2016-17 NHL Uniform and Logo Changes

[Morgan33]

11 hours ago, chcarlson23 said:

It would be amazing to see the Maroons still playing. Their sweaters would have been a classic, and the look would have stuck for centuries to come too... 

 

No way the bland "M" would last centuries.  They would have probably gone with a cartoon logo and 5 colour palette in the 90's before hopefully going with something tasteful but more interesting.

[chcarlson23]

21 minutes ago, Morgo said:

 

No way the bland "M" would have last centuries.  They would have probably gone with a cartoon logo and 5 colour palette in the 90's before hopefully going with a tasteful but more interesting.

The Bland C and H from the Habs has turned into a better logo, and those jerseys have been around for a while. Same with the Red Wings and Rangers, they were all modernized into better logos. And they would have been another team making the Original 7, and would have gone with mostly traditional designs and logos that would have lasted for decades...

[hockey week]

If I may, I covered this idea a few years ago

 

 

Shameless plug alert!

[IceCap]

^Love that. Just to hop on the shameless plug bandwagon...hockey week's concept series inspired me to create my own "what if the Maroons never folded?" concept, which I later re-used for my fantasy hockey team.

 

Montreal Maroons 2016

[hockey week]

I think someone needs to use that 1967 Penguins template, those stripes are too good to leave in the dustbin of history. This is close enough. I like it

[The Giant Pacific Octopus]

17 hours ago, tigerslionspistonshabs said:

 

Whenever expansion and Toronto getting a second team is brought up (way too often), I always think it would be cool if Montreal got a second team out in Laval or something. It's basically equivalent to New York having two baseball or football teams, but at this point I think the Canadiens brand is too strong and almost a religion in Montreal to the point where supporting another team would be sacrilege. 

 

I have this book called They Call Me Gump. It was an autobiography written by Lorne Worsley. It was given to me as a gift because my teacher at school knew how much of a North Stars fan I was. Gump is painted on the cover wearing his North Stars uniform.

Growing up in Montreal his dad was a huge Maroons fan and in the book he tells stories about how vicious that rivalry was. Even after games outside the Forum things would get pretty heated between fans that fistfights were commonplace. It really transcended the game and became political at times between the French and English.

[Morgan33]

22 hours ago, hockey week said:

If I may, I covered this idea a few years ago

 

 

Shameless plug alert!

 

Usually a fan of your history concepts but this one missed the mark.  The notion that the solitary "M" would have survived from the 20's to the 2010's is absolutely preposterous.  It wasn't even a good "logo" to begin with.  The only alteration, in the entire history of the franchise, is slanting it for a gradient alternate in 96?  Unlikely.  I also find it hard to believe black would be added to the scheme as early as the late 40's.  Much less in a way that provided zero contrast.

[IceCap]

23 minutes ago, Morgo said:

The notion that the solitary "M" would have survived from the 20's to the 2010's is absolutely preposterous.

Is the Bruins' spoked B really that different? Or the Canadiens' CH?

I think the block M would have stood the test of time. Hell, Michigan's did. If for no other reason than the fact that it's kind of hard to do anything else with the name "Maroons."

MAYBE this rarely used alternate mark would have gained traction had the team survived, but that's as out there as I think they realistically would have gone.

[Morgan33]

10 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

Is the Bruins' spoked B really that different? Or the Canadiens' CH?

I think the block M would have stood the test of time. Hell, Michigan's did. If for no other reason than the fact that it's kind of hard to do anything else with the name "Maroons."

MAYBE this rarely used alternate mark would have gained traction had the team survived, but that's as out there as I think they realistically would have gone.

 

Yes, the Bruins "spoked B" is really that different... It's a real logo, created from a typeface and a distinct graphic element, representing 'the hub of the universe.'  Even the "CH" of the habs manages to create something unique from those elements...  The Maroons logo is just an "M."

[IceCap]

3 minutes ago, Morgo said:

Yes, the Bruins "spoked B" is really that different... It's a real logo, created from a typeface and a distinct graphic element, representing 'the hub of the universe.'  Even the "CH" of the habs manages to create something unique from those elements...  The Maroons logo is just an "M."

The University of Michigan seems to have gotten by with "just an 'M.'" I bet the Braves would still be using a block M on their caps had they stayed in Milwaukee. A block letter can work in the right context. The context being "old team, lots of tradition." Which would have worked for the Maroons had they stayed around.

The biggest reason why they probably would have kept the block M though? The name. What else can you really do with the name "Maroons"? My Maroons concept-turned-fantasy team uniform tried to do something different, but it still revolved around an M of some sort because there's really not much else you can really do with the name.

 

The Chatham Maroons of the GOJHL use a block M for that reason. They did take a turn for the cartoony in the 90s though, which was absolutely horrible. Which you predicted the Montreal Maroons probably would have done had they survived. 

[habsfan1]

23 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

^Love that. Just to hop on the shameless plug bandwagon...hockey week's concept series inspired me to create my own "what if the Maroons never folded?" concept, which I later re-used for my fantasy hockey team.

 

Montreal Maroons 2016

 

This could have been a legit look for a Montreal Maroons team, in a 2.0 world where they never folded. Montreal's former junior team used very Maroon-inspired logos and colors. Slap Maroons on there instead of Junior and it gives a nice looking picture...

 

 

 

 

[Morgan33]

If by legit, you mean wholly amateur and insulting to designers, we're in full agreement.  Even the awful, cartoonish logo, Cap posted is better than the bland "M."  When it comes to aesthetics, the University of Michigan is a joke.  Did someone actually get paid for "creating" that?  I'm glad the Maroons are dead and buried, since this fetish for bland, nondescript "logos" apparently knows no bounds.  Selecting a font and typing a letter does not equate to logo design.

[IceCap]

You've yet to offer an alternative.

[chcarlson23]

29 minutes ago, Morgo said:

If by legit, you mean wholly amateur and insulting to designers, we're in full agreement.  Even the awful, cartoonish logo, Cap posted is better than the bland "M."  When it comes to aesthetics, the University of Michigan is a joke.  Did someone actually get paid for "creating" that?  I'm glad the Maroons are dead and buried, since this fetish for bland, nondescript "logos" apparently knows no bounds.  Selecting a font and typing a letter does not equate to logo design.

And as far as your own profile picture, it looks like you did the exact same thing... You typed a fancy font into a roundel... No offense to you, but you did the thing that your arguing against. 

[Morgan33]

1 minute ago, chcarlson23 said:

And as far as your own profile picture, it looks like you did the exact same thing... You typed a fancy font into a roundel... No offense to you, but you did the thing that your arguing against. 

 

The Maroons didn't even bother to put their mediocre 'M' into a roundel... They typed an 'M' and called it a day.  Not saying my profile pic is some masterstroke of design but it does combine an M and an E to create a "D."  Tear it apart if you must but it does way more than the Maroons "logo" did.

[IceCap]

5 minutes ago, Morgo said:

The Maroons didn't even bother to put their mediocre 'M' into a roundel... They typed an 'M' and called it a day.  Not saying my profile pic is some masterstroke of design but it does combine an M and an E to create a "D."  Tear it apart if you must but it does way more than the Maroons "logo" did.

What else could a team called the "Montreal Maroons" do?

[habsfan1]

52 minutes ago, Morgo said:

If by legit, you mean wholly amateur and insulting to designers, we're in full agreement.  Even the awful, cartoonish logo, Cap posted is better than the bland "M."  When it comes to aesthetics, the University of Michigan is a joke.  Did someone actually get paid for "creating" that?  I'm glad the Maroons are dead and buried, since this fetish for bland, nondescript "logos" apparently knows no bounds.  Selecting a font and typing a letter does not equate to logo design.

 

It's a simple bolded letter. Simple and nice looking is still better than a complex cluster.

 

I don't think it's necessary to wipe away the roots of teams who are around during that time, turning them into something unrecognizable.

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, Morgo said:

If by legit, you mean wholly amateur and insulting to designers, we're in full agreement.  Even the awful, cartoonish logo, Cap posted is better than the bland "M."  When it comes to aesthetics, the University of Michigan is a joke.  Did someone actually get paid for "creating" that?  I'm glad the Maroons are dead and buried, since this fetish for bland, nondescript "logos" apparently knows no bounds.  Selecting a font and typing a letter does not equate to logo design.

 

I've often wished that you weren't so circumspect.  Come on, man. Tell us what you really think!  We're big boys and girls here, you needn't bother with vagueries.

[hockey week]

5 hours ago, Morgo said:

 

Usually a fan of your history concepts but this one missed the mark.  The notion that the solitary "M" would have survived from the 20's to the 2010's is absolutely preposterous.  It wasn't even a good "logo" to begin with.  The only alteration, in the entire history of the franchise, is slanting it for a gradient alternate in 96?  Unlikely.  I also find it hard to believe black would be added to the scheme as early as the late 40's.  Much less in a way that provided zero contrast.

 

Yeah, it was an early one. I believe my first alternate history (it's too late in the evening to remember for sure), but it was way early on my timeline. The poor lines and jagged edges, more so than usual, should give that away lol

 

I figured the Canadiens used two letters, the Bruins use a letter, the Leafs have their name written out,  the Rangers use only letters, and the Hawks have the tomahawk C on their shoulders... Keeping the big M seemed like a no-brainer. Plus, it's what they used for 95% of their history. Plus their name has no real imagery to it...it's a color. What do you do with that? So like the Canadiens, I stuck with the letter.  If re-did it, I might try a version with outlines that can be on home and road... And idk if I'd keep that. It'd probably be a blip like the 70s Rangers logo jerseys.

 

As for black, it was all about equipment. Maroon is a nightmare color to match even today (a friend went to high school where the colors were maroon and white...nothing ever matched), so it needed something, and they would probably be the second team in the city, so they get cheaper things. Black was more contrast than blue, and gave chances for some nonsense screwups where colors blended and quick changes had to be made before they settled into a good look.

 

There was a method to the madness, even if you disagree, there were reasons behind the decision. I've thought of going back and redoing those early series, so I'm open to opinions, but I'll have to get pretty bored to actually do it

[Kevin W.]

Hmm, it never occurred to me that the Red Wings are the only Original Six team never to feature any text in their primary logo, assuming you don't count the pre-Red Wings logos.