Canucks vs Oilers

	vs
CANUCKS		OILERS
1-1		1-6

The Aesthetics
It's a Northwest Division showdown. The Canucks logo has great colors and a subtle "C" while the Oilers logo only has one of those two things. I'll let you figure out which.
Canucks

The Nickname
I'm trying to envision a fistfight between a Canuck and an Oiler. They're both rather rugged. It's a real crapshoot. But I bet the Canuck fights dirty. He gets the edge.
Canucks

The Analysis
Instead of a Canuck, all I'm seeing in this logo is a whale. When will that change? At least the Oilers logo has a copper drop of oil in it to represent the name of the team. Don't get me wrong, I love the Canucks logo but I can't find what relevance it has to the name of the club.
Oilers

WINNER

2-1

 

Avalanche vs Oilers

	vs
AVALANCHE		OILERS
1-0		1-5

The Aesthetics
The obvious answer here is the Avalanche. This logo has great colors and a classic design that I don't think will ever go out of style. The Oilers on the other hand — stop spelling out the name of the team in logos!
Avalanche

The Nickname
I don't know what Oilers are doing in snow-capped mountains, but they would certainly be crushed by an Avalanche.
Avalanche

The Analysis
Both teams are aptly named and have respectable color schemes. However, as far as having a logo that symbolizes your team. There's almost none better than the Avalanche. The Oilers logo has a simple copper drop and the name of the team. The Avalanche logo incorporates an "A" as a mountain down which an avalanche is falling. How do you improve on something like that? The Avs complete the easy sweep.
Avalanche

WINNER

3-0

 

Predators vs Oilers

	vs
PREDATORS		OILERS
3-2		1-4

The Aesthetics
Normally, too much detail and too much color would kill a team pretty quickly, but I really don't like words in logos. The Oilers logo's main saving grace is its simplicity and color scheme. The Predators may have had it but for the minute detail in the logo.
Oilers

The Nickname
The Predator would totally eat the Oiler. The poor guy would never stand a chance.
Predators

The Analysis
Again, both logos are more than appropriate for their respective teams. I'm getting the Oilers here for their use of the team name in what should be more symbolic. That and I love the Predators logo. I actually bought a Predators jersey when I was in Nashville a few years ago just because the logo is so cool.
Predators

WINNER

2-1

 

Oilers vs Flames

	vs
OILERS		FLAMES
1-3		1-0

The Aesthetics
Both logos have very nice eye-catching colors, but the Oilers logo has lost several points for its use of the name. This time won't be any different. The flaming "C" doesn't help them very much either.
Flames

The Nickname
Fire and oil do not mix. An Oiler would be lit up by Flames and that would be the end of the story.
Flames

The Analysis
As mentioned the flaming "C" of the Flames logo works extremely well and is one of hockey's classic logos. The Oilers logo could be better as I've discussed before and as the Flames proves, sometimes simplicity is what's required for a great team icon.
Flames

WINNER

3-0

 

Oilers vs Red Wings

	vs
OILERS		RED WINGS
0-3		1-2

The Aesthetics
The Oilers get this point for better use of color and simple design despite the name of the team being in the logo. The Red Wings logo is a little complex.
Oilers

The Nickname
If an Oiler were to accidentally get oil onto a Red Wing, the bird it belonged to would surely be unable to fly.
Oilers

The Analysis
While the Oilers logo is simple, I'm more a fan of the secondary and third jersey logos. They better depict the logo the team should have, in my opinion. On the other hand, the Red Wings logo does a fantastic job of symbolizing Motor City with the wheel attached to the wing.
Red Wings

WINNER

2-1

 

Blues vs Oilers

	vs
BLUES		OILERS
2-0		0-2

The Aesthetics
We certainly get a fair amount of blue between these two logos. That aside, the circle has always been a classic logo shape, but I've always found odd shapes more interesting to look at. The Blues logo features a musical note attached to a wing. My eye is more drawn to it.
Blues

The Nickname
I guess you might say an Oiler could sing the Blues. But who has the upper hand. Since an oil man is a person, though, he has the freedom of choice. He could sing a happy tune if he wanted.
Oilers

The Analysis
Both teams have been in the league for a lot of years and both, in the past decade, have given upgrades to their logos. In fact, the Blues current logo is more of an improvement on the original. But you could also say that about the Oilers as well. It's a very difficult call to make as to which team gets this point, but as far as logos go, I've never liked ones which spell out the team name. The Blues get it.
Blues

WINNER

2-1

 

Blackhawks vs Oilers

	vs
BLACKHAWKS		OILERS
0-3		0-1

The Aesthetics
The Blackhawks logo's lack of a defined color scheme is in stark contrast to the blue, copper and red of the Oilers. Just on pure aesthetics, the Oilers is the much better-looking logo.
Oilers

The Nickname
Chief Black Hawk and and Oiler wouldn't have lived at the same time in history, but if they had, the tomahawk would probably be enough to take out the oil man.
Blackhawks

The Analysis
Based on where the teams got their names from, the Blackhawks would be a shoo-in for the point here. I'm not really sure what Oilers has to do with the city of Edmonton, but we already discussed the background of the Blackhawks. For that reason, the 'Hawks get the edge, but really only barely.
Blackhawks

WINNER

2-1

 

Blue Jackets vs Oilers

	vs
BLUE JACKETS		OILERS
0-0		0-0

The Aesthetics
Right off the bat, the Blue Jackets gets an easy point here. Both logos use a few the same colors — blue and red — but the Oilers does not really use them its advantage.
Blue Jackets

The Nickname
A union soldier and an oilman are a couple of pretty tough fellas. Should a Blue Jacket ever have to face an Oiler in battle though, he has a bayonet and could therefore win.
Blue Jackets

The Analysis
Both teams have solid nicknames and logos. The Oilers has withstood the test of time, born in the days before the team joined the NHL. Good upgrades were made a decade ago when the bright orange was replaced with copper and red trim. It's a solid look that is hard to beat.
Oilers

WINNER

2-1

 

NHL Concept Logos, Part 1

I've been scouring the web over the last couple of weeks in search of logos designed by fans for their favorite teams. Logos that are cool — or not cool as the case may be — but will never see the front of an NHL jersey.

As is the case with most of these logos, I can't remember where I found them so if you designed any of them, feel free to let me know via a comment. And for the record, great work! Anyway, let's dive right in.

This is a logo designed for the Tampa Bay Lightning. As you can plainly see, the designer makes use of a lightning bolt as the "B" in "TB" for — you guessed it — Tampa Bay. As I've said, I've never been a huge fan of clearly obvious letters in logos, but this one isn't horrible. Still not my favorite though. I feel like there's a way to do it well that's subtle. Look at the New Jersey Devils logo. It features a very subtle "NJ" — so subtle you kind of have to stare at it to see it. That's what I like in a logo. But that didn't stop someone from coming up with a few concept logos for the Devils. I'll have those tomorrow in Part 2.

Until then, I have an Edmonton Oilers logo to share. Basically, the artist has kept the oil drop from the original logo and set it inside a gear — a little like the team's third jersey logo. It's nice, but as far as the colors go, I'm more a fan of the silver and blue in said alternate logo. But who am I to complain? Any Oilers fans out there reading this? What do you think?

Now our feature presentation. It's been widely rumored as of late that the Toronto Maple Leafs have plans to alter and adjust their logo for the new season. Reports have suggested that only minor changes to the leaf silhouette will take place but that the logo will remain in large part much the way it is now.

So turn your attention to the right. The top logo is basically the maple leaf from the Canadian flag turned blue with "Toronto Maple Leafs" written inside. Next we have a maple leaf within a circle — a logo which seems oddly familiar yet for some reason I can't quite place it. NHL All-Star Game logo? Olympics logo? If you recognize it, let me know.

And finally, we're treated to this gem on the bottom. If you want radical, this one is for you. I have no idea what's going on there. It scares me a little. I mean it's way too intricate to ever seen on a uniform which is why I'm not truly worried — but, still, it's weird. In a way I like it and in a way I don't. That's all I have to say on the matter.

And finally, check out this blast from the past. Someone came up with this design for the Minnesota North Stars about 11 years too late. Personally, I never liked the old North Stars logo — I say that knowing that I could be stoned to death for such a remark. It was just too — lame.

Not that this one is much better. But it has a little more something to it, at least.

So there you have it. Six concept logos for your Wednesday. Mull those over and get back to me in the comments. What do you like? What do you dislike? What would you like to cram down my throat? — all right, easy does it. I'm just sharing what I've found. Which reminds me, if you find any cool concept logos around the web or have any on your hard drive, let me know about them in the comments.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow — or whenever I feel like posting it.

HF&P, Part 26: Edmonton Oilers

If this was a deck of cards, we'd be halfway through it. But this is the "Hockey Fans & Photoshop" series here at the NHL Tournament of Logos. Just three more days until the tourney begins! How exciting is that?

As you can see we're taking a gander at the Edmonton Oilers today. While this may not be a specimen of quality per se, I do like that is unique. It takes a page out of the Buffalo Sabres' book by placing the jersey number on the front shoulder but it also completely reworks the front. We have vertical stripes going down the left side instead of the usual horizontal stripes across the bottom. The design also gets rid of the centered crest and places it on the left over the stripes.

Very interesting. We'll never see it on the ice, but it's sure something to look at here.

Speaking of which, if you or anyone you know is a graphically-inclined hockey fan and has designed the jerseys posted here or anywhere else, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

Up next: the New Jersey Devils.