Logos Aplenty

That logo above is for this year's Thanksgiving Showdown. To me, not only does it give the Bruins/Red Wings game a title, but it shows that the NHL love logos. They'll make a logo for any kind of event and will often make reasons to have their design team come up with something.

With that in mind, and the fact we're awaiting the player draft logo for this year's All-Star Game, a list of my favorite event logos that the NHL has rolled out with-- in no particular order, of course. (Thanks to SportsLogos.net for all the logos anyone could ever ask for.)

-Draft Logos 2001-2009: The reason these stand out is because there's not templated design like we see now. The identity of the teams were well represented in these logos, which gave it a personalized feel for the events in terms of the host city and allowed plenty of freedom for designers. Now, with the templated work they have now, it's basically just adding small elements of the host city in the already made main logo.

-2009 Winter Classic: While many of the Winter Classic logos do have elements of the host city into it, the iconic use of the Wrigley Field scoreboard helps set this one away from the rest. Plus, it's the only logo in the Winter Classic cluster that is tilted to give a three-dimensional appeal to it rather than just being flattened.

-1994 All-Star Game: New York City is one of, if not the most, iconic city in the world. Their skyline is one of the most memorable, so when you combine that with an All-Star logo, you're basically yelling for it to be a fantastic one. While the jersey selection disappointed, the logo itself is one of the more fantastic logos of any ASG.

But, I couldn't let the NHL have all the fun....

-1999 ECHL All-Star Game: Sure, it's not the NHL, but the incorporation of the coast line and the lighthouse element is pretty damn fancy for the ECHL.

-2011 AHL All-Star Game: Where to start-- the Bear slapping a Hershey's Kiss; the HersheyPark roller coaster coupled with the Hershey's chocolate factory, coupled with the Giant Center in the top silhouette; the team logo inclusion-- it all makes for a fantastic event logo.

Though, you always have to have a logo to show during the breaks and to promote a product (read: All-Star Fantasy Draft), some times it's a bit overkill....like this game and the event I mentioned in parenthesis. Yet, at the same time-- logo nuts like me will clamor for something like these to come out because we enjoy the aesthetics of it all.

Winnipeg and the Jets

One mystery of the Winnipeg Jets have been revealed, with their logo identity being shown (as you see above), which radically different from anything they've had in the past. This identity was a nod to the relationship the city of Winnipeg has had with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the 17 Wing Squadron.

The logos themselves are solid, but could be considered a little bland, which I kind of thought at first, but it's growing on me. I still think the alternate logo with the pilots wings are a little bit better than the main logo. Once the jerseys are revealed, it could change me a little more because the main one could look better on the right canvas. The wordmark is a nice little nod to the old WHA Jets, as it seems like the modernized version of their old wordmark/logo.

Yet, the first thing that jumped out to me on the main logo is the self-masturbatory habit that True North Entertainment put forth on the perimeter of the logo. You see that little notch taken out of the circle surrounding the jet?? Hey, it points North....a somewhat subtle nod to their own brand within a brand of the hockey team.

I understand they paid a lot of money to get a team to Winnipeg and are putting a lot of money out there in general-- but at the same time, shouldn't you leave yourself out of your team's logo?? You don't see a big "AOL" mark on the Capitals logos nor do you see the Canadiens have a Molson alternate logo....though it'd be cool. There's a time where the True North folks have to realize they don't need to their hand in everything that the team does. It's nice for them to get involved, but they don't need to have their hand in on everything.

It's their team now and they can do whatever they want. Though, at the same time-- it's a touch tacky if the team itself will just be used for True North to peddle their wears and their own brand with subconscious marketing. If they screw up the possible retro jerseys with some of their branding-- that's when you'll see tables flipped.