With the 2023 Stanley Cup Final around the corner, it seems like a good time for me to rank the NHL logos. The NHL really has a unique stable of primary logos with a lot of looks that have lasted nearly 100 years while others embrace their 1970s history, and even more have modernized their looks. This is just my preference and nothing against who likes what.
Of course, some of my favorite NHL logos aren't represented here since they are no longer used. There is the Hartford Whalers, the Quebec Nordiques and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
32-DALLAS STARS: Ugh. Later on I will talk about how a franchise moves and rebrands and does it right ... but the Dallas Stars did it wrong and made it worse. The Minnesota North Stars logo was cool, but when they moved to Dallas and dropped the "North", they have yet to come up with a great logo. The star-D logo is just ugly. In a town where a star logo is iconic, the NHL's star looks goofy by comparison. I will give them some props for the better shade of green.
31-LOS ANGELES KINGS: The Kings used to be purple in gold like their more popular NBA neighbors but was one of those franchises that went to black when it was popular in the late 1980s. The logo they came up with when Wayne Gretzky was dealt to LA should have been the one they never left. The current shield with the crown (which is a good piece of the franchise's history) and the "LA" is bland. Go back to the 1990s logo.
30-COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: I just can't get with this one. With a name like Blue Jackets, the best you can come up with is a star with a swooshing Ohio flag? Their alternate logos are much better.
29-TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Tampa Bay has been a really good franchise since joining the NHL in 1992, but they haven't done well with their logo. Their current logo, which they went to in 2011, obliterates the sloppy ones they had before it ... but it isn't much better. I will say that the logo looks okay on their jerseys but isn't nice to look at on its own. A blue lightning bolt in a blue circle. Even the Los Angeles Chargers' lightning bolt has more color and character to it. Compared to their original logos, this is fantastic. Compared to the other NHL logos, it is lacking.
28-ANAHEIM DUCKS: I will say that I prefer the old Disney Mighty Ducks logo over the current web-foot "D". While the current logo is more of a classic look, it lacks personality that the cartoonish Mighty Ducks logo had. That's saying something for me since I'm not a fan of the 90s era logos in sports. This is a perfect example of a logo that would rank higher if I hadn't already seen a better version, and if the Vegas Golden Knights hasn't done the color scheme better.
27-OTTAWA SENATORS: The Sens logo is popular ... but I just don't get it. First off, thank goodness they left the 3D senator head aside and went back to the original logo. That's a win. But their logo still feels like some generic thing created on some software using an template. I do love the red, black and gold, but the senator head has me wanting more.
26-ARIZONA COYOTES: This franchise is a bit of a mess, but they did something right by going back to the kachina logo. Like I mentioned earlier with the Anaheim Ducks (and you'll hear again in these rankings), sometimes the more cartoonish logo has more personality. The howling coyote they used lacked that.
25-FLORIDA PANTHERS: I may be in the minority (I don't know) but I like the current classic look better than the lunging panther the team used for much of its history. There's nothing memorable about it at all, which is why it is tucked into the bottom half of my rankings.
24-WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Look, this logo is sort of fine. It is a modern rendering of their original logo and ditches the blue and gold swooping eagle of the 90s and 2000s. Like the red, white and blue coming back, but this is as plain as it gets. Sure, the stick L with the puck and the three stars are cool but it's ... meh.
23-WINNIPEG JETS: When the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg and the Jets were reborn, I thought that we'd see the old Jets logo from the original franchise and before they moved to Phoenix. Of course, that didn't happen and instead of the 70s era logo (which looks a lot like the Islanders) we have a more modern and sleek look. It is a real-looking jet (based on the Royal Canadian Air Force) up against a red maple leaf. A mature look.
22-VANCOUVER CANUCKS: Let me be honest ... I just don't like this logo. I don't like the whale or the crushing ice or the anything about this. It is better than their plain original stick logo and their colorful racing skate but I'm sure there is something better than this wishbone C and mean orca. I do like their alternate logo of a skating lumberjack as a possible substitute.
21-CAROLINA HURRICANES: The Hurricanes logo is both cool and bleh. I give credit for it being unique by having the hurricane flag colors and the franchise leans into that. It just lacks that umph you would actually feel a hurricane should be. It does pop off the jersey, though.
20-NEW YORK ISLANDERS: The Islanders logo is one of the most interesting in sports. It is clearly dated, which isn't always a good thing. In this case, it is a great thing. Sure, it is clunky and a bit busy but it has great Easter eggs in it (the stripes on the stick for their titles; the top of the "I" in Islanders) and it isn't the Gorton's fisherman logo they tried to pull off in the mid-1990s. The blue has changed over the years as well as the bordering, but this is a logo that looks better on the jersey than on its own.
19-NEW YORK RANGERS: Like all of the original six, the Rangers logo is a classic piece that brings back memories of the old era of the NHL but isn't stale in the modern game. However, it is just a shield with the team's name on it so I can't place it ahead of the rest of the bunch. In fact, it is my least favorite of the original six because it is ... just there.
18-BOSTON BRUINS: It is always tough to rank a logo that has stood the test of time. The Bruins logo is iconic, albeit understated.
17-COLORADO AVALANCHE: I give a lot of credit to the Aves for their logo. Typically when franchises relocate and rebrand, their new logo seems rushed and flawed. I still think that the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder did the worst job at this. When the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995, the logo they came up with is the logo they still have to this day. No pun intended, but it is a cool logo that looks great on their jerseys.
16-NASHVILLE PREDATORS: The logo works for me on several levels. One, I enjoy animal based logos that look mean ... and this predator is tough. The blue and gold works well (even though the NHL has a few other teams that use that combo) since it leans more into the gold than the Blues or Sabres do.
15-MONTREAL CANADIENS: The Habs logo is classic and simple. The "C" for Canadiens and the "H" in the middle for hockey. And due to their history, it stands for success,
14-SEATTLE KRAKEN: The NHL's newest franchise got themselves a cool logo. The Kraken tentacles form an "S" while there is a red eye that adds a creepy element as well as breaks up all that teal. It is cool, albeit simple.
13-BUFFALO SABRES: The Sabres logo is so unique because it is the name of the franchise without using words. A buffalo atop of a pair of sabres. When the Sabres went away from the look from 1996 to 2010, it messed with a good thing. This is both classic and cool and works perfectly.
12-CALGARY FLAMES: The Flames logo is ... fire. They played with it for a while by using a black outline but has recently ditched that for the logo we knew back when and today.
11-PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: Another late 60s logo that got it right the first time. The only thing that has changed is the shade of orange in the "puck" of the flying P and the wings got a little work. It works so well on both their white and orange jerseys.
10-EDMONTON OILERS: The oil drip and the top and the way the letters run down the logo are stunning. The only knock is that the team keeps adjusting the colors of the logo. Just keep it the way it was when you were winning all those cups!
9-NEW JERSEY DEVILS: One of the most underrated logos in the game. The hooked N and J with the devil horns and tail is so obvious that you can't screw it up. I do miss the green of back in the day, but as long as they never change the core of this logo, it will stay great.
8-PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Another NHL logo that was replaced at one point only to make a comeback. The cartoon penguin was replaced by a more linear and modern look for a decade -- ironically the franchise won titles before and after the switch but not during. At the turn of the century, the Pens went back to the skating penguin and back to winning Stanley Cups.
7-TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: The logo gets a knock up in the standings after changing to their more classic look in 2016. The logo they used in 1970 to 2016 was so plain that it would be way down these rankings and easily the worst of the original six logos. The classic logo was used for throwbacks and as an alternate before becoming their primary logo a few years ago. The textured leaf with a different font with a curve is so much better.
6-VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS: A great logo from the jump. I mean it has the V for Vegas, the color gold, and a knight's helmet. It tells you the whole thing while looking stoic. The shield adding a black background to the helmet helps it pop and that V on the face looks menacing. Solid showing.
5-SAN JOSE SHARKS: Another team that got it right out of the box ... though the Sharks have made a significant adjustment over time. San Jose jumped on the teal bandwagon in the early 1990s and crushed their logo of a shark snapping a hockey stick with its teeth. In 2007, they cleaned it up a bit by making it a bit more 3D and adding some teal shading to the shark. A real clean look.
4-ST LOUIS BLUES: Like the Devils, the Blues logo is so underrated it's ridiculous. Aside for the red border and the city's name they added in the 80s and 90s, the flying note logo has remained mostly unchanged. It has a classy look to it.
3-CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: The Blackhawks logo is just so intricate and their jerseys are so awesome to look at. Chicago has also rocked this logo forever, with the only modifications being for the darkness or lighting of the colors. Just a beautiful logo.
2-DETROIT RED WINGS: Like the Blackhawks, the Red Wings are an original six franchise with an iconic logo that has stood the test of time. It is also intricate and one of sports' top logos. One of the few logos you can just stare at and notice something new. The shading, the detail in the wings and the wheel and the white and red working with and against each other is perfect.
1-MINNESOTA WILD: I absolutely love this logo. No words needed on the logo. The way the "wild" creature's head (wolf? bear? big cat?) is formed with the dusk sky, the sun/moon forming the ear, the river forming the mouth and teeth and the north star eye is breathtaking. The red, green and gold logo is simply beautiful. As much as I loved the former Minnesota North Stars logo, this one is so much better.
