NHLToL: Qualifier No. 2

NHLToL: Qualifier No. 1

NHLToL: 2012 Edition

Icethetics got its start five years ago as a meager blog called NHL Tournament of Logos, in which visitors voted to determine which team mark was best. There was no criteria. Just two logos and a vote button. No reason either. It was just something I set up for fun.

But it became more popular than I thought. Over the last few years, the one question I'm asked more than any other is, "When is the next logo tournament?" There hasn't been one in a long time so it's a fair question. The streak ends today. The 2012 edition of the NHLToL is now underway.

If you plan to participate in the voting, you'll probably want to know how the tournament works. It's not terribly complicated but then it's not terribly simple either, so I'm here to explain.

We Start with All 30

It's only fair that all 30 team logos have a shot at the crown. And, of course, there will be a bracket. But that bracket will only hold 16 logos. How do we determine which logos qualify for the bracket? Glad you asked.

Qualifying for the Bracket

Luckily, we're starting with an even number of logos. Thirty logos give us 15 polls in the qualifying round. Every team has been assigned an opponent at random. The winners of each qualifying poll automatically advance to the bracket. I know what you're thinking.

Doesn't this mean good logos could be left out of the bracket if they are defeated by slightly better ones in their qualifier? Yes, but the only alternative is a time-consuming round-robin format. Plus, the point isn't to determine a bracket, it's to determine a winner. The best logo will win regardless of how it gets there. At least that's the theory.

The Top 15 + a Wildcard

So if the winners of all the 15 qualifying polls advance, that leaves an open slot in the 16-logo bracket. Easy solution. We need a wildcard. One loser will advance to the bracket. The logo that loses by the lowest percentage will occupy the 16th position.

The rest of the 16 slots will be determined by voting percentage. For example, a team that wins its qualifier with 90% of the vote will place higher in the bracket than a team that finished with, say, 60%. The higher the percentage, the higher the position in our bracket. Quite simple.

The bracket match-ups will look like this:

The nice thing about this setup is that it's practically impossible for any rematches. Here's the thing. We know that #15 and #16 will have faced each other in the qualifier because #15 will be the logo that won by the lowest percentage and #16 will be the one that lost by the lowest. So I said "practically" because it's possible these two could meet again in the big finale.

The Voting Process

Now the important bit. Every poll will be open for five days. New polls will go up every day for the qualifying round. Subsequent rounds will begin after the previous round's final poll closes. When you vote, you will not be able to immediately view the results. However, poll results will be revealed after the poll has closed.

Now, if you want to know how the logos will be matched up in the qualifying round, there's one way to find out. You'll have to come back every day to see the new poll! The last Qualifying Round poll goes up July 9. The bracket will be announced on July 15 and Round 1 voting will begin the following day.

Any questions left for me to answer? Ask away.

NHLToL Bracket & Standings

Playoff Bracket

Not seeing the updated bracket? Refresh your browser.

Final

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Final Standings
Group leaders seeded Nos. 1-3. Top 4 in each conference advance to Quarterfinals.

Eastern Conference

	Rk	Team	Grp	Wk1	Wk2	Wk3	Wk4	Wk5	Wk6	Pts
	1	Montreal Canadiens	A	71	75	76	80	0	63	365
	2	Boston Bruins	B	73	80	0	82	62	36	333
	3	New Jersey Devils	C	61	57	56	68	0	85	327
	4	Philadelphia Flyers	B	0	63	70	77	38	61	309
	5	New York Rangers	A	29	63	74	0	62	40	268
	6	Pittsburgh Penguins	C	53	60	44	0	50	52	259
	7	Toronto Maple Leafs	C	0	43	60	58	50	36	247
	8	Florida Panthers	B	27	37	69	0	65	47	245
	9	New York Islanders	A	66	25	0	57	38	34	220
	10	Ottawa Senators	C	39	40	0	42	50	49	220
	11	Washington Capitals	C	47	0	40	32	50	43	212
	12	Tampa Bay Lightning	A	0	37	24	43	77	30	211
	13	Carolina Hurricanes	B	56	0	30	18	35	44	183
	14	Atlanta Thrashers	B	44	20	31	23	0	16	134
	15	Buffalo Sabres	A	34	0	26	20	23	22	125

Western Conference

	Rk	Team	Grp	Wk1	Wk2	Wk3	Wk4	Wk5	Wk6	Pts
	1	Detroit Red Wings	F	57	84	0	82	64	64	351
	2	Chicago Blackhawks	D	0	70	76	61	75	64	346
	3	St. Louis Blues	E	54	40	65	0	75	84	318
	4	Calgary Flames	F	43	73	81	55	0	60	312
	5	Edmonton Oilers	F	78	0	74	45	36	70	303
	6	Minnesota Wild	D	66	60	59	39	0	66	290
	7	San Jose Sharks	E	46	74	0	50	64	48	282
	8	Vancouver Canucks	E	59	60	70	50	0	39	278
	9	Colorado Avalanche	D	58	30	41	0	61	37	227
	10	Los Angeles Kings	E	41	0	35	57	36	51	220
	11	Phoenix Coyotes	D	42	40	0	54	25	57	218
	12	Nashville Predators	E	0	26	30	43	25	78	202
	13	Columbus Blue Jackets	D	34	0	24	46	39	53	196
	14	Dallas Stars	F	0	27	26	18	68	56	195
	15	Anaheim Ducks	F	22	16	19	0	32	15	104

Tie-breakers: To break a tie in the standings, the edge will go to: 1. Head-to-head winner, 2. Best high score, 3. Best low score.

Notes: Standings updated every Monday after all polls close. Tables are fully sortable by you. Click on the header of any column to apply sort. Darkened squares indicate bye week.

Polls: NHLToL Championship

Polls close Sunday, May 9 at 11:59 PM
Scroll down to vote in the third jersey mini-tournament.

Chicago Blackhawks

St. Louis Blues

NHLToL 82

Results hidden until poll closes. Winner announced Monday, May 10.

Tie-breaking Since the playoff format is not points-based, the winning/advancing logo will be determined by the total number of votes received rather than the percentage. In the unlikely event of an exact tie, a 24-hour run-off poll will be held the following day.

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MINI-TOURNAMENT of LOGOS

Polls: Third Jersey Crests Week 3

Group A

Boston Bruins	St. Louis Blues	NHLToTJC 23
Vancouver Canucks	Florida Panthers	NHLToTJC 24
Buffalo Sabres	Nashville Predators	NHLToTJC 25
Toronto Maple Leafs	New York Islanders	NHLToTJC 26
San Jose Sharks	Dallas Stars	NHLToTJC 27
Atlanta Thrashers	Colorado Avalanche	NHLToTJC 28

Group B

Los Angeles Kings	Chicago Blackhawks	NHLToTJC 29
Philadelphia Flyers	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHLToTJC 30
Minnesota Wild	Ottawa Senators	NHLToTJC 31
Carolina Hurricanes	Edmonton Oilers	NHLToTJC 32
Phoenix Coyotes	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHLToTJC 33

Tournament Notes The Avalanche met another defeat by the widest margin of the week with its 89-11 loss. ... Group B standings did not change from Week 1 to Week 2. ... I'm considering a semifinal round for this tournament. Weigh in if you think the Top 2 logos from each group (4 total) should advance instead of only the two leaders.

Commenting Feel free to add your comments about the polls below. Keep it short, relevant and friendly. Currently, commenting is unmoderated. Abuse it and commenting will go away. I'd prefer to offer an open discussion but not at the expense of civility. Also, if you choose to announce the logos you've voted for, do it in paragraph form. Comments with long lists will be removed.