If I Ran the NHL Part Deux

By Pete McGrath

NHL Sweaters and Mascots Edition

As the NHL has expanded a lot recently, I think choosing cool team names and designing effective logos is key to getting a town to rally around its team, and the NHL’s poor choices has hampered their progress in certain cities. I’m going to go team by team in this column and provide my two cents on their mascot/team colors/jerseys/logo/ and feel free to comment.

I am old school when it comes to uniforms in sports. I believe in simple uniforms, simple color combinations, and simple logos that stand the test of time.
Here are some pitfalls that many uniforms fall into:

Too Many Colors- Pick two colors for your team color and stick with them. Notre Dame, the Yankees, the Lakers, and the Celtics have simple color schemes, and that’s why their unis work.

The house team effect- If you’ve ever played house hockey, one year your sweater might be green, while the next year it might be blue, so it was always prudent to buy black pants and gloves. However at the NHL level, you should be able to afford gear that matches your jersey.

Black proliferation- If black was not originally one of your two colors, do not all the sudden make it one. Do not make it part of your jerseys piping or trim. Also, the black alternate jersey thing has become a bit tiresome. This is kind of similar to the house team effect.

The Rbk system effect. Reebok re-designed a lot of jerseys recently, adding stupid piping at the top of the sweaters and taking the trim off the bottom. Trim on the bottom is important though, because hockey sweaters are meant to be un-tucked. With no trim on the bottom it looks like an un-tucked button down dress shirt- A.K.A. bad.

The Clip art effect- When a logo is obviously computer generated, and looks cheaply done; like a school kid doing a project for class. Clip art logos generally have too many colors as well, corresponding to an earlier pitfall.

Generic/stupid mascots- A cool mascot to me is one that embraces the town’s heritage or is unique in general. Not one that sounds focused grouped or like an arena football team.

Teal- Teal sucks.

Without further adieu, here are the teams:

Anaheim Ducks – I remember when I first saw the jerseys in D2, back when the team was the Mighty Ducks. While I’m glad the team is just the Ducks now and have gotten rid of that terrible early nineties color combo of purple and teal, the current uni’s could use some work. The logo is still a bit cartoony and cheesy. However, at least Charlie Conway doesn’t have to take on the Hawks and Iceland wearing this anymore.

Atlanta Thrashers – I for a while was of the belief that the team name Thrashers was stupid. However, upon doing research I’ve learned that the Thrasher is the state bird of Georgia and was selected by the fans, so I guess that can stay. But the logo and the current jerseys got to go. The logo has too many colors for it to be effective, and it too falls into that clip arty category. The jerseys, with the word Atlanta going down one shoulder are terrible, and the person who designed them should be shot.

Boston Bruins – Any original six team automatically has a cool mascot to me. This team is a case study of why you only need two colors besides white. The simple color scheme and simple logo is all you need. Also, give the club kudos for the new alternate jerseys with the throwback logo.

Buffalo Sabres - I was glad to see they got rid of the black and red jerseys from the 90s. But the Sabres really need to go back to their old logo of the crossed swords with a buffalo in the middle. Simple, effective, with a unique color combination of blue and yellow made their old jersey a beauty. The current slug/Donald Trump’s hair logo is stupid. Also, get rid of the dumb pit stripes, and give me the jersey that Pat Lafontaine wore.

Calgary Flames – Flames is a solid name for a team, and the flaming C logo is effective as well. However, this is a classic example of black getting in the way of a perfectly fine uniform. The black pants and gloves make the club look like a house team, and the black trim is obnoxious. Go back to the red and yellow uni’s of Mike Vernon’s day (or at least give me an update). Also, maybe have some fun with the trim. Maybe have flame trim at the bottom of the jersey or on the socks.

Carolina Hurricanes – I really wish there weren’t so many weather related mascot’s in this league, but of the three I like the Hurricanes the best. The logo is really simple, and has only two colors. I could do without their current alternate jerseys. The triangle behind the logo is stupid, and the hockey stick flagpole looks dumb as well. I like where their heads at though with the hurricane flag idea for an alternate logo, but that is actually a gale flag. Tweak this a bit, put it on a red jersey, and it could work. The black jersey thing is a little played out at this point.

Chicago Blackhawks – Great mascot, great logo, great alternate logo, great jerseys, even cooler throwback jerseys, and as a Wings fan, it pains me to say this, but I think they have the best unis in the league.

Colorado Avalanche – To go from the Quebec Nordiques’s kickass unis to this ugly ass uniform was a disaster. They have maroon and blue with jerseys, maroon and blue and grey socks, but black gloves, pants, and helmets making them a victim of the house team effect and the too many colors effect. The logo is kind of clip arty as well, but at the same time I don’t have any better ideas for an avalanche logo. The trim on the jerseys really needs to be fixed up though. Maybe they could just start all over and name the team the Colorado Turtles.

Columbus Blue Jackets – I always assumed a blue jacket was a type of bumblebee, and never understood why their logo has all the stars on it. Evidently the Blue Jacket name comes from the Civil War soldiers from Ohio, which actually makes it a decent mascot if the logo reflected this. They need to make this part of the logo and embrace the civil war heritage (it would be nice to see a northern based Civil War mascot to combat the Rebels and Vols of the world). If that doesn’t work, just change the team name to the Buckeyes to fool Columbusians into showing up to the games.

Dallas Stars – Not a bad mascot, not bad colors, but it just could’ve been so much cooler. Remember, this team is descendant from one of the all time great team names in sports, the Minnesota North Stars. While I really think it was the height of stupidity for the NHL to move a team out of Minnesota, I will give Dallas its props for embracing its team and hockey as a sport. But how cool would it have been if they were the Dallas Lone Stars, not just the Stars?

Detroit Red Wings – Number two in the league for my money- a great simple logo with just two colors and a simple jersey design. This jersey just shows how less is more sometimes. All logo designers and jersey color picker outers need to pay attention to this jersey.

Edmonton Oilers – A good mascot that makes sense in the oil rich area of Edmonton. The logo has always been simple and effective to me, but I could do without the piping on their current jerseys. They changed from blue and orange to navy and burnt orange a few years back, but word on the street is that they’re wearing their old throwback unis for a few games. I think they should go back to these all the time because after all, if you won five cups in them, why change the unis?

Florida Panthers – A middle of the road mascot, and not a bad logo. The red, navy and gold color scheme is a bit busy however. Just black and white would look pretty badass if you ask me.

Los Angeles Kings – The LA Kings have a solid mascot with a solid color scheme. Purple is the color of royalty after all. The current crown logo isn’t bad, but I have to say I liked the coat of arms logo they just changed from a little bit better.

Minnesota Wild – This team name sort of prompted this column. What the fuck is a Wild? Evidently it’s some saber tooth tiger shaped thing with trees on it, which looks eerily similar to the Nashville logo. They should’ve gone with the Minnesota Fighting Saints as a tribute to the WHA team, or furthermore stuck it to Dallas for moving by calling the team the North Stars. Anything but the Wild- it sounds like an Arena Football League team. Once again, there are two many colors and too much crap going on in the logo. Get rid of the gold, change the logo, and change the team name. However, the Wild’s success (every single game sold out) despite their atrocious logo and sometimes lackluster play on the ice illustrates the need for the league to put teams in hockey cities, and further proves my theory from my last post.

Montreal Canadiens – Great team name, great logo, great sweater, no further discussion or links needed.

Nashville Predators – Predators isn’t a bad mascot, but it’s very generic. Once again I wish the league did a better job of embracing a city’s culture and was more creative with the team mascot. Nashville is known for its music, so the Nashville Musicians or something along those lines would’ve been pretty cool. The uniform is a bit busy for my tastes, and I won’t even bother providing a link to the deplorable alternate jersey.

New Jersey Devils – This club made a wise decision changing its colors from green and red to black and red. The Christmas decorations ensemble did not look very tough, and was kind of contradictory to naming the club the Devils. The logo is actually deceptively cool. The NJ with the stylized horns and tail is simple but nicely done.

NY Islanders – This is one of the cooler team names in the league. Jets, Mets, and Islanders fans are generally Long Island folks, so the team name and the logo really embraces the community. There was a brief period where the club fell victim to the teal craze of the nineties, but now their unis are for the most part back on track. Once again, the uniform is a little busy with the lines on the shoulders, but I can live with that. The Chevron patch on the shoulder representing the club's four Stanley Cups is really cool. In any event, I guess a solid uniform still does not prevent you from signing Alexei Yashin to a terrible contract.

NY Rangers – Once again it’s an Original Six team, so of course the unis and the team name are cool. The classic Rangers script across the front of the sweater hasn’t been changed in years, and it doesn’t need to be. The alternate sweater has to go though. A marquis franchise with classic uniforms should not have to resort to selling alternate jerseys. Also, extra kudos for pulling off the collar laces so well.

Ottawa Senators – The league had the right idea for this club by reviving the Senators mascot from back in the day. The color scheme of red and black works well, and I liked the original logo as well. While technically speaking the logo is of a Centurion, not a Senator, it still fits and was a good logo. The new logo is a bit cartoony to me. Also, once again the pit stripes have got to go. A team with an old school crest and an old school history deserves a simple straightforward jersey. This old bumblebee sweater isn’t have bad either.

Philadelphia Flyers – The logo and the mascot are classics. They’re original and name rolls off the tongue because it features alliteration. I have one request- go back to the orange jerseys. The black jersey is very played out, and the orange was sharp and unique– very few clubs in any sport have orange jerseys. Plus you can’t see the black logo on the black background.

Phoenix Coyotes – While I do mind hockey in Phoenix, I do not mind the mascot or the team colors. The Coyotes wisely changed their color scheme from black, green, red, tan, and a bunch of other colors on the crest to a simple dark red and white. The logo is also much simpler and better. This may come as a surprise thought but I actually liked their old Native American style trim on the old sweater (just the trim though). I thought it was unique to the team and a cool tribute to the Native population in the area. This sweater also fell victim to the RBK edge uniform though by losing its bottom of the jersey trim. Fix that, and you got a really cool jersey, but I would rather this team move back to Winnipeg.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Pittsburgh has a cool thing going with all their clubs being black and gold in color scheme, in tribute to the City of Pittsburgh’s flag. This club did a terrible thing when they got rid of the skating penguin logo for the more streamlined flying penguin logo with the stripes. Just like how Pat the Patriot is cooler than the Flying Elvis logo that the Patriots use on their helmets now, the skating penguin was better and needed to come back. It’s back, but the Penguin’s gold isn’t the yellow gold it used to be. They should go back to those colors to match the Steelers and Pirates, and add some trim at the bottom of the jersey.

San Jose Sharks – You can thank this team for kicking off the teal craze of the nineties. I loved seeing my beloved Pistons where teal. Thanks.

St. Louis Blues – One of the coolest and most unique mascots in all of sports. This team and the former New Orleans Jazz are the only two big league clubs named after a type of music. With their current sweater, they have shades of navy and royal blue. Pick a shade of blue, and stick with it. Also, maybe use those alternate jerseys with the Gateway Arch on the crest full time.

Tampa Bay Lightning – The last of the weather related mascot clubs in the league. Not a terrible name, but not that good of one. It would have been really cool to me if they did some sort of cigar related theme with Tampa being nicknamed Cigar City, but I guess that wouldn’t fly in this day and age. The logo itself is a little clip arty again, and I could do without the lightning bolts on the pants, but I can live with it. What I’m really pumped for is the new alternate sweater, which is blue instead of black, and features a script bolts across the chest like the Rangers jerseys. Nicknames and abbreviations on jerseys are always cool to me, and I like this jersey a lot.

Toronto Maple Leafs – A great mascot that is unique to hockey, a simple two color scheme (or should I say colour scheme), and a simple jersey. Simply timeless and classic, and no links required.

Vancouver Canucks – Every league has one I guess, Oregon in NCAA football, the Houston Astros in MLB, and of course the Vancouver Canucks in hockey. They have gone through more ugly uniforms than any other team in the league, and still haven’t gotten it right. The notorious V stripes, the Star Wars/spaghetti bowl/flying skate logo, the atrocious orca logo, and now back to the hockey rink logo with the atrocious orca logo with a script Vancouver over the top. This club just doesn’t get it, but they should go back to the ugly V stripe sweaters. At least those were so bad they were good. You Google the Canucks unis on your own- I’m getting lazy and I don’t want to find twenty links to all of their god-awful jerseys. By far and away the worst unis in the league.

Washington – I always liked the pick of Capitals as the team mascot- a solid nod to the team’s hometown. For the new Rbk unis, they did a really nice update of their old sweaters. The pit stripes for whatever reason look good on this sweater, and the team was wise enough to add some trim at the bottom of the jersey, which really makes them look like game jerseys, not practice jerseys. I think on this particular entry I proved that I am not a complete curmudgeon when it comes to jerseys.

While it was fun for me to come up with all the links and bullshit about all the unis/team names in the league, at the end of the day this series of entries is about the business end of the NHL. Strong mascot choices and merchandise sales are good business, and the league has done a poor job of making these choices over the years. Some choices have been missed opportunities, and some have been flat out awful. However, this is also one of the easiest things the league can fix. My next article will cover the league’s exposure on TV and marketing, which will be critical to the league’s future success.

If I Ran the NHL

By Pete McGrath

As a hockey fan, I will always watch my beloved Detroit Red Wings. However, the NHL still has its problems. This will be an ongoing series of my proposals for building a stronger NHL.

League Alignment/Team Locations

The NHL has made some questionable team location calls over the years. Cities that have a large hockey friendly populations (Minnesota’s twin cities, Quebec, Hartford, and Winnipeg) lost their teams. The league moved or added expansion franchises in many places with no snow and no history of ice hockey, and small cities at that. Here is my team-by-team analysis of which clubs need to move, and where they should go.

Columbus-

Ohio is not really a hockey state. Despite being up north, despite being close to Hockey loving cities like Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Detroit, folks in Ohio pretty much think about football and the Buckeyes all the time. However, what really makes no sense about the Blue Jackets is putting it in a city with so much sports competition already there. Columbus is the home of The Ohio State University. OSU has a huge football program, and pretty high profile Hockey and Basketball programs all competing during the NHL’s season. Only the Bruins have more in city competition for Hockey fans dollars, and Boston has a much larger hockey fan base, and the Bruins have a much longer tradition. Columbus as a location was always a stumper for me.

Atlanta-

Atlanta is a terrible sports city. I think it has something to do with a lot of people recently moving there. People didn’t grow up Atlanta fans, so they really haven’t embraced any of their teams. The Braves have empty seats during the playoffs for crying out loud. The Thrashers need to be in a city that will truly embrace them, and Atlanta is not that city.

Florida-

Miami is a city that only cares about the Dolphins, and football in general. Sure people showed up for the Heat when Shaq was in town, but you could tell that the American Airlines center was packed with fair-weather fans. People in Miami can go to the beach, go to the club, go to fashion show, and if they do want to see sports, it’s football they want to see. In any event, the state of Florida does not need two hockey teams.

Nashville-

Nashville has fielded some decent teams over the past couple years. However, filling up their arena has been an uphill battle for the Predators. Nashville is a relatively small metro area with very little hockey history, and it shows. To be honest, I don’t see why the team was put here in the first place. There are lots of bigger metro areas with more hockey interest, and with better arenas that would have made more sense.

Anaheim/Los Angeles-

The Los Angeles metro area does not need two hockey teams. Los Angeles is not a good sports town. Dodger fans are known for showing up late and leaving early. If So Cal really cared about sports, wouldn’t they have an NFL team by now? Here’s the tough part- which team to move? Anaheim has had some success, but I highly doubt that anyone in Anaheim really cares. The Kings are the team that needs to stay in town. They play downtown at the Staples Center, and if they were halfway decent they could be somewhat of a glamour franchise of the league, much like the Lakers are for the NBA. While the NHL needs to have a presence in this market, they do not need two.

Phoenix-

The Coyotes have not really caught on in Phoenix, as with the rest of the clubs in town. Phoenix is seemingly western version of Atlanta- a growing city where no one is actually from there. Maybe people care about the Suns, but I doubt anyone gives a shit about the other teams. Hockey in the desert is just a stupid idea, and the club’s abysmal attendance record over the years makes the evidence very clear.

Carolina-

I never really understood this move. Hartford to Carolina seemed like a lateral if not a downgrade of a move by owner Peter Karmanos. To go from one small city in the North where it snows and people actually care about hockey to another small city in the South where people do not care about hockey (or know what it is) was a bit of a stumper to me. Carolina has hovered in the bottom half, usually the bottom third of league attendance even though the team brought home a cup. This points to a team that should relocate.

Where to?

Winnipeg-

A new arena downtown, a rabid and starved hockey fan base, and it’s in Canada where people actually care about hockey. If you ever saw the white outs the Jets fans pulled off in the playoffs, you knew this town loved its team. It has the arena now, so give them a shot. Phoenix had their chance and they blew it. Give Winnipeg their Jets back.

Hamilton-

Another city in Canada that would be a great fit for a big league club is Hamilton. While it’s close to Buffalo and Toronto, Hamiltonians used to have an NHL club way back in the day, and would assuredly embrace another if it moved to town. Once again while it’s a smaller area, it is in Canada where hockey is king and faces competition from no other sports. The arena would need renovation, but that wouldn’t be a problem here.

Cleveland-

If keeping a team in Ohio, Cleveland would be a better location because it is a bigger metropolitan area and would be more receptive to a professional club. Natural rivalries could be created with Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Buffalo. Also, this old Cleveland Barons logo is pretty cool. Perhaps an arrangement could be worked out where they play a few home games in Columbus and Cincinnati, much like the Packers playing a few home games in Milwaukee, which was successful in making the Packers not just Green Bay’s team but Wisconsin’s team. The Cleveland Barons need to become Ohio’s team, but they will always be second fiddle in Columbus to the Buckeyes. A nice arena in downtown Cleveland doesn’t hurt either.

Houston-

This may seem like a stupid idea to some, but hear me out. While Houston Texas is not exactly a hockey hotbed, Houston is actually a big city. If trying to expand the footprint of the league to cities that are not traditional hockey markets, they should at least be big markets. Houston is a large metro area full of cash and sponsorship opportunities from oil companies, and a nice arena is already in place. An interstate rivalry with Dallas could and should spring up. Name suggestions: Houston Aeros, the name of the current AHL team and former WHA team.

Portland-

Portland is an affluent, growing metro area with only one other professional team in town. Portland is not located in the middle of a desert. While town residents were weary of building a new stadium for a potential Florida Marlins move, it has an arena currently in place. This arena also has a cool name- the Rose Garden. Not a lot of people know this, but the Portland Rosebuds were the first American hockey team to compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup in 1915. Portland Rosebuds would be a cool name for the current team as well, as I think it would be nice to see a new team without some sort of stupid animal logo or natural disaster motif.

Seattle-

Seattle as a city gets a bad wrap. Many a columnist, including S.I.’s Rick Reilly, mailed in a “Seattle is a town of wine and latte drinking, Volvo driving, smug elitists especially up against blue collar archetype Pittsburgh” type column. But look at the music this town has given us – Jimi Hendrix (the best to ever pick a guitar up), Alice in Chains, Heart, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Duff McKagan of Guns’n’Roses, among many others. A town that rocks this hard would enjoy a hockey team, especially after the Sonics took off for Oklahoma City. Maybe Key Arena isn’t perfect, but within a few years, Seattle would probably be willing to renovate or build a new one. Another brief history lesson- while the Portland Rosebuds were the first American club to compete for the Stanley Cup, the Seattle Metropolitans a year later in the 1916 were the first American team to win it. One last bit of advice- try to get Bill Gates to own the team.

Kansas City-

Hockey tried and failed once in K.C. in the form of the Kansas City Scouts. While it didn’t work out in the seventies, Kansas City deserves another chance. Kansas City is a good sports town, with Arrowhead Stadium known for being one of the NFL’s loudest. I’m sure when the Royals were halfway decent, people showed up at Kauffman Stadium too. Anyway, the Sprint Center has been built downtown and the city does not have a tenant. This means any team that wishes to become the new Kansas City Scouts (please stick with that name) can hammer out a sweetheart lease, which is pivotal to any franchise’s success. Also, since there are no hoops teams in K.C., the hockey team will have winter sports options all to itself.
Thanks for reading. My next entry will be on team names/logos/jerseys and come with a ranking of NHL uniforms.