NHL Rankings: The 30 Worst Logos in the History of the National Hockey League

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Courtesy of www.sportslogos.net

In the lovely world of hockey, sometimes teams really flub up when it comes to designing a new logo for their team to sport on the jerseys.

Following is my list of the 30 worst NHL logos in history. These logos have landed on this list for a variety of reasons, be it extensive simplicity, childish cartoon characters, completely confusing subjects, or for simply being painful on the eyes (or brain).

30. New York Americans

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Years in use: 1930/1931-1934/1935

Last time I checked, objects that look like this tend to be found on the front and back bumpers of cars, not jerseys.

29. Brooklyn Americans

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Years in use: 1941/1942

Simplicity can work in favor of a logo, but not when it's simplified down to look like an emblem on a cereal box.

28. Nashville Predators

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Years in use: 2011/2012

The new Nashville logo doesn't really seem to scream Nashville Predators to the tech-savvy generation of today. Internet lingo has taught us that "NP" means "No Problem," making this a problem logo for me.

27. Quebec Bulldogs

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Years in use: 1919/1920

Again, simplicity was this logo's Achilles' heel, but in reality, this is such a traditional logo I couldn't rank it as worse than the other logos coming up.

26. Washington Capitals

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Years in use: 1995/1996-2001/2002

This seemingly deformed, and quite outlandish, bird seemed to be a step back in Washington's logo progression.

25. Philadelphia Quakers

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Years in use: 1930/1931

When it comes to logos, sometimes the mascot doesn't work in your favor. The Philadelphia Quakers is a perfect example. I feel there's an oatmeal joke in here somewhere...

24. Tampa Bay Lightning

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Years in use: 2011/2012

Tampa Bay opted to water down their logo down to just navy, earning it a spot as our 24th worst logo—mainly because I liked its last logo, and I don't understand it felt the need to oversimplify.

23. Winnipeg Jets

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Years in use: 1974/1975-1978/1979

This Jets logo feels a bit Brady Bunch-ish to me, and hopefully the new team will update it from this outdated 1970s look.

22. Portland Pirates

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Years in use: 1925/1926-1927/1928

Mainly I don't really understand the horizontal bars. I thought pirates managed to avoid jail time. Captain Jack Sparrow would be disappointed.

21. Los Angeles Kings

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Years in use: 1967/1968-1987/1988

Even just the design—all feminine colors aside—makes this logo look more appropriate for a Los Angeles Queens team, not the Kings.

20. Calgary Flames

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Years in use: 1998/1999-2006/2007

For the Flames, this dragon-horse creature seemed a bit off the wall and never worked as an alternate logo for me.

19. Buffalo Sabres

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Years in use: 2006/2007-2009/2010

There's a good reason why the Sabre fans called this the "Buffa-slug" jersey. I'm pretty sure buffalo should have discernible limbs.

18. California Golden Seals

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Years in use:1970/1971-1973/1974

How, exactly, is that creature seen as a seal? A bit too cartoon-ish for my liking.

17. Pittsburgh Penguins

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Years in use: 1971/1972-1991/1992

This cartoony character looks like he'd fit better in Happy Feet than as a professional hockey logo.

16. Atlanta Thrashers

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Years in use: 1999/2000-2010/2011

Riddle me this: What is a Thrasher? This logo doesn't help to answer that, considering there seems to be pieces of a bird, possibly a tornado and, of course, a hockey stick.

15. Vancouver Canucks

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Years in use: 2007/2008-present

Simply put, a "Canuck" is a slang word for "Canadien." So where does this marine creature come into play?

14. Columbus Blue Jackets

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Years in use: 2000/2001-2003/2004

What is this, a wasp? I can't even tell what the artists were trying to go for with this one.

13. Vancouver Canucks

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Years in use: 1978/1978-1991/1992

I see a skate, and I'll take the background so far as the shape of a puck, but from where I'm standing this was just not a good looking logo.

12. Winnipeg Jets

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Years in use: 1972/1973-1973/1974

This seriously looks like it could be a bottle cap logo for the beers sold when the Jets play. I guess publicity is publicity, right? Oh wait, that's a logo from a jersey? Oops.

11. California Seals

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Years in use: 1967/1968

This one is just too harsh on the eyes. Too many colors. I feel like Crayola was a sponsor.

10. Los Angeles Kings

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Years in use: 1995.1996

A purple-bearded man? Really? I feel like he is somehow distantly related to Marge Simpson.

9. Dallas Stars

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Years in use: 2003/2004-2005/2006

This was a pretty controversial logo, so how do I explain this? Put your mind in the gutter, then focus in on the constellation of stars and dots. Cue laughter.

8. Phoenix Coyotes

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Years in use: 1996/1997-2002/2003

Some may call this "edgy" or "abstract," but from my perspective this just looked like a collage of children's drawings.

7. New York Islanders

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Years in use: 1995/1996-1996/1997

Considering I'm keeping all of these pretty short, just click here for a tasty reason for why this Islanders logo is so high on this list.

6. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

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Years in use: 1993/1994-2005/2006

This logo pretty much personifies the team's origins with Disney. It's a good thing it dropped this look.

5. Quebec Nordiques

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Years in use: 1979/1980-1994/1995

For a team whose mascot means the "Northmen," I'm assuming it's an attempt to include a puck, a stick and maybe an igloo. Simply put, this is a puzzle.