All right Wild, WTF?
Wild shoulder patches, now and thenWhat's going on, Wild?
There was a time not too long ago when I considered the Minnesota Wild to be the pinnacle of NHL uniform and logo design. Among the very best the league had to offer.
But I'm quickly losing confidence in that.
As indicated by EA Sports' NHL 11, it seems the Wild do, in fact, have a new shoulder patch on their white road sweaters for the 2010-11 season. I've thrown together a quick side-by-side comparison in the photos to the right. Additional photos on the Wild's website.
It's rather disappointing considering what they had been wearing. The old logo was relevant to the name and had a distinct and recognizable style — despite the idea that it perhaps didn't fit with the faux retro style the team exudes.
The new patch is still a wordmark, but it's been watered down into oblivion. For a better look at the logo itself, SportsLogos.net is always happy to help.
By the way, if that nonsense wasn't bad enough, check out the pants. Where'd the stripes go, guys? Minnesota, I'm disappointed. That is all.
Chris
Bill posed a good question in the comments today:
Could the stripe-less pants be nothing more than a "pre-season" quirk...sorta like the Red Wings Arch-less names, or the steelers front numeral free helmets?
Here's why I think that's not the case. For the Red Wings, it's almost certainly a cost-/time-saving measure. I wrote about this subject exactly a year ago yesterday. In a nutshell, the Red Wings' arched nameplates require every letter to be specially cut so it fits perfectly within the player's name. That's a lot of work with so many players. It gets easier when the roster is cut down.
But back to the Wild, it could be a preseason thing, but it actually started last year when the team wore stripe-less pants with their third jersey. Clearly, we'll have to wait until the season starts to be sure, but I think we'll find both of the aforementioned changes to be permanent.
Reader Comments (26)
the patch is just...its just crap. i thought they had one of the best shoulder patches in the league. as for the pants im hoping its just one of those pre season things they do so they dont have to make a pair of team pants for every rookie and junior player in camp.
quite disappointed in the new shoulder patch. the old one is the original logo of the franchise and much more fitting with the jersey style. the new logo is way too plain for my liking. it reminds me of one of those generic logos you can make for a fantasy team.
This shoulder patch is complete B.S. it looks horroble, wait... it would look horrible if you could read it from 5 or more feet away.
Could it be that the pants are a preseason only occurrence? I know Detroit ditches the arch lettered names on all preseason jerseys.
But overall, a pretty disappointing wordmark. We need new away duds here in Minnesota something fierce. Hopefully next season we can see a little retooling done.
I agree with everything you said, Chris - both changes are definitely a downgrade.
The Wild have been wearing the solid green pants with their new thirds, so maybe they're just getting rid of the striped ones to save money. The Ducks did the same thing when they introduced the last thirds of the "Mighty" era since those jerseys had no jade green in them.
I don't like the shoulder patch either. I believe the old patch is the very first logo from when the Wild became a franchise so why would they want to take that away. I could see replacing that patch with a 10th season pass for this season and then going back to the original but the new one is just so boring. I didn't notice that the stripes are gone from the pants while watching the game tonight but the picture shows it clearly and I don't like that either.
Could the stripe-less pants be nothing more than a "pre-season" quirk...sorta like the Red Wings Arch-less names, or the steelers front numeral free helmets?
It would make sense, as a cost saving measure, anyone who has ever ordered a custom... jersey knows that it's much cheaper for one colour than three, and they have the plain green shells for the 3rd jersey anyways, we'll have to wait and see. but that's my guess.
This is an image of a 2009 pre-season game, the stripes WERE in tact....so my theory has no real history...I'm hoping I'm right though
either way, no excuse for the shoulder patch.
Wow, big difference..... /s
always hated the Wilds color choice, I always think of Christmas when I see their jersey, not really a bad thing, but I should be thinking of the Wild when I see the Wilds' jersey
jeez kinda looks like an old mountain dew logo lol
It looks horrible and cheap, but I can see the team's argument being that the new shoulder patch matches the font used on the front logo of the home (dark) jerseys. It looks more like something for the pocket of a polo shirt than a real jersey's shoulder patch. The pants though, look like a budget move.
If they were going to change it, they should have just modified their home crest into a shoulder patch. That would establish consistency for the uniform set, while still retaining the old shape of the original patch.
Dont like the shoulder patch, dont like the pants.........As a Minnesota fan...I am VERY displeased with the changes.
That "Wild" script they've had for their first 9 seasons was a joke. It was ugly, and i am frankly glad to see it go.
Do i think they needed to throw their new wordmark on their? No.
Good lord, that patch is so bland, they might as well not wear any.
I'm with you on this one, Chris. Totally unnecessary.
I actually prefer the new wordmark. But I'm a sucker for retro stylings.
But I'm with you about the stripes. Anytime we lose stripes on a uniform, it's a travesty.
DULL.
By the way, I smell a mini-poll!
The Wild's original designs were pretty close to perfect, though on the old green jersey I would have gone with thick white or gold shoulder stripes rather than the green ones they had.
Their old word mark was bad, but this one looks even worse. I'm not a fan of the rectangle or the dark colors, and why does it use the same font that the Wild only use (for the numbers) on their white jerseys?
Finally... bring back the pants stripes, Wild!
That team is a design train wreck.
I actually prefer the subtlety of the new patch. To me the original patch was a bit 'loud' and took away from the rest of their sharp, traditional look.
I can see where you're coming from Chris, but the new alterations are already starting to grow on me. When you look at the other photos on their team site, they just appear to be more 'put together' now, and a bit more modern, perhaps. PDR has a great point with the 'subtlety'.
Though still undecided, I'm positive this is a step in the right direction. Also, don't forget the fact that the previous whites have been kicking around for 10 years, 7 with the old jersey style and 3 with the edge cut. Think of that from a $ perspective.
When you think about it, their visiting jersey shoulder patch no longer really 'matched' their new brand identity from the past three or four years -- as much as I liked the wordmark, it became outdated in my mind. It was on it's way out when the accompanying green home jersey was booted for the red. Let's also not forget that their the youngest franchise in the league, and for an expansion+ team to retain a small piece of it's branding without change for 10 years seems like a rarity in my eyes. Every other 90's expansion team has moved on, with the exception of the Panthers.
i blame Craig Leopold, the owner. He was the original owner of the Predators and was responsible for that team's branding, then managed to unload them and bought the Wild instead. The man has no icethetic sense.
Minnesota needs to get rid of the yellow altogether.
Yikes! That's a boring shoulder patch. I was never a big fan of that original "Wild" lettering that they're now getting rid of. I wish they would utilize the "State of Hockey" logo as a patch or center ice logo because it is fantastic. Does this mean the end of that original "Wild" script? I can't think of any other reason to keep it around if they're taking it off the shoulder patch...
Sure the patch is a downgrade, but who cares, its just a shoulder patch.
I actually like the stripeless pants.
But overall I have always disliked the Wild's jerseys and logo anyway. I think it is the colour scheme that I dislike most.
Chris I wholeheartedly agree with you that the wild were once at the Pinnacle of Uniform Design. They're inaugural set looked spectacular and when the Red Fauxback had hem stripes, it was pretty sharp as well. The first mistake was making that Alternate their full time home and the second was letting them butcher it during the transition to Edge. Now their only remaining good looking jersey gets tainted with a mediocre looking shoulder patch. Dissapointing.
It's typical Minnesota Wild branding and marketing. I have always disliked the "Wild" moniker for a team name and I always will. Money should have been spent in trying to get the North Stars name, trademark, and history from Dallas and the NHL,ie. a Cleveland Browns scenerio. The North Stars, with their classic green, gold, and white(without ANY black) and the iconic N-star crest, had a proud history going back to the days of Bill Goldsworthy. North Star gear would outsell Wild gear(see how bad that sounds??) by a wide margin.