Saturday: The Logo Pt. 2: When Logos Attack (Your Eyes)

Hello everyone, and welcome to Saturday's HJC post! Today's post features some really cool alternates, a redesign of the Coyotes and Portland Winterhawks, a revival of the old Sens 3rd template, and a Winter Classic concept. 

Last week I did a list on the top three greatest logos in the history of the NHL, and naturally got it 100% spot-on, closing the issue for good. Now that's done, let's move on to the worst logos that have ever hit NHL ice. Last week I kept it down to three to ensure the post wasn't too long, but since we don't have as many concepts this week, or HJC Open entries, I'll go a little more in-depth. It's not a list, it's no particular order, and please keep in mind it's for fun.

No One Understands the Front-Facing Senator

Image Credit: SportsLogos.net

The Ottawa Senators are a difficult team to understand at times. When they build up, looking as if they are headed in the right direction, they blow up. They traded for Bobby Ryan, and had a good year after the lockout, but they also traded Ben Bishop for Cory Conacher. The former was a Vezina candidate, and the latter was waived. Now he plays for Buffalo. Then they lost Jason Spezza and replaced him with David Legwand. Ouch. Ottawa's logo is the same thing. They had a great thing going with the side-facing Senator. A modernization of that logo in 2007 made it even better, but what do they use? This guy. This logo looks like a selfie a moody teenager takes after his parents make him finish his homework before he can play Call of Duty Online with his bros. You can't see it, but in the full version of this logo, he's wearing an "Affliction" t-shirt and is surrounded by Mountain Dew and Axe bottles.

Gorton's Fisherman + Oompa Loompa = Islanders Logo

Image Credit: SportsLogos.net

You know, if it was for a minor league team, this logo wouldn't be totally awful. Yet, this was made for a NHL franchise that (in 1995) had not so long ago won four consecutive Stanley Cups. Will we ever see that feat accomplished again in the salary cap days of the NHL? I personally doubt it. The Islanders had a classic look that needed no alterations. If they had done this as a third, it could be forgivable, but the Isles threw the baby out with the bathwater here. I don't know what they thought they were going to accomplish. This was the "New Coke" of sports. The only thing it did was make everyone violently want the old look back. I mean, HE IS ORANGE. The ownership put an old orange man who has hands the size of the hulk on the front of their jerseys, then gave him a hockey stick in case you forgot what sport the Islanders played.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Preds

Image Credit: SportsLogos.net

As if the old Pred Head wasn't bad enough, the state of Tennessee got this turd dumped on it in 2001, and somehow this thing managed to stick around for six years. It is nothing short of an anime disaster.
Look into its eyes. Does anyone else think its eyes look like the Eye of Sauron? Maybe it took so long to get rid of it because Frodo Baggins had to walk to Nashville to destroy it. There are almost ten colors in that wretched logo. No attempt to salvage it has ever been successful in my eyes. The old Pred Head simply needed restraint. This needed so much more than restraint. Like that one guy in the zombie movie that gets biten, it needed a merciful demise.

Atlanta Trasher Thrasher Soup

Image Credit: SportsLogos.net

Have you ever tried to do a Thrashers revival concept? If you have, you probably realize that one of the main obstacles to making the Thrashers look better is their logo set. The poor Thrashers never had a good logo. A lot of things led to the Thrashers moving, including chronic mismanagement, failure to effectively market the team, and much more. Having bad jerseys (though I do love their original asymmetrical third in the same way I love the old Mighty Ducks movies) and terrible logos didn't help, though. Someone once wrote that this logo looked like a bird stirring itself into a bowl of soup with a hockey stick, and I've never been able to get that out of my head.

The Buffaslug

Image Credit: SportsLogos.net

I would probably say this and the Preds logo above are worst logos in NHL history. If a buffalo had somehow got stuck in Chernobyl's reactor 4, this is what I would imagine it would have looked like. I love the name, "Buffaslug." It totally sums up how horrible this crest is, and also makes it sound like something from a bad sci-fi movie, like Tigersloth vs. Buffaslug. Actually, I would totally watch that movie.

Now that I've got that out of my system, let's move on to today's concepts!

Phoenix (Arizona) Coyotes Concept - Ryley C.

Positives: Ryley shows potential with the striping on the light jersey, as well as his placement of the shoulder logos on the same jersey. Keep working.

Negatives: I'm going to assume this concept was made before the Phoenix Coyotes officially changed to the Arizona Coyotes. The primary logos are too big on both concepts, as are the numbers (which are a bit low on the jersey) and name on the back. The Reebok wordmark shouldn't be covered up on the dark jersey. I recommend using the same template for both the home, as would using the same color pants. Dark helmets usually go with dark jerseys. Helmet logos make a concept look more professional. The hem on the dark jersey doesn't match on the back/front. Sleeve numbers are needed on the light jersey, and the numbers on the dark jersey would work better on the sleeves.

Overall: There's a lot to improve upon, but we're all improving. Keep working at it, Ryley. (5/10)

Colorado vs. Minnesota Winter Classic Concept - Gerard M.

Positives: I like the striping on both jerseys. The colors of both jerseys would look great together on the ice, which is very important when designing an even concept. The sleeve numbers are pixel-perfect. You can even see a small part of the sleeve numbers from the left arm on the backs of the jerseys. I really appreciate when designers take the time to do that. The helmet logos both use wordmarks, which brings an interesting parallel. Adding numbers to the helmet shows great attention to detail This would also be a great Conference III match-up. A little more black on the Avs jersey makes the all-black equipment not seem so arbitrary.

Negatives: I'm not as big a fan of the yoke on the Minnesota jersey. I think I prefer the yoke to be flat, rather than coming more to a point.

Overall: This would be a great game, both in aesthetics and competition. A really well detailed concept from Gerard. (8.5/10)

Portland Winterhawks Concept - Gerard M.

Positives: The striping on the arms and hem looks great. I love it. All the great detail from the above concept are also visible here: the perfectly executed sleeve numbers, the proper logos, the numbers on the helmet. Not putting a yoke on the dark jersey shows good restraint. With this set, the Winterhawks become more than just a junior team that took it's look from a NHL team.

Negatives: It seems Gerard simplified the Winterhawks logo, which is slightly different from the Blackhawks logo. I'm in the minority that feels the Blackhawks logo has a little too much going on (it wasn't in my top three logo list last week) but I'm not in favor of the changes in this case.

Overall: Gerard does a great job giving the Winterhawks more of a unique set. (8.3/10)

San Jose Sharks Alternate Concept - Christian L.

Positives: This is like nothing I've seen before. Christian always does a great job bringing a high level of creativity to the table. You never overlook one of his concepts, or feel something he did is "old hat." Execution is wonderful, and Christian has taken great strides in his presentation. The sleeve numbers are perfect, and I like the logo choice for the shoulder patch. Orange and teal are balanced with the black well.

Negatives: I'm just not a fan of the striping effect here. I know it's likely a representation of a wave, and it would make a good, experimental alternate, but I can't say I'd own one.

Overall: In terms of creativity and experimentation, this is a great alternate. (8.3/10)

Lincoln Stars Alternate Concept - Garrett F.

Positives: The USHL has taken tremendous strides in logo quality recently (see Bloomington; Cedar Rapids), but the Lincoln Stars still have a pretty solid logo. Execution is sold here, especially with the sleeve numbers.

Negatives: The striping is a bit bland, and I don't care for the "Lincoln" wordmark on both the back and front of the hem stripes.

Overall: For a minor league team, a more eye-catching alternate would be welcome. (7.5/10)

Ottawa Senators Concept  - Stephen T.

Positives: Great logo choice for the primary/secondary marks. Those are the two best logos Ottawa has, and the proper way to use both. This improves the Senators "SENS" third from a couple years ago. 

Negatives: There are a lot of loose black pixels around the primary logo on the white jersey, indicating that Stephen made the black jersey first, and simply recolored it for the white jersey. He also forgot to recolor the inside of the letters in the Reebok wordmark. Not a great way to make pristine concepts. I was glad to see Stephen putting helmet logos on his concepts, but he failed to add them here. The white jersey hem and the sock is cut off from the image. With the sleeve numbers, the nine should be visible on the rear left arm. It's a small detail, but it helps the concept so much. It's worth the time and effort. So much of this is easily correctable. You have to look you concepts over to the pixels. 

Overall: Stephen has been trending in a positive direction lately, but this is a step backward in terms of execution. (6.5/10)

Colorado Avalanche Alternate Concept - Tristan M.

Positives: First off, I love the sublimated pattern. It goes so well with the rest of the jersey. The secondary logo is wonderful. The yeti foot is terrible, so I'm glad to see it wasn't used here. I love the arm and hem striping. It helps tie in the all-black equipment that Colorado is so fond of using. Execution and presentation are phenomenal.

Negatives: I'm not 100% sold on the sublimated mountains at the side panels in addition to the other sublimated pattern. Without zooming in closer, you could be forgiven for mistaken for sweat stains. I don't think it detracts from the concept, but I don't think it adds much, either.

Overall: This is a perfect alternate. I would love to see the league play with some sublimated patterns like this. It just creates so much depth and detail in a concept. Great design here. (9/10) COTW nomination from me!


That's all for this week. See a concept that you like? Put a ring on it Be sure to nominate it for Concept of the Week, or let the artist know you appreciate their work. Don't forget to send your votes in next week! If you remembered to send in your votes for the Concept of the Year 2nd Quarter Vote, and Concept of the week, well done! Here is your celebratory gif. If you failed to vote, take this gif, go to your room, and think about what you've done. Stay tuned for more HJC Open 2014 goodness, and tomorrow's Sunday post and Weekend Update from Ryan! See you all later!