Defending the Logo

Photo Source: Chris Creamer

It was only about 5 minutes  ago that I was browsing my Facebook news feed when I stumbled up an article by The Hockey News that ranked the Carolina Hurricanes logo as the worst current logo in the NHL.  While I do agree that the Canes do not have the best logo in the league, I do not believe it is the worst logo either.  There are, in my opinion, five other examples that are worse.

I will agree with one thing that Rory Boylen wrote about the logo: it's hard to make a logo based on a storm.  If you look beyond the NHL and into other leagues it is really hard to find a satisfying logo and some don't even bother to have their logos represent the very thing they are called!  The Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA and the Miami Hurricanes of the NCAA are just names with no logos attached to them; the Thunder has a logo displaying OKC with a shield and Miami is an orange and green U.  The Cincinnati Cyclones is a terrible logo (in agreement with Boylen), but I don't think the Guelph Storm logo is terrible, in fact, it's one of the more decent weather-related logos out there.

Weather logos are really hard to get right, but I do think the Peter Karmanos and the gang made very sure to not let the logo be a mess.  They got it right on the first try without it looking like a bad cartoon whirlwind (i.e. the Raleigh Storm logo).  It represents the weather symbol for a hurricane pretty well and even has that famous negative space artwork that their predecessor Whalers had.  What do I mean by that?  Well, if you look at the Hartford Whalers logo the most noticeable parts of it are the tail and the W, but the intriguing part is the gap in between the two which forms an H which doesn't stand out at all.  When the franchise moved to Raleigh that idea was transferred to the Hurricanes logo.  Besides the fact that the overall logo is made to represent a hurricane, the white part in the inside of the logo surrounding the eye makes another hurricane logo, this one more like the tropical storm/hurricane symbol that you'll see on The Weather Channel.  This wasn't a hastily made design; it was carefully crafted.

Now on to the logos that I think are worse (in no particular order):

New York Islanders

Logo Credit: Chris Creamer

Anyone in hockey knows of the infamous "Gorton Fishsticks Man" logo from the 1990s that represented the team for a handful of seasons, but as we are talking about current logos, their classic logo is still terrible.  The design has always looked like someone hurled orange puke onto a blue plate and it just happened to looked like Long Island.  Add NY at the top and ISLANDERS at the bottom and voila!  Maybe it's the 90s kid in me, but I prefer the "Gortons" logo to their original and current one.




 Tampa Bay Lightning

Logo Credit: Chris Creamer

Another team that uses an element of weather as part of their team name and logo.  I understand that the logo they have now is trying to have a superhero feel to it, but it's too basic for my tastes.  I don't want too busy of a logo, but I don't want to empty of one either.  If they could do something else around the bolt other than that awkward circle it would be a real improvement in the looks department.




Vancouver Canucks

Logo Credit: Chris Creamer

No team has changed their uniforms, colors, and logos, as much as the Canucks have and quite frankly, they should have stopped at option number one.  Their first blue, green, and white uniforms with the "Stick-in-Rink" logo was (and still is) a classic, but then they went to the opposite end and created the worst jerseys in hockey history with colors like mustard gold, burnt red, and black.  Even after those uniforms, they were able to bring about more sanitary colors, but the logo generated controversy because it's an Orca whale coming out of the water in the shape of a C that had more emphasis on the company that owns them than what the C represents.  Even with the colors of the first uniforms back into the fold, they are still using the whale and sprinkled VANCOUVER on top of not just away uniform, but the home uniform too!  I guess residents of Vancouver have no idea that the team in blue is from Vancouver as well so that's why they need that on the home uniforms as a reminder.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Logo Credit: Chris Creamer

When Columbus came into the fold they used a blue and electric yellow yellow jacket to go along with the team name Blue Jackets which led to a lot of confusion.  The confusion behind the name went with their poor performances for the first couple seasons too.  Eventually the team took the hing and created a more patriotic logo that made more sense of what their name actually means:  it is a nod to Ohio's part in the civil war on the side of the Union who wore blue jackets for their uniform.  While I love the touch of patriotism with the star and the Ohio flag wrapping around it making a C, the logo itself doesn't match the team name as much as I wish it could.  Similar to Vancouver, the mismatch makes the logo have virtually no sense in comparison to the team name.  It isn't a terrible logo, just misplaced.

Dallas Stars

Logo Credit: Chris Creamer

The main problem I have with Dallas' new logo is that it's unoriginal.  Yes, Dallas starts with a D and their team name is the Stars so it made perfect sense to have a star with the letter D intertwined in it, but this is where that problem lies:  Columbus already has a logo with a letter and a star together.  Did nobody tell management that Columbus beat them to the punch in that market?  Seriously, nothing makes your logo more bland than making it look more like another teams logo.  I love their old logo and never understood the need to change it.  I like the new green and their uniforms are okay, but the logo is just a Columbus Blue Jackets ripoff.  Dallas needs to either go back to what they had or start again from scratch.  Zero points for creativity.

Those are my five logos that I think are worse than the Hurricanes.  If all the writers at The Hockey News think the logo looks like a toilet bowl then fine, but you have to admit that the D in the Stars logo looks like a toilet seat.  Do you agree or disagree?  Comment below and tell us what you think!