Minnesota Wild: What say you?

[habsfan1]

I'm against Minnesota's team trying to find a way around calling themselves the North Stars without actually calling themselves the North Stars.

 

Northern Lights? That would be so much worse.

 

If the league doesn't want 2 teams called the Stars and the North Stars, Wild is totally fine. Keep the North Stars gear for throwback nights. I'd hate to see their amazing primary logo get replaced.

[wildwing64]

The name really comes down to whatever your interpretation of it is. It's meant to be evocative of nature and wilderness, yet being paired with the initial wordmark and number font suggested a late 90's/early 2000's Xtreme Sportz theme which they never leant into beyond that.

 

The Wild have been around for as long as I've been a hockey fan, I don't have any strong feelings on the name one way or the other but I also get why people dislike it. Their logo and the overall visual identity is one of my favourites in the NHL, and a new name coming at the expense of that would be a huge letdown.

 

--

 

Since the Minnesota script jersey (also, other script jerseys) came up earlier in the thread; I liked that uniform and it was a nice extension of their brand, but the phantom yoke looked out of place. The Aviator Blue Jets jersey was one I liked as well. Scripts can look really nice, especially when they're on alternate uniforms or one-offs for outdoor games, and not replacing a classic crest as a team's primary logo.

 

My local hockey team changes their uniform every season (as do many British sports teams) and this year they've gone for an arched script on the front instead of their logo which has been relegated to the shoulders. I've never liked their logo all that much so I actually prefer this.

 

[HopewellJones]

On 12/3/2021 at 9:48 AM, wildwing64 said:

The name really comes down to whatever your interpretation of it is. It's meant to be evocative of nature and wilderness, yet being paired with the initial wordmark and number font suggested a late 90's/early 2000's Xtreme Sportz theme which they never leant into beyond that.

See, I've only ever interpreted it in the first way you mention. I never, to this day, have thought of it as expansion-team XtReMe WiLd corniness, but instead interpret it as being short for Wilderness. The logo is great. They could've been called the Bears, or the North Stars, or the Evergreens or whatever, but they're the Wild and it all works.

 

I think a HUGE reason why the name works for me is their locale name, Minnesota. If they were the Los Angeles Wild, or hell even the Minneapolis Wild, I would totally interpret that name as XFL-level cheese. But using the state name avoids that. I feel like most people when they think of Minnesota think of wilderness to some extent. Minnesota Wild is an okay name. I actually like it. 

 

North Stars is a terrible name. 

 

*Walks over to unpopular opinions thread*

[Kevin W.]

The initial look and that absolutely awful shoulder patch were definitely evocative of the XTREME trend. The name and the primary logo weren't and the fact that Minnesota moved in a more conservative direction in light of the state's hockey heritage is why their current identity works so well.

[OnWis97]

 

On 12/6/2021 at 9:17 PM, Kevin W. said:

The initial look and that absolutely awful shoulder patch were definitely evocative of the XTREME trend. The name and the primary logo weren't and the fact that Minnesota moved in a more conservative direction in light of the state's hockey heritage is why their current identity works so well.

 

The shoulder patch was the initial logo released right after the team was named. Yeah, it had a "wild" Wild font. But the colors always evoked wilderness to me. It never gave me anything close to a Rocky Mountain Extreme vibe. I think that first logo was just sort of rushed out there to sell merchandise....they probably even put it on the sleeves because never using a logo that they sold a lot of t-shirts for would probably have been bad PR. This thread is the first time I've ever heard it suggested the name was supposed to have anything in common with a Mountain Dew commercial. I think it was more about being "unique." This was right after the Panthers and the Jaguars and then the Devil Rays and Diamondbacks.  They came in with the Blue Jackets and right after the Predators and Thrashers. The theme there seems to be to find a name that not even high schools are using. Unfortunately, the other names (even the one that's gone) aged better than Wild. 

 

Now, that all said, when I first heard it, I was a bit confused. But I quickly heard it was about the wilderness.

 

Rocky Mountain Extreme was dumb from the moment it was conceived. But it would have fit the 1990s. It would have aged just terribly. Maybe that's why they didn't pick it. I wish the Wild had thought about "is this going to be good in 20 years?"  Of the choices that made it far, I wish they'd have gone with Voyageurs. It wasn't great, but at least, like Blue Jackets, it would just blend in by now. Wild is just always going to stick out as terrible.

 

 

[Kevin W.]

8 hours ago, OnWis97 said:

I wish the Wild had thought about "is this going to be good in 20 years?"

It is. Now that they've really solidified the visual part of the brand, the name is just fine.

[KittSmith_95]

The Wild is a team that got a lot right the first time, minus their name. But now it's one of those names where the stupidity doesn't bug me anymore. 

 

Now, was their inaugural look perfect? No. The shoulder patches were awful, and I get not everybody could get into the custom font used (it's cheesy but I personally love it). When they brought out their red alternates, I always thought they were good but hated the roundel on  the front. Then they made the red alts their home jerseys during the Edge change, and I was upset to see the pretty greens go. 

Then we get to 2009 and the script jersey, which is one of my favourite alternate designs ever. Over the next little bit, the team changed things up slightly, like dropping the pants striping (which made sense), releasing a new home that tied in better with the alternate jersey (great design but needs more red & wheat IMO), then dropping the red & script jerseys altogether for a new home jersey (doesn't need the chest stripe). 

 

Part of me wants to see the originals return, but I'd also like a new red jersey in the rotation. As for the North Stars stuff, I say go ahead and evoke it if you want, but keep your current colours. While Green/Yellow is great, so is Green/Red/Wheat. 

[OnWis97]

I'm honestly not sure whether this is popular or unpopular (probably the later) but I think they're at their best now.  I didn't like those weird numbers and I prefer them toning down the gold from the trim. There are a lot of changes I'd like to see them make to each jersey but they'd be "tweaks." Generally, I prefer how they use their colors now.

[chcarlson23]

10 hours ago, OnWis97 said:

I'm honestly not sure whether this is popular or unpopular (probably the later) but I think they're at their best now.  I didn't like those weird numbers and I prefer them toning down the gold from the trim. There are a lot of changes I'd like to see them make to each jersey but they'd be "tweaks." Generally, I prefer how they use their colors now.

I think they’re at their best look now too. The only small tweaks I would make are to thicken the tail stripe on the home sweater so it looks like a stripe on the back, and to add the red stripe to the chest stripe, matching the sleeves. Otherwise the home is perfect. 
 

For the road, the only change I’d make is maybe the shoulder patch to something else, but I can’t figure out what. The “M” patch on the home looks amazing, but I feel like it wouldn’t work as well on the road. Besides those tweaks from me, I think the Wild have a solid set, and one of the best looks in the league. 

[The_Admiral]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:22 PM, HopewellJones said:

North Stars is a terrible name.

It was an outstanding name, and the team looked great more often than not.

[gsn93]

4 hours ago, chcarlson23 said:

I’d make maybe the shoulder patch to something else, but I can’t figure out what. The “M” patch on the home looks amazing, but I feel like it wouldn’t work as well on the road.

 

I've always felt that their State of Hockey logo would make a great shoulder patch. They only used it on their Stadium Series jersey years ago.

[chcarlson23]

6 hours ago, gsn93 said:

 

I've always felt that their State of Hockey logo would make a great shoulder patch. They only used it on their Stadium Series jersey years ago.

That was a really good one for the cream yoke. Tweaking the colors would probably look pretty good on the road sweater. 

[VancouverFan69]

Minnesota will always have identity issues until they ditch the bushleague "Wild" name. Two teams with "Stars" names is no different than having both the Red Sox and the White Sox in MLB's American League, regardless that it's been over a century. "Northern Lights" would be so much better.  "Saints" as a tribute to the WHA Fighting Saints and that the team plays in Saint Paul would be even better...regardless of the minor league baseball St. Paul Saints. The very last resort can be going with "Wilders"...same interpretation as "Wild" but sounds more big league and professional. Like soccer's Seattle Sounders is a tribute to Puget Sound. 

 

Last but not least, Minnesota's NHL team should be green, white and yellow-gold. This beautiful colour scheme needs to return to the NHL.

 

[Kevin W.]

The name is fine.

[VancouverFan69]

57 minutes ago, Kevin W. said:

The name is fine.

Very sorry but the name sucks. Worst team name in major pro sports. Even "Kraken" is more tolerable.

[TalktoChuck]

54 minutes ago, VancouverFan69 said:

Very sorry but the name sucks. Worst team name in major pro sports. Even "Kraken" is more tolerable.

 

Yet, Wild is still better than every single name you suggested above.

[neo_prankster]

On 9/17/2021 at 12:04 PM, SFGiants58 said:

I’m game for phasing in North Stars dress-up, with a name like Auroras or Northern Lights taking the place of Wild. Something that vaguely resembles the classic N-star would be nice, but might be a bit if a trademark nightmare. 

 

I would've been okay with a name like Gemini. That way, you'd evoke both the North Stars and Twin Cities. Right?

 

Anyways, when I first heard Minnesota's then-new NHL franchise was gonna be called the Wild, I was reminded of the title of a cheesy teen heartthrob movie that came out a year earlier:

[tigers]

No need to change it.

[VampyrRabbit]

Wild is a great name for the team, it's evocative and rolls off the tongue nicely.

And as for worst name in the Big 5 leagues, it's a no contest since Club de Foot Montréal was announced as the new name for Montréal Impact.

[neo_prankster]

13 minutes ago, VampyrRabbitDesign said:

Wild is a great name for the team, it's evocative and rolls off the tongue nicely.

And as for worst name in the Big 5 leagues, it's a no contest since Club de Foot Montréal was announced as the new name for Montréal Impact.

Wait a sec, Montreal Club Foot????