Change the Leafs Logo
Tuesday · Aug 4 · 2009 | 3:34 PM PDTI mentioned this briefly on Twitter several weeks ago, but I've been getting emails almost daily about one Toronto fan's attempt at fixing his team's logo.
In case you're one of the few that hasn't yet heard, LeafsLogo.com and creator Jeff Veillette are on a crusade to convince the Toronto Maple Leafs to change their logo and uniforms. He likes the new third jersey so much he thinks it deserves a promotion.
The design is based on one that originated in 1938 and went by the wayside in 1967 — following the team's final Stanley Cup championship. It's extremely recognizable and beyond that, the Leafs have not won anything since. If that's not reason enough, I don't know what is.
Jeff wants the Leafs to shed the current look, which is by many accounts one of the worst in the league right now, and go with a classic, more traditional design. And who here can blame him?
The current logo has been in service for nearly 40 years and in that time, no Stanley Cups have found their way to Toronto. So Jeff started a petition to, hopefully, reverse the team's luck. Currently, more than 1,300 people have agreed with them.
Jeff has gotten some local press about his campaign too. He's spoken to the Toronto Sun and the Toronto Star, both of which have published interesting articles which seem to be in support of the idea, even if not everyone is. The following was printed by the Star.
The petition's backers have been using the Internet to promote their cause, but they're also considering holding a rally to attract attention to their efforts.
But Hall of Famer Red Kelly, a Stanley Cup champion with the Leafs, doesn't think changing the logo will make any difference.
"It's not the logo or the number on the back, it's the player that's going to do the winning," said Kelly, who won four Cups during his stint with the Leafs from 1959 to 1967.
"I think the key is the maple leaf, regardless of the shape it's in. If it's a maple leaf, then it's a Toronto team."
Kelly has a good point, but superstition can be a powerful thing.
Head on over to LeafsLogo.com and check out the petition. Are you in favor of a return to the old days? Or do you think the Leafs should keep their look the way it is?
Reader Comments (26)
Ha this is ridiculous! As a die hard Leaf fan I bleed blue. Changing a logo won't do anything. Just as Red Kelly said, you need good players. As far as the quote, "It's extremely recognizable and beyond that, the Leafs have never won a Cup while wearing anything else." That is inaccurate. The Leafs won the Cup in 1932 using their previous 34-point Maple Leaf. As far as the jerseys go, they are simple, clean, and classy. Just like the city of Toronto.
I have to agree with Red Kelley, if they think a change in logo will help their game, that's ridiculous. However that logo does look really good because the current Leafs jersey are pretty bland to me.
To rhas2916: You're right, my mistake. Fixed the post. What I meant was they haven't won anything since changing it not they hadn't won anything prior. Thanks for catching that.
Yes...the current logo is a logo symbolizing losers...so far. As a Leaf fan, we will continue to cough up thousands of dollars a year to watch and hope. Hope for a Cup in the near future.
I don't know if changing the logo or uniform will reverse the curse, but I'm all for it. Either way, there is nothing wrong with their current alternate jersey or its logo, and I think should be their full-time logo and uniform.
the real issue which other teams fans and some of our own fans do not understand is that the current logo was created under Harold Ballard who was the owner who began the mindset of toronto of profits before winning. other than putting together horrible teams they really screwed over the club and over all is the most hated man who ever touched the franchise
All i know is that their Reebok Edge redesign looks like a practice jersey, or blue pajamas. They need to go back to an older striping design at the least. I like either logo just fine.
While the reasons for changing the logo are pretty absurd, I do prefer the old logo. It's not a bad idea anyway.
Am I the only one that thinks the current logo is much sleeker/cleaner and even uses a nicer font? When it comes to logos, some of the greatest ones are the most simple ones.
As far as the jerseys themselves, I would like to see striping on the bottom again. I think the '67 jerseys would be a great compromise if they really wanted to change the logo.
Use the old one. The newer looks horrible.
Another vote for the gorgeous old logo.
And put the stripes back on the bottom. Reebok's attempt to establish a league-wide "tucking-in" of jerseys has failed, so enough.
I say leave it alone, but that's just because "Six-ty se-ven clap clap clapclapclap" is so much fun to chant ;) Seriously, though, any change would be for the better for the Leafs...their uniforms are so bland now, especially when you look at what they could have.
When it boils down to it, this is more about looks than superstition in my opinion. I'd rather see the Leafs wear their 60's uniforms for home and away and have the 1967 home jersey as their 3rd. Besides, that would look extremely sharp and much sharper than their current logo and uniform which is more bland and dull than conservative.
And why not convert back to the 60's uniforms to showcase an image of a better time in Leafs history, arguably the most significant era in Leafs history. It would pay respect and homage to that era and keep the spirit alive. Sure, it takes the players' talents to win cups and ultimately changing the uniform won't change the success of the team, but it would create so much more nostalgia and the Leafs would look way better for that.
Chris, you should make a post explaining that Reebok wasn't directly in charge of any jersey design changes. Lol, people follow your word, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Honestly, the Reebok Edge change was for the good, the designs may not have been, but the new jerseys are much more comfortable, sleeker, etc. I'm sick of a bunch of ignorant people trying to blame jersey redesigns on Reebok. The Maple Leafs changed their design, not Reebok.
Now that that is out of the way, I happen to like the Leafs old logo much better. And if they applied their third design onto a home and away jersey, that'd be awesome.
It's not a bad idea, as long as they use the right versions of the logos. The White 35-point Leaf needs the outline. Other than that, not bad.
Ha! The Leafs need more than a new shirt in order to be anything other than a perennial loser. Looks at my Tampa Bay Lightning. We had the same jersey for 10+ years of losing, and then we did this magical thing where by we coached and trained our players, made excellent personnel decisions, worked hard, tried to draft well... and won a Stanley Cup! Shocker, I know. And a change in uniforms didn't even factor into it.
GO BOLTS!
I don't think this has anything to do with winning cups at all. That's just ridiculous. But to say that the team actually thinks that is just stupid, BrianB23. If you're going to say that to anyone, say it to the guy who's organizing this.
While I agree with this whole cause, I think the whole amount of cups thing is just to make it look like there's more of a reason then just changing it because of opinion, when really, all this is is changing it because of looks. Who gives a crap how many times they're won with the "new" ones.
The point is the Leafs will be represented MUCH better as an Original 6 team and 13-time Stanley Cup winner while wearing the 35-point leaf. And if MLSE even thinks about arguing that point, then why the heck do they wear the third jersey against Original 6 teams so often?
I'm tired of looking at this pathetic logo. A change is needed.
Well clearly Leafers didn't read the article... and they say I'm stupid.
"The current logo has been in service for nearly 40 years and in that time, no Stanley Cups have found their way to Toronto. So Jeff started a petition to, hopefully, reverse the team's luck. Currently, more than 1,300 people have agreed with them."
If this icethetics article is in fact accurate, then a change in appearance has as much to do with changing the team's performance on the ice as it is how it is represented by a corporate brand. So while your personal opinion is to say that this has nothing to do with winning and is just an asthetic change, I have to say thats not quite valid or even has any basis in fact. Unless the author of icethetics didn't mean to imply it as such.
In reality, the only point that I was trying to make in my previous post was that Brian Burke has a LOT of work to do, and the LEAST of his problems is going to be how many points the stupid plant on the front of his shirt has. I mean, c'mon, the last time the Leafs were even relevant was the year the Bolts won the Stanley Cup, which coincidently was the last time the Leafs made a playoff appearance.
Ugh, I want Toronto Legacy to change their logo, hahaha ;).
I sort of agree. But I hope this isn't the answer to T.O.'s cup woes. Being a Canuck fan, that wouldn't bode well if T.O. won the cup before we did. LOL! Before I go into rant mode, I'll just say that if this passed, I'd use the 67 Cup run Leafs jersey as their third jersey.
Prepare for a long rant...Ignore it if you want to...
Their current problem I think is not going for Canadian Talent. As Don Cherry once put it, they should stop going for the European player with the crazy name and start picking up talent closer to home once again. The Habs have done it with guys like Guy Lafleur and Patrick Roy and they still managed to win the Stanley Cup multiple times from the late 60s to the early 90s when it was dynasty after dynasty.
The main reason why Toronto has not won the cup since the 1967 expansion is probably because of the expansion program itself. More teams means the talent gets spread out for the draft, whereas in the Original Six days you had a good number of talent on your team. This isn't just affecting just Toronto, it has affected every original six team. Boston was okay for the first few years of the expansion, but they soon went the way of Chicago, Toronto, New York with the exception of (...sigh) 94, and Detroit until about 12 years ago. The Habs I believe after they won the cup in 93 have slowly started to go into a drought similar to the other Original 6 teams. Unless they can figure it out they won't win another cup for years I'm sure.
The only original six team doing it right in today's NHL of course is Detroit currently the only team in the league that can keep a good team...good. Boston is coming back into the spotlight if they play their cards right. Chicago is using the same method as Pittsburgh by developing their young talent. Meanwhile, New York is leeching off old and injury prone talent (bad idea), Montreal can't keep a good team good anymore with the players they pick up and Toronto is in the same boat as the Habs they have pretty much been on the decline since they stopped going far in the playoffs. Okay, that's enough of my ranting. Carry on...
Yes, of course Reebok had absolutely nothing to do with effing up the uniforms. The individual teams just so happened to adopt Reebok's hideous Bettman-striped template nearly league-wide, hook, line, and sinker.
While the assumption that changing a logo will change a team's fortunes is patently illogical, it does a lot for fan perception. A team can hold all sorts of press conferences, sign the right free agents, bring in the new coaches, and so on, but none of that beats fan apathy without immediate and roaring success. Fans accustomed to losing teams aren't patient with "rebuilding processes."
I speak because I live in the Detroit area, and with our Detroit Lions. Even if you don't follow football, it's hard to ignore the despair that is Detroit (and its football team) because it's EVERYWHERE.
The Lions modified the logo and the wordmark. For any team, the logo is its first visible introduction to the world. By changing it, they hope to change the mentality that follows. It's sort of a "look, we know we sucked. But we're trying to change, to get away from the stigma of the past. We spent all this time, money, and effort in redesigning the look, so it'd be a waste if we didn't work hard to deserve it."
Again, illogical, but consider that most sports fans don't operate on logic anyway -- otherwise, the Lions and the Maple Leafs wouldn't have interested fans left. :)
To be honest I would have pushed for the old style 35 point leaf to be our primary logo back in the day but to be honest I have really gotten used to the leaf we have now and anything else on the front would be strange for me. For me there is no problem with the logo it's the new jersey design.
I would be so happy if we would just go back to the 90's design when we had guys like Gilmour and Clark on our team (those were awesome!). I like how they still incorperated the old style leaf on the shoulder and added it along with the current logo on the front, because it seemed like when you were looking at those you could visually see right into our rich hockey history.
When I look at this current logo now I see Sittler and McDonald and Palmateer and Tiger and Vaive and Clark and Gilmour and Sundin and etc...
Sure this current logo does not come with any cups or any championships, and sure it has it's low points but along with all of that it still has it's own vibrant and colourful history and hopefully it's own bright future. It's a look that is as iconic as the city it's self and the people who inhabit it and many of us have accepted it into our homes and our hearts as if our own. It is a childhood friend, for some a rival, a tradition, a medal of honor, but for many it's a dream. A dream that one day we can go back to the way it was with this city again atop the hockey world.
This is just one man's opinion and to be honest no matter what they put on the front it will have it's cult like following. But just because this current logo does not have a trophy to show it's success does not mean that it is not iconic and should just be ripped apart and thrown way as if it were nothing.
Change the jesey because it looks 10x better. But you wont win more games because of it.
CHANGE THE JERSEY BACK ITS ALL ABOUT TRADITION AND THE OLD JERSEY IS THE TRADITIONAL JERSEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS A LOT NICER AND THE JERSEY AND LOGO WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS BORING.... THE LEAFS FRONT OFFICE NEEDS TO SEE THIS CAUSE I THINK THAT THEY WOULD AGREE TO SWITCH IT BACK!
go with the 1967 leafs logo and I'll agree with you.