3.539) +1
12) N.Y.R. (3.535) -2
13) Minnesota (3.477) -2
14) Ottawa (3.392) +1
15) Los Angeles (3.343) -2
16) San Jose (3.304) -2
17) Pittsburgh (3.285) E
18) Calgary (3.243) +1
19) Carolina (3.242) -1
20) Philadelphia (3.233) -4
21) Buffalo (3.081) E
22) Florida (3.028) E
23) Colorado (3.008) E
24) N.Y.I. (2.972) +1
25) Nashville (2.958) -1
26) Atlanta (2.924) E
27) Dallas (2.708) E
28) Toronto (2.636) E
29) Edmonton (2.614) E
30) Anaheim (2.547) E

So there you have it. Overall, you were right Chris, there wasn't too much movement. But the fact that Vancouver took such a massive jump I'm sure will spark some comments, as will Philly's drop. New Jersey, Ottawa and Calgary also passed two teams each. And it's worth a mention that the top 8 and bottom 5 teams remained in the same order. Most of the movement was in the middle third.

Anyway, this was an interesting process...which I did for my own curiosity if nothing else.

Thanks for such a great site Chris. Really good to see that you keep coming up with new polls! Cheers.

Chris said...

Grinder,

Wow, that's a lot of work you did. Truth be told, I have been keeping an eye on the stats all along and I've seen the minor changes you pointed out — actually I've seen a lot more than this over the course of the last few months — but like I said, I can't see altering the ranking at this point. That's how everybody felt about the jersey a month into the season.

If the site's still around next summer, my plan is to organize another means of ranking the jerseys — after we've all had a year to get used to them.

Anyway, I'm continually fascinated by Canucks fans. Fascinated and frightened all at the same time. I'm sure that's how they like it. I'll be heading up to Vancouver in March and I have tickets to a game. It'll be interesting to see them in the flesh.

Thanks again for your comments!

Anonymous said...

Awesome video

Unknown said...

Awesome Chris.

Just wondering where is pucky, but anyway.

Michaela said...

Pretty sweet video and skin. I'm not too sure about the black and yellow though.. it hurts my eyes.. :P

It looks so professional! Keep up the great work chris!

*sigh of relief*
so far the hurricanes still aren't in it. (hey, what can i say.. i'm biased :P)

awildermode said...

funny how most of the logos are third jersey logos. yet, fans still want to see third jerseys for next season.

can you really call the ducks' third logo (wild wing jumping out of ice) a logo? it is more of a mural on a jersey. it was printed on the jerseys, much like the stupid diagonal stripes calgary had in 1995. logo should be a 'patch' that is sewn on the front or shoulder of jerseys.

love the new look chris, cannot wait for the tournament to start. if you are running out of ideas...maybe we can vote one the best font.

Darryl said...

i like the prospect of a new layout...but is yellow on white the way to go? it seems a little...hard on the eyes.

Anonymous said...

Definitely a good array of bad logos in this first round, that's for sure.

I hope you bring in the Vancouver Canucks "Flying V" for Round 2 because that was horrendous.

Andre said...

I don't know how the hell you can pick not just one, but two classic Canuck logos, the original Stick in the Rink and the Speeding Skate from the 80s and 90s as two of the worst logos? The Stick is a classic and simple design and the Skate represented speed and finesse. Why didn't you pick the corporate birthing Orca C? And another thing: Why did you pick on the classic purple and gold crown of the LA Kings??? Give me a break PLEASE! Ever since the Kings went to black and silver, the NHL has lost its colour and originality in team logos and uniforms. For your info, purple and gold are synonymous with royalty and California. The LA Lakers wear it. The Minnesota Vikings also wear it. No complaining from fans in those teams' respective leagues. The Kings' original crown is right up there with the original Sabres logo, the St. Louis Bluenote, the North Star N, Detroit's Wing & Wheel, and the Philly's Flying P. Colourful, yet simple and original. Oh, how I pray and hope the Kings bring back the purple and gold. Too much black vs white these days.

Unknown said...

Loved the video and like the new layout. I would like to point out that Montreal after winning the first tourny has not been in any... why the snub? though I would not want to seem them in the worst logo race. Anyway keep up the good work, that allows me some much needed distractions from my master's thesis.

savardwalsh said...

has everyone lost their goddamn minds?

Jason said...

*gets down to the funky music*

nogoodbye said...

The new layout itself looks good, though I'm not fond of the colours. I don't like the yellow. But thats just me.

andrew said...

Not a fan of the new layout...I think it's too much, personally.

However, great job on the video. That was probably one of the best videos I've ever seen (editing quality).

Jerm Deeks said...

Very nice new layout. Can't wait to see it!

bw said...

correct me if I'm wrong, but the "Flying V" was never a logo. The Skate was the logo during the use of the "Flying V" uniform. Making the notion that the "Flying V" is the worst logo wrong. It would be like saying the stars had the worst logo when they wore the jerseys that made the outline of a star on the bottom.

Chris said...

First off, thanks for all the comments! Happy to see you guys aren't losing interest in the site.

can you really call the ducks' third logo (wild wing jumping out of ice) a logo? it is more of a mural on a jersey. it was printed on the jerseys, much like the stupid diagonal stripes calgary had in 1995. logo should be a 'patch' that is sewn on the front or shoulder of jerseys.

I debated that, but ultimately I've decided to go with what you guys asked for in the nomination post. I may not consider it a logo myself, but a good number of you wanted it to be included.

i like the prospect of a new layout...but is yellow on white the way to go? it seems a little...hard on the eyes.

True. ... That's all I got. But to be fair you're not reading yellow text on a white background.

I don't know how the hell you can pick not just one, but two classic Canuck logos, the original Stick in the Rink and the Speeding Skate from the 80s and 90s as two of the worst logos? ...

Hi, Andre. The obvious answer is that I'm insane. The less obvious answer is that I'm not picking the logos involved in this competition. You and your fellow readers are. I'm merely a tool of the people here. Personally, I love the original Canucks logo (not so much the red/black/yellow one, but that's just a personal preference).

Overall, your point is not without merit as some really great logos have made it into this tournament in my opinion. However, I'll address why some are in and some aren't later this week.

I just wanted you and everyone else to know I'm not making random dictatorial decisions here. We practice democracy here! Really though, try not to take it so seriously. This whole site is just all in fun. I hate to see people getting worked up over it.

(Plus, I was never really clear, was I? "Worst" could mean "worst at being ... the ugliest" ... yeah, just blew your mind, huh?)

Oh and by the way...

Give me a break PLEASE!

Kit Kat?

*gets down to the funky music*

Everybody dance!

has everyone lost their goddamn minds?

I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you I certainly have!

On an unrelated matter, if anyone happens to see my mind, you can email it back to me at nhllogos@gmail.com. Thank you!

asnowballschance said...

sweet vid and even more impressive layout. go for it. can't wait for vid #2! have a feeling that the either the fishsticks or mooterus will win this thing.

Anonymous said...

The new layout looks like Police Caution tape, not a fan. The current one maybe stock for Blogs, but its clean, and easy to read/use.

Joseph said...

what about the Islanders fisherman/fishsticks logo the only lasted a few years?

Charlie @ Sabres Not Slugs.com said...

Completely forgot about the Islanders logo...could he get a provisional entry into the tourney?

Great job Chris...fantastic job actually. Way to flex your production skills!

Unknown said...

I'm not agree the Stick in the rink is one of the worst logo and it's the first time I hope my Canucks will be out in the first round :P but the skate is maybe one of the finalist.

Jacob said...

I like the current look of the site. The yellow-on-black is pretty garish.

Should be a good tournament. But what was that about "their opponents"? Is there another bracket coming?

Charlie @ Sabres Not Slugs.com said...

Chris I think the Islanders seriously needs a provional entry and 1st round bye.

It was a notoriously bad logo and a severe oversight on the part of us nominators!

Chris said...

To everybody who's mentioned a logo that's been left out, perhaps you didn't pick up on the hint... "wait until you meet their opponents." That video is only half of the logos that will be involved. I've already got all 32 together, but I thought that would be too much for one video. Hopefully I'll have Part Two posted tomorrow. Then you'll get to see the other half of the pool for this tournament.

And to everybody who's commented on the new design... quite a lot of mixed reviews there. I think I'll do what I do best and hold a poll in the near future and have you guys vote on whether I should overhaul the site or not.

Thanks to everyone for the input!

Jeffler said...

You've gotta be kidding me with both those nucks logos in there...wtf?

Daniel said...

The Penguins logo on the jersey in the video is not the logo that's in the tournament. (Just thought I'd point that out.)

Say, after this tournament, we can have a competition to determine the worst Canucks logo of all time. Heck, they've had enough bad ones to make up a complete tournament.

Andre said...

I am sorry Daniel, but there is no need to have a tournament for the worst Canucks logo. They have had only one bad logo and that's the corporate birthing Orca. The original Stick in the Rink is a classic. The colours and its simplicity are elegent. The Speeding Skate was dynamic and the colours were hot. So, let's leave the Canucks alone, just because they have never won the Cup. There are FAR WORSE logos out there, especially those of some of the recent expansion clubs.

Daniel said...

No, I think you're confusing classic with boring. Come on, man... it's a stick in a rink. A 2-year-old kid could have come up with that. And then there was the pile of spaghetti, and then the orca that took steroids... and finally we have the "new and improved" stick-in-rink, which just looks like somebody took the old one and twisted it a bit.

The one thing I will give you is that the colors were nice during the spaghetti-pile era. I loved that red-&-black 3rd jersey they wore in the '90s.