Where Do The Kraken Stack Up?

The Seattle Kraken were introduced as the NHL’s 32^nd franchise two weeks ago.  Normally teams will drag out their branding introduction; dropping little bits of information for fans to consume during the off-season summer months.  Props to Seattle for giving it to us all at once.  Team name, logos, and jerseys were the talk of the NHL and for good reason.  I think the Kraken will have some of the best-looking logos and jerseys in the league.  But how do they stack up against other team’s inaugural season launches of the last 25 years?

I included re-located franchises but omitted the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes re-brands.  So here’s the 12 franchises I looked at based on Logo and Jerseys.

1993-94: Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

1995-96: Colorado Avalanche

1996-97: Phoenix Coyotes

1997-98: Carolina Hurricanes

1998-99: Nashville Predators

1999-00: Atlanta Thrashers

2000-01: Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild

2011-12: Winnipeg Jets

2017-18: Vegas Golden Knights

2021-22: Seattle Kraken

Huge shoutout to Sportslogos.net & Icethetics.com for all the graphics.  Any fan of logos or jerseys could spend hours on those sites looking at all their resources.  These rankings are completely subjective.  Let me know what you think! 

#12 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

LOGO

I had to look this one up.  I honestly thought the Blue Jackets were named after a fictional insect.  Blue Jackets kind of like Yellow Jackets wasps?  Nope!  The Blue Jackets name is supposed to honor the Civil War history in the state of Ohio and city of Columbus.  The CB in the logo is mimicking the flag of Ohio.  I always thought it was a billboard marquee. 

The Stinger secondary logo also played into my thought that the Blue Jackets were named after a bug.  Nope!  Now here’s where it get’s confusing again.  Stinger, the team’s mascot was a Yellow Jacket and introduced as a “bug with attitude.”  Stinger is a “symbol to characterize the citizens of Columbus known for their hard work and pride for their team.” 

What a mess.  Luckily, the Blue Jackets phased these logos out for the 2007-08 season. 

JERSEYS

These jerseys are as bland as they come.  For a team who’s identity is based on patriotism, hiding a couple stars on the cuff of a jersey underneath a hockey glove that nobody could see was an odd choice. 

#11 ATLANTA THRASHERS

LOGO

We should have known this franchise was doomed from the second they unveiled the logo.  The team was named after Georgia’s state bird, the Brown Thrasher.  Neither of these logos work form me.  I’m not even sure what the secondary logo is; a bird’s eye-view of a Thrasher?  The primary logo simplified with just the Thrasher head was a bit of an upgrade but not enough to make these work.

JERSEYS

I actually like the color palette.  The deep burgundy, navy, and gold compliment each other well.  The away jersey is actually quite stunning minus the confusing secondary logo.  The arrow pattern going around the bottom stripe and neck is a nice detail.  Again, not sure what it represents.  Maybe Thrasher foot prints? 

#10 FLORIDA PANTHERS

LOGO

A leaping cat!  There’s not a whole lot to say about it.  I’m a fan of the secondary logo even if it does look like three clip arts pieced together.  The secondary logo keeps the logo set from really dropping down the ranks.

JERSEYS

I like the red and gold here.  The font is boring.  I’d like to see the Panthers follow the Heat and Marlins and go full 80’s with the Miami Vice color palette.  Could be a cool look.

#9 NASHVILLE PREDATORS

LOGO

The saber-toothed cat always looked cool to me.  It was a bit busy with too many colors and different shading elements.  The simplified current iteration is a huge improvement.  The secondary logo featuring the Gaylord Center (now Bridgestone Arena) is a nice touch though it could probably do without the Nashville across the bottom.  And stylized N could’ve got a long ways to improving it.

JERSEYS

I remember the shiny silver panels on the shoulder yokes and down the sides of the body.  I’m not sure I remember many hockey sweaters featuring silver so prominently before Nashville tried this.  With that said, they made a huge improvement by embracing gold as their primary color.

#8 CAROLINA HURRICANES

LOGO

I’m not really impressed by the primary logo; I think Carolina needs to switch the primary and secondary logos.  The Canes have released alternate uniforms with the secondary logos that really stand out for me.

JERSEYS

The hurricane warning flag pattern trim is such a distinct look; similar to the Coyotes’ Kachina pattern.  It feels like the font could be stylized to fit the hurricane theme more. 

#7 WINNIPEG JETS

LOGO

The new Jets logo doesn’t hold a candle to any Jets logo of the past and I'm probably holding it against them here.  The current one pays homage to the Royal Canadian Air Force and the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet.  It looks like a logo for the RCAF not the hockey team.  The secondary logo does a better job of implementing elements of both.  

The wordmark bothers me the most here.  It looks unbalanced and clunky.  Compare it to the slick Jets wordmarks used by the team from the 70s-90s and it makes no sense why they went this route.  The team updated to a cursive design in 2018-19 that’s still boring but better than what they launched with. 

JERSEYS

Other than the double stripes on the sleeves; these sweaters are pretty boring.  The logo really holds these back especially when you compare it to the two previous iterations.  It'd be a real bonus of the Jets could implement some red into these like they do on their Heritage sweaters.

#6 VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

LOGO

For a glitzy place like Vegas to use a muted shade of gold and double down with grey is just a letdown for me.  The logo’s a knight’s helmet with a V in it.  There’s not a ton going on here. 

JERSEYS

I’m not a fan of grey hockey jerseys.  They’re drab and they mute any secondary colors.  With that said, the different shade of gold used on the sweaters pops a lot more than on the logo.  If you get a chance to see the ornate detail work in the gold stripes; it’s something straight out of Ceasar’s Palace (I love it!).  I’d be really interested to see a home jersey that’s primarily black with gold accents.  

#5 PHOENIX COYOTES

LOGO

Is it too busy?  Yes.  Are there too many colors?  Probably.  Does it all work?  I think it does!   I’m a huge fan of jerseys that are able to work in elements of the city they represent.  The distinct Southwestern flavor from the use of geometric shapes and the color palette used hit the right chord for me.  Brick red and sand on a hockey logo! 

JERSEYS

Everything I said about the logo can be applied to the jerseys.  The Kachina pattern makes these instantly recognizable.  There’s a reason that the team is wearing these during the postseason this year.  They’re classics without a doubt. 

#4 MINNESOTA WILD

LOGO

I've never been a huge fan of the Wild's logo or jersey until doing a bit of research for this writeup.  The primary logo has a lot going on but it all works.  Fitting in all the different outdoor elements with the trees, rising sun, and the river (as the mouth!) inside the head of a wild animal is awesome.  The North Star tribute as the eye is the icing on the cake.  

JERSEYS

With such a busy primary logo, I think the simpler jerseys work here.  The number font is a nice play on the secondary logo too.  The color palette does a lot of the heavy lifting here to make the set work. 

#3 MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM

LOGO

The Mighty Ducks movies sparked my interest in hockey so of course I get nostalgic when it comes to this one.  There’s a reason the franchise brought this logo back to put on the Ducks current orange alternate jerseys.  I don’t think hockey fans realized how good the Mighty Ducks had it until the abomination of a rebrand for the 2006-07 season.  Yikes!

JERSEYS

Teal and Eggplant!  Teal and Eggplant on a hockey jersey!  Yes please!  The angled stripes across the bottom hem and sleeves are a nice change from the standard diagonal stripes that we see on the majority of sweaters.  It’s different without being too over the top like Coyotes Kachina jerseys.

#2 SEATTLE KRAKEN

LOGO

I’m a big fan of both logos and the wordmark.  I think all the different shades of blue depict the deep ocean theme well.  My mind goes directly to the Pacific Northwest when I see those colors.  The primary logo is good with the arm of Kraken splitting the S but the star of the show is the secondary logo.  Working the Space Needle into the anchor is a touch of genius.   Some hardcore sports fans up in Seattle probably wanted to see some green to honor the Metropolitans or lime green to match the Seahawks and Sounders.  But as an outsider, I love everything about these.

JERSEYS

I love the color palette so of course I love the jerseys; especially the Navy home jersey.  The different shades of lighter blue really pop on the Navy.  The touch of red breaks up all the blue.

#1 COLORADO AVALANCHE

LOGO

The primary logo is a classic.  The A grabs your attention and the C swooping around is subtle enough that it’s not in your face.  The Bigfoot secondary logo adds a fun element too.  There’s a reason the primary Avalanche logo has gone almost untouched since they introduced it. 

JERSEYS

The bold mountain peak stripes on this jersey make it for me.  The burgundy and shade of blue really work here too.  The fun number font compliments the secondary Bigfoot logo too.  These are classics.