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

Liz BrownsteinJul 14, 2011

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

1 of 30

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

2 of 30

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

3 of 30

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

4 of 30

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

5 of 30

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

6 of 30

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

7 of 30

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

8 of 30

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This Jets logo feels a bit Brady Bunch-ish to me, and hopefully the new team will update it from this outdated 1970s look.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

9 of 30

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

10 of 30

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

11 of 30

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

12 of 30

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

13 of 30

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

14 of 30

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

15 of 30

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

16 of 30

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

17 of 30

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

18 of 30

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

19 of 30

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

20 of 30

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

21 of 30

Years in use: 1995.1996

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

9. Dallas Stars

22 of 30

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

23 of 30

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

24 of 30

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

25 of 30

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

26 of 30

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.