NHL Concept Logos, Part 2

You know, it occured to me that two months ago, I posted a bunch of concept logos under a headline that read "Part 1." Well you could've searched all day and never found the second part that supposedly followed — until today. I'm finally just now getting around to publishing that post and it's about damn time.

Have a look at some of the craziest logos you'll ever see.

This logo was designed during the "Mighty" era with the old crummy colors. It's nothing special but I felt like it was still worth posting. The duck goalie mask is definitely a Disney design and would therefore never be used now even if the colors were changed to match what the team wears today. Plus it's just not cool enough.

And there's more where that came from. I know you were wondering.

I know the New Jersey Devils don't really need a change and it would be ridiculous for anyone to suggest that they did, but I've got these to share just the same.

Check out these renderings of possible (or impossible) New Jersey Devils logos. Personally, I'm all for leaving the Devils logo the way it is. No reason to mess with perfection there. But I just thought these might be interesting. Any thoughts?

As a special bonus, we've also got an idea of what the Winnipeg Jets might look like if they were still in Winnipeg and not called the Coyotes.

What do you think of this? As far as logos go, I think this one wouldn't work well because it's too open. There need to be more closed-in areas in a logo. This one is all over the place.

Anyway, feel free to comment on these monstrosities if that is in fact how you see them. Don't worry about ever seeing them on NHL ice. It won't happen.

Mailbag: New Sens Logo On CIPO Site

Got some interesting emails from a reader regarding the new look of the Ottawa Senators. He emailed me links to pages on the Canadian Intellectual Property Office web site showing what appears to be the new primary and secondary logos of the Sens.

According to the CIPO, this is the primary logo:

It matches the "leaks" we've been seeing all along. You can link to the CIPO's page directly, here.

And apparently, this is the secondary logo:

This is the first time we're ever seeing this logo. Like I said, the guy who emailed me says this will be the secondary mark. Expect it to be unveiled along with the new primary and Rbk EDGE jerseys on August 22 at Scotiabank Place.

You can link to the page directly, here.

Sorry they're only black and white, but this is what I have to offer. What do you guys think?

By the way, huge thanks to Greg on the awesome find!

UPDATE (4:36 PM): In case anyone was wondering, here's how these two logos might look with a little color splashed on.

Canucks New Logo Leaked?

Tonight I found what appears to be a sneaky picture of a hat with the new Vancouver Canucks logo on it. Take a look and tell me if you think it's real.

If it is fake, it's the best job I've ever seen. We've been getting conflicting reports over just how much green there will be in the new logo. At first we were hearing blue and silver then it was blue and silver and green. I just don't know what to believe. Anyway, on this hat, while the logo is blue and silver, it has a small bit of green stitching as you can see.

Incidentally, I added August 29 to the sidebar countdown for the Vancouver Canucks big unveiling event. This comes not from the team directly but rather someone apparently working for a graphics firm hired by the team. Said someone emailed me directly and told me I should post the date. That being said, take it for what its worth. I can't verify that claim any more than you but there it is.

I really hope that is the date for the sake of Canucks fans everywhere. You guys have been getting yanked around so bad this summer. It's not even right.

The "SJ" In The Shark

I noticed that a few of you have been hard pressed to find the "SJ" I was referring to in the San Jose Sharks logo in this post from the other day. I thought I'd make things a little easier for those of you who can't find it.

Check it out.

How about that! Because of that little nugget, it's moved way up on my list of favorite NHL logos. It's stuff like that that can make logos so cool.

New Sens Logo In NHL08

Lending further credence to the now widely held belief that we should be expecting a new logo for the Ottawa Senators on August 22 is this alleged screen shot from EA Sports' NHL08 video game.

This new-fangled logo is now triple-sourced as far as leaks are concerned. I'm going to go ahead and say it's real.

According to the team, the unveiling of the new uniform will take place on August 22 at Scotiabank Place.

Further Proof Of New Sens Logo?

I first posted this logo back in July but it seems we have more evidence of the new Ottawa Senators logo through official league channels — perhaps accidentally.

I don't know. What do you think? The Senators have yet to announce any sort of official unveiling ceremony for their new duds but it's looking more and more like said duds will feature an upgrade to the logo. And this may be it.

An Abundance Of Islanders Art

Every so often I find myself with just so many images for one team I feel like getting them all posted in one shot. Today that team is the New York Islanders. Remember that Atlanta Thrashers artwork I posted on Friday? Well, I've got more from that same artist (who's apparently been posting his awesome work over at the SportsLogos.net message board.

If you ask me, that's a pretty nice set of logos. Isles fans?

This is the uniform set that goes with those logos and they're just as cool. I really like the lighthouse as a primary element. I don't think you can lose the "NY" altogether because that's just one of those things that's always been there and it really does look good.

The Islanders tried out a lighthouse logo back in the mid-'90s when they switched to the fisherman logo. But nobody liked the fisherman, so they reverted back. I don't know why they didn't keep some version of the lighthouse, though.

In fact, this next design makes use of that lighthouse. Before you look, though, just know that it is a design based off the dreaded all-star jersey template.

I like that its a Mike Bossy jersey. Good stuff. The only problem is, those logos don't really go well together. The waviness of this lighthouse logo just went better with those mid-'90s jerseys. I'm curious to know what Islanders fans thought of those — and this jersey design. Though I think the designer is trying to subliminally mess with your sense of nostalgia by placing Bossy's name on the back.

I'm just about done here. This is another example of a lighthouse-based logo. It doesn't necessarily have to be the primary mark, but I think it would make a good secondary logo. Put it on the shoulder patch or something. This one isn't extremely well-balanced for a sports logo, but I had it so I thought I'd post it.

One last thing and then I'll leave you and the Islanders alone for a while.

Sorry I don't have a larger size, but a reader emailed this logo to me. It's got some neat elements but I'm not sure what it would be for. Perhaps a seal logo for hats and t-shirts and the like.

To sum up, it's a lot of cool fan artwork and absolutely nothing official from the team. Sorry to disappoint, but nobody has been saying anything official these days and I still want to keep posting new stuff on the blog. So the only way is to post fan designs in the interim while we wait. As always, I'll be sure to let you know when something official is announced. Until then, enjoy the fan artwork, and feel free to submit any of your own.

Mailbag: "Buffaslug" A Scam?

Ever since I set up an email address for this blog, I've been getting some of the most interesting and strange emails I've ever seen. I'm filing this one in the nutty bin but I wanted to at least show it to all of you. Before I say anything about it, just have a read and then feel free to laugh to yourself for a little while.

the sabres slug was a scam. they are planning on revealing the final logo this september. the new blue and gold project was in on it the whole time.
http://www.newblueandgold.com/photos/i/sabresconfidentialphoto.jpg

That was the cryptic message I received today. Verbatim. And the image to which he linked can be seen below.

Now, for the record, I think the Blue & Gold Project is amazing. I've had a link to it on the sidebar since I started this site. John Slabyk does some of the best work I've ever seen. I was a graphic artist for a newspaper for eight years and every time I think about going back into the field, I see work like that and think twice. (That's why I'm sticking with television.)

Anyway, having said that, it would be utterly ridiculous for us to really put stock in this email. As we know, Photoshop is more prevalent than ever these days and therefore what you see, is not necessarily what you will get. The reason I say it is ridiculous is that there's no way a multi-million-dollar NHL club goes through the hassle of creating a whole new identity, only to dump it after just 12 months.

Forget the uniforms. Think of all the hats, t-shirts, bumper stickers and other merchandise with the "Buffaslug" logo. Think of how much money it would cost to create all new merchandise with a new logo. I'm sorry, I do love the logo Slabyk created and I hope one day the Buffalo Sabres can use it or something similar, but don't hold your breath for this season.

If you have a question or comment you'd like to submit by email, you can reach me at nhllogos@gmail.com.

UPDATE (8/5 6:16 PM): We need to ease off on all the confusion here. I'm reading in some places things that would make English teachers everywhere sit down on the floor and cry. If only people would read.

The image featured in this post, as was stated, is just for fun. But to clear things up, I wanted to add the screen grab in the comments to the actual post as an update. As you can see, there's a very clever watermark in the image proving its lack of authenticity as far as that goes. I'm trying not to spread rumors here, but the trick is reading what gets posted along with the pictures.

Design Your Own Lightning Logo

All right, one final post for today and then I think I'll rest for a while. As you may or may not know, it is believed that the new logo for the Tampa Bay Lightning was leaked a few weeks back.

By and large, fan response hasn't been great. So as a way of letting people vent or something, the St. Petersburg Times is asking readers and fans to design their own Lightning logo and submit it for future posting on their web site. You can find more information on Damian Cristodero's Lightning Strikes blog.

I thought this was really cool and I recommend that anyone, Lightning fan or not, who has a concept to submit it. And if it wouldn't be too much trouble, email it to me as well. (I can offer the instant gratification of posting it within hours.) You can email me at nhllogos@gmail.com if you're interested.

Avs, Blues Jersey Concepts

Just when you thought I'd posted enough fake jersey designs for one day, oh no, just you wait. First we'll have a look at something that was put together for the Colorado Avalanche.

If you can look past the poor design quality, well, there's not much to this that rings of goodness. It's certainly interesting to look at, but Avs fans shouldn't worry about this. From what we've heard, there won't be any changes to the logo or uniforms — just an adaptation to the new Rbk EDGE style.

Now here's a look at a St. Louis Blues concept design.

I'm not real keen on the color scheme, but hey, it's not my team. As far as design, it's simple and rather close to what they currently wear. Although we haven't heard anything specific from the team regarding an unveiling of the new uniforms, I wouldn't expect to see anything much different from what they currently wear.