Hockey is one of the most popular sports in the United States and one that unites several countries together. The NHL was organized in Montreal in 1917 and has flourished into the incredible competitive sport that it is today, seeing 32 teams, 25 of which are in the United States and 7 in Canada, fighting for the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America.
And like any incredible sport, these teams can be seen wearing their official colors and NHL team logos which showcase their culture and history. And obviously, this means people like us that have no design background can get on the internet and talk about why these logos are not good enough, or superb. Let’s go ahead with ranking every 2024 NHL logo from worst to best.
32. Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are at our number 32nd spot of best NHL team logos simply because it’s just not doing enough. The color scheme is a bit bland, and the fact that it replaced what was once a superb logo is a shame. The D is situated in a position that resembles a webbed duck foot, but even that doesn’t give itself justice. The previous logo showed off a hockey mask formatted to fit a duck’s face with a detailed beak and angry eyes, and two hockey sticks in the background, a much better logo that they shouldn’t have replaced. The one above has been their primary logo since 2013-14 and was designed by Frederick & Froberg Design Office, and as someone with no idea how designing truly works, I give this one a big thumbs down.
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31. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning is at our next spot because surprise, their logo is a lightning bolt. This has been their primary logo since 2011-12 and is simply a blue lightning bolt and a circle around it. This was designed by SME branding and is very boring. While the color palettes of blue and white are always a great combination, having such a flat logo is just not hitting the mark. It’s also a shame looking back at their 1992 logo which had a more dynamic lightning bolt. It was a busier logo, but they cut off too much in their new rendition.
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30. Dallas Stars
Like lightning, the Stars simply have a star as their logo with a D in the middle for their name. The color scheme is decent with the green and silver, but there is a lot of room for improvement. I will say that their original brownish-gold and green star was a bit more pleasing, they did win the Stanley Cup wearing that uniform, so maybe there’s something just inherently better with the older logo.
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29. Columbus Blue Jackets
Like several examples in this list, some logos aren’t terrible, but they just did better before their current logo. For example, the Columbus Blue Jackets have an okay logo. They’re going full patriotic here, which you can’t complain about too much, but their previous logos were just better. Their 2001 to 2007 logo has a hockey stick with a star on top and a ribbon of stars surrounding it in the shape of CBJ. It felt like it was doing more than just a star with the flag in the shape of a C. They took too much out and tried to make it simple, but ended up taking away a part of them.
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28. Florida Panthers
The shield logo is again, oversimplified compared to the previous one. The 1999 to 2015 logo featured a jumping panther with beautiful color schemes of red, blue, tan, and white. It was busy, it was fierce, and it did receive a lot of criticism. However, their current logo reminds me of some soccer logos out there, and it makes it feel out of place compared to the rest of the NHL.
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27. Washington Capitals
Talk about boring. Looking through their history of logos, this has to be one of the more basic designs, but it’s similar to the one they had in 1974. They made some great changes in 1995, however, bringing out an eagle diving with claws. Unfortunately, they took this design out in 2002, bringing out a highly detailed capital of Washington with hockey pucks, which I would even take over the current one, which was brought out in 2007. Overall, I would suggest bringing back the eagle and calling it a day.
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26. Los Angeles Kings
Yet another NHL team logo that had one of the best creations back in the 1990s, is the Los Angeles Kings. This logo is okay. The lettering compared to the shield frame and the crown are all just a bit odd together. I don’t love the design, but I do love their design from 1998 to 2002 where we had a proper coat of arms-looking style with the lion holding a puck and on a puck, with the hockey sticks crossing the shield. This was their peak design, and one I would love to see brought back.
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25. Edmonton Oilers
While still pretty basic, it’s a decent logo. This logo was presented more recently, in 2022, and is currently the one in 2024. This is the same logo that the team has used, however, just a change of color. The colors now match the one presented in 1979 with royal blue and orange. Previously, it was a darker navy blue that really contrasted with the orange. It’s not bad, and I enjoy the drip of oil at the top, but it’s still a bit plain if you ask me.
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24. Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins was one of the original six teams in the NHL, which means their logo has a lot of history associated with it and is a classic. The current one seen above is the most recent logo which was presented this season, 2023-24, and is just a bit of a modernized look at the previous one, which has black lines highlighting the yellow-gold lines and B. Back when they first were created, they had a brown and gold logo that had their name as well as a brown bear in the middle. While their current logo is incredibly simple and modern, I wish they did more with the bear symbol to call back on their roots.
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23. Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres NHL team logo does make sense, as it features a charging Buffalo as well as two sabers, however, I wish they did something more to incorporate the two. Currently, the two symbols feel like two logos, not one entire piece. This is also their logo from 1970 to 1996, however only with a different shade of yellow-gold. If you ask me, I love the 2006 to 2010 logo of a yellow buffalo leaping with red, white, and blue accents.
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22. Montreal Canadians
Another one of the original six, the Montreal Canadians has one of the most iconic logos, even though it’s simple. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of complaints about having this one so far up on the list, but if you’re looking at this with creativity and culture, I’m just not seeing it. I’m seeing a red C that is very common in sports logos. I love the color palette though.
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21. Calgary Flames
Like the Canadians, I love the Flames’ color pallet. The red and yellow together are brilliant with the team name, and having the flames bouncing off the C is amazing, however, like most NHL team logos that only have the first letter as their logo, I find it lacking. I love when logos have something more than just the initials.
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20. Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators haven’t had that many logo changes, and their current one is just a classic one they brought back after so many disliked their 2007 to 2020 logo, however, I didn’t mind it. The one above features a senator side profile with a red helmet decoration and golden cape, with a semicircle featuring laurel leaves. It’s not a bad logo, yet it has received a lot of hate over the years.
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19. Vancouver Canucks
Another initial logo but this one features an iconic creature, an orca whale, bursting out of the ice inside the lettering. I love the fierce expression on the whale’s face and the creativity of this simple. It’s definitely one of the better logos in the NHL franchise.
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18. Nashville Predators
I enjoy this logo and is one of the better NHL team logos on the list. The exaggerated saber-toothed tiger in blue, yellow, and white has been around since 2011. The one before that, presented from 1998 to 2010, has a similar design only with varying colors of silver, blue, and orange. The color scheme was a mess in that era, but their current one does the team justice.
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17. New York Islanders
I feel like many would agree that the New York Islanders 1995 logo was one of the best, featuring a Fisherman in teal and navy holding a hockey stick with the name at the bottom. It was dynamic, colorful, and highly detailed. However, the team didn’t stick with it for long and changed back to the roots of the symbol above, only ever changing the color scheme slightly over time. The current one features Long Island in the background in bright orange with NY in white, assisted by a hockey stick with four stripes representing four Stanley Cups.
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16. Chicago Blackhawks
This one was a very hard number to nail down. At first, I put it in the top 10 just from the sheer look of it, then I put it towards the 29th-30th position because we just had this whole controversy in the NFL with the Washington Redskins, now Commanders for appropriating Native American culture. However, after some reading, it seems as though the Chicago Blackhawks have been pressured into changing their name for a while, but are standing strong due to their name honoring a real-life Native American. According to CNN, the team is celebrating Black Hawk’s legacy by offering “ongoing reverent examples of Native American culture, traditions, and contributions, providing a platform for genuine dialogue with local and national Native American groups”. It’s one thing to have a Native American logo plastered on shirts, walls, and flags for the hell of it, but it’s another thing to keep an iconic character in history alive with genuine passion and love for the culture.
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15. Carolina Hurricanes
Before the Carolina Hurricanes were around, it was the Hartford Whalers, which featured a blue and green logo with a green H and a blue whale’s fin coming up from the top. But in 1997, they relocated and are now the Hurricanes, which now features a red, white, and black hurricane. No matter which era you look into it, they have some strong logos.
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14. Vegas Golden Knights
I thoroughly enjoy the Golden Knights logo. It’s simple, detailed, and dynamic, and their secondary logo does great as well. The Vegas Golden Knights are one of the newer expansions in the league and have created a beautiful logo.
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13. New Jersey Devils
There are exceptions when it comes to initial logos that I enjoy, like the New Jersey Devils. Looking at the logo, personally at least, it looks as though the devil is kicked up and relaxed, but is just an N and J mashed together with horns and a tail. But before this, they were the Kansas City Scouts, which feature a yellow and blue KC with a scout on a horse looking onwards. Not a great logo, but decent. They then moved on to the Colorado Rockies, which featured a blue and white mountain with a red C in the middle. From there, they became the Devils and created one of the best NHL team logos in the franchise.
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12. Colorado Avalanche
Another initial logo that I thoroughly enjoy is the Colorado Avalanches, which show off a burgundy A with sweeping blue and white chasing after a hockey puck as if it was snow falling down a mountain. It’s a beautiful and creative NHL team logo that has been around since 1999 and is still holding strong.
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11. Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers haven’t changed their logo at all in a grand sense. They’ve changed it only three times to darken the red circle in the middle. The logo features a stylized P with black wings coming out the back as if flying. It’s a classic and has done well for itself for years.
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10. New York Rangers
Another one of the original six, we have the New York Rangers, which are brought to fans with this iconic and simple logo with red, white, and blue with their name on the top, and slashed down. This has been their current logo since 1990 and has been the same style since the very beginning, only ever with small color or frame changes.
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9. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are exactly that, a maple leaf. Their logo has been similar for over 90 years, and it works perfectly. The font and the detail on the leaf are great, the coloring is perfect, and it’s one that really showcases the history and the life of the location. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, and the Toronto Maple Leafs have it figured out.
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8. Seattle Kraken
Like the Golden Knights, the Seattle Krakens are also one of the newest expansions in the league, and many have debated over which logo is better. While the Knights are great, I absolutely love the Kraken logo. The stylized S with scapes and a red eye is beautiful, simple, and sleek. And we can’t forget the color pallet they have of Deep Sea Blue, Ice Blue, Boundless Blue, Shadow Blue, and Red Alert, colors that scream the open sea.
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7. Winnipeg Jets
Before the Winnipeg Jets were a thing, they were the Atlanta Thrashers, and I have to say that both logos are brilliant. The Thrashers features a brown thrasher holding a hockey stick inside a navy shield, a beautiful contrasting logo that stood out. And now, the Winnipeg Jets feature a navy circle like a compass pointing north, with a grey jet in the forefront and a red maple leaf in the background. Both logos are some of the best NHL team logos in the franchise.
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6. Minnesota Wild
We’re finally getting to some of my favorite logos in the NHL. The Minnesota Wild has been around since 2000 and has only had this design. The first design featured their name above the logo shown above but removed it in 2013. While many complain that they haven’t done much to it since, and it deserves an update, I beg to differ. The idea of their name, and looking like a bear silhouette with a forest and sun inside and a sharp eye sparkling, it’s wild and beautiful. A great logo creation for the team.
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5. San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are another logo that is incredibly dynamic and great for the name. The shark seen is black and teal with an orange eye that is looking fierce, snapping a hockey stick in half with its teeth. This has been the idea of their logo since they started in 1991, however, the shark started as a pure black creation. In 2007 the shark was then detailed in a dark blue. After that season, they changed it to a lighter shade that can be seen above.
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4. Pittsburgh Penguins
Sitting at our fourth spot for best NHL team logos, we have the Pittsburgh Penguins, a logo that has a decently similar design since its start as well. While the very start, in 1999, just featured a black and white penguin with yellow and black backgrounds and details, it soon grew into the logo that it is today. In 2002, the simple penguin transformed into the penguin seen above on skates and holding a stick, however, it has a tannish, brown, almost muted yellow background. It wasn’t until 2016 that it changed to this much more pleasant yellow background.
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3. Detroit Red Wings
Detroit has had a history, starting with the Detroit Cougars, which was just a simple stylized D. In 1930 the Cougars changed to the Falcons and created the very boring Detroit Falcons in an arching, yellow and red font. Thankfully in 1932 the Detroit Red Wings entered the league and created a red wheel with a red wing attached to it, creating the logo that is seen today. While this first logo had a larger wheel than the wing, it quickly changed in 1948 when the wheel shrunk and the wings grew, which has been the current logo since.
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2. St. Louis Blues
If the St. Louis Blues weren’t at the closest to the number one spot, there would be a riot in this house. And since I enjoy keeping the peace, the Blues are at number two. A favorite inside this home, the St. Louis Blues has one of the best NHL team logos in the franchise. The light blue music note outlined in yellow and navy really stands out amongst the rest of the group. The music note has been featured in their logo since 1967 and has slowly transformed into what it is now, and is incredibly beautiful in every way.
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1. Arizona Coyotes
Hands down this is the best NHL team logo in the franchise and I will never hear otherwise. The Phoenix Coyotes brought this logo, the Kachina logo, in 1996 for the first time and shows a kachina-doll style coyote in sienna standing in the shape of an A. It’s holding a hockey stick and is wearing a crescent moon on its chest. From there, the team switched in 2003 to a howling coyote head in red and tan. But thankfully they brought back this beautiful masterpiece in 2021. It’s brilliant, unique, and artistic and brings out Arizona in the best way.
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