2024-25 NHL Changes

[SenatorJake]

1 hour ago, Haz_Matt said:

I haven't seen any "iconic" or non "bush/minor league" names suggested by the people dumping on the rumored options either 

 

I thought Bobcats was kinda fun while still sounding like a proper pro sports team name.

 

I suppose it is a tad generic, but it works really well for Utah. And if it comes to be, the "Jazz-Bobcats-Hornets name trade" folks will have their first moral victory since the Hornets came back.

[Morgan33]

19 hours ago, tBBP said:

 

This is how you make a fluorescent colour scheme work.  That is a stellar looking jersey, I don't care what anyone says.

[kolob]

On 4/30/2024 at 3:42 PM, Foxxtrot44 said:

I will accept the Yeti name on the condition that the aesthetics lean into the ski/winter sports styles of the late 80's and early 90's.
That means the Yeti will need to be in a cool pair of polarized sunglasses

and that the color scheme will be

 

Ryan Smith gets his highlighter color. Fans get a local culture connection. Kids get a silly name. Hockey purists get to choke on their tongues at the utter steeziness of it all. Win-Win-Win-Win.
 

I am not a crackpot.

 

I honestly don't hate this. And, I think for a winter sport team they should lean into the local winter/ski culture. 

[CreamSoda]

31 minutes ago, kimball said:

 

I honestly don't hate this. And, I think for a winter sport team they should lean into the local winter/ski culture. 

 

The person with 3 out of the 4 colors in their avatar doesn't hate this color scheme, shocker!  lol

[seasaltvanilla]

8 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

Spot on.

 

I recall thinking the Kraken name was embarrassing until I saw how it was displayed as part of a visual identity and it completely changed my mind about the name. The name is only one part of an identity package. The visuals can, and should, elevate it. Too early to dismiss the options now. The Kraken example should have taught us that.

Kraken, like Wild, is still a terrible name despite the fantastic branding around it.

[Chromatic]

55 minutes ago, seasaltvanilla said:

Kraken, like Wild, is still a terrible name despite the fantastic branding around it.

The "Kraken" name is goofy, and the jury is still out on how well it will age, but its nowhere near as bad as "Wild".

 

In terms of bad names, the Wild is in a league of its own in the big four sports leagues.  The only thing that comes close were the leaked Professional Women's Hockey League names that were so bad they decided to scrap them entirely and go strictly with the city names and generic templates until they could come up with something else. 

[FiddySicks]

12 hours ago, PlayGloria said:

 

I really don't understand this take. You don't like the  Yeti's so the entire league is a joke?  I'm going to trust the process here, since the last two new identities in the league (VGK and the Kraken) were a complete success both from a branding standpoint as well as a uniform. 

I'm not sure why it would be so absurd for a team to choose a name that is extremely popular in their new city. Why would they not choose it honestly if it is that popular?  Why give people that will buy tickets, merch, etc the middle finger before the team even touches the ice? Especially a franchise that has been playing in front of 5,000 people the last couple of years. 

All I'm saying is that if I was the new owner of that team, I would feed the frenzy as much as possible.

There’s a laundry list of grievances I have with the NHL, many of which I’ve said a million times on here. Hell, there’s an ENTIRE thread here dedicated to just how dysfunctional this league is and it’s like 15 years old and still active. None of this is new information. 
 

Call me a fuddy duddy or a stick in the mud or whatever all you want. I just feel like names like Kraken and Yeti(s) fit the league kind of perfectly. Unserious and borderline minor league. Sue me, I guess  

 

And frankly, I don’t care how good the Kraken brand is (personally, I think it’s overrated). It’s still dumb enough to ruin it for me. 

[Chromatic]

5 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

There’s a laundry list of grievances I have with the NHL, many of which I’ve said a million times on here. Hell, there’s an ENTIRE thread here dedicated to just how dysfunctional this league is and it’s like 15 years old and still active. None of this is new information. 
 

Call me a fuddy duddy or a stick in the mud or whatever all you want. I just feel like names like Kraken and Yeti(s) fit the league kind of perfectly. Unserious and borderline minor league. Sue me, I guess  

 

And frankly, I don’t care how good the Kraken brand is (personally, I think it’s overrated). It’s still dumb enough to ruin it for me. 

Every league has its share dysfunctional nonsense. Whether or not you think its "minor league" is basically dependent on how popular hockey is where you live.

 

"Unserious". How serious is a game supposed to be? This isn't the "Amarillo Sod Poodles" or "Rip City Remix". Is the issue that they're not real? Does that make the NFL unserious for having the "Titans" or the NBA unserious for having the "Wizards"?

 

[FiddySicks]

Hockey is increasingly more popular where I live. There was an outdoor game like ten minutes from my house a few years ago. It’s a lot to dredge up, but I don’t think there’s a single decision pro hockey has made in the past decade that I’ve really agreed with. And that extends to their branding, and even location choices. 
 

I just don’t think this league is really for me anymore. Like, even this part of it I find cringey and bad now. 

[Chromatic]

Just now, FiddySicks said:

Hockey is increasingly more popular where I live. There was an outdoor game like ten minutes from my house a few years ago. It’s a lot to dredge up, but I don’t think there’s a single decision pro hockey has made in the past decade that I’ve really agreed with. And that extends to their branding, and even location choices. 
 

I just don’t think this league is really for me anymore. Like, even this part of it I find cringey and bad now. 

Well luckily for you there are lots of threads to discuss your feelings on the branding decisions made by leagues in other sports. 

[FiddySicks]

And if I care to comment on those other leagues branding choices, I will! In those appropriate threads, of course. Thank you for the information

[PlayGloria]

10 hours ago, FiddySicks said:

Hockey is increasingly more popular where I live. There was an outdoor game like ten minutes from my house a few years ago. It’s a lot to dredge up, but I don’t think there’s a single decision pro hockey has made in the past decade that I’ve really agreed with. And that extends to their branding, and even location choices. 
 

I just don’t think this league is really for me anymore. Like, even this part of it I find cringey and bad now. 

 

To each their own... 

Weirdly enough, I view the NHL the complete opposite way.

 - Aesthetically I feel like they are tops among the 4 major sports. NBA and NFL are lost and MLB has literally the worst uniform rollout of all time going on.

 - New franchise locations have been a massive success. Hell, I can't believe the NHL was the first league to put a team in Vegas. For once, they were a trendsetter.

 - Playoff hockey is still just an unreal time of the year, especially if you have a dog in the fight.

 - I know this Coyotes thing was a fiasco, BUT at least they didn't just abandon a city like the NFL and MLB have done in recent times. They literally tried everything they could to make the franchise stick in their hometown, and I respect that. 

  - Bringing the topic back to uniforms, I think the Reverse Retro series were much better than either the CC in MLB or color rush in NFL, or any of the mindless NBA jersey editions year after year.

 

All that being said, the nice thing is that if it isn't for you, it's all good. It's just entertainment. 

 

Side note: One day when we actually validate bigfoot's existence, the Utah Yeti's name will no longer be cheesy or minor league. It will be just like any other animal named team like Coyotes, Jaguars, Eagles, etc 

[spartacat_12]

12 hours ago, FiddySicks said:

Hockey is increasingly more popular where I live. There was an outdoor game like ten minutes from my house a few years ago. It’s a lot to dredge up, but I don’t think there’s a single decision pro hockey has made in the past decade that I’ve really agreed with. And that extends to their branding, and even location choices. 
 

I just don’t think this league is really for me anymore. Like, even this part of it I find cringey and bad now. 

 

You claim it's a terrible league and hate every decision they've made, yet you admit that it's growing in popularity where you live. Sounds like this is a you problem and not the sport's problem.

[ManillaToad]

13 hours ago, Chromatic said:

The "Kraken" name is goofy, and the jury is still out on how well it will age, but its nowhere near as bad as "Wild".

 

In terms of bad names, the Wild is in a league of its own in the big four sports leagues.  The only thing that comes close were the leaked Professional Women's Hockey League names that were so bad they decided to scrap them entirely and go strictly with the city names and generic templates until they could come up with something else. 

 

Magic is as bad or worse than Wild

[Chromatic]

32 minutes ago, ManillaToad said:

 

Magic is as bad or worse than Wild

Magic is definitely up there, but there's a vagueness to Wild that makes it worse than the others.

[adsarebad]

2 hours ago, PlayGloria said:

 

To each their own... 

Weirdly enough, I view the NHL the complete opposite way.

 - Aesthetically I feel like they are tops among the 4 major sports. NBA and NFL are lost and MLB has literally the worst uniform rollout of all time going on.

 - New franchise locations have been a massive success. Hell, I can't believe the NHL was the first league to put a team in Vegas. For once, they were a trendsetter.

 - Playoff hockey is still just an unreal time of the year, especially if you have a dog in the fight.

 - I know this Coyotes thing was a fiasco, BUT at least they didn't just abandon a city like the NFL and MLB have done in recent times. They literally tried everything they could to make the franchise stick in their hometown, and I respect that. 

  - Bringing the topic back to uniforms, I think the Reverse Retro series were much better than either the CC in MLB or color rush in NFL, or any of the mindless NBA jersey editions year after year.

 

All that being said, the nice thing is that if it isn't for you, it's all good. It's just entertainment. 

 

Side note: One day when we actually validate bigfoot's existence, the Utah Yeti's name will no longer be cheesy or minor league. It will be just like any other animal named team like Coyotes, Jaguars, Eagles, etc 

Love hockey..... but can't watch NHL anymore because of those :censored:ing moving board ads.

 

you just know they will change and move randomly, and just when there is action in front of the net ...... hate that looming feeling when trying to watch a game. You know it will change soon.

 

I am done with it.

[adsarebad]

36 minutes ago, ManillaToad said:

 

Magic is as bad or worse than Wild

No, Magic is a thing...... and  Orlando Magic sounds great.

 

They are doing magic with the basketball........ can't really say wild have anything to do with the sport of ice hockey.

[SFGiants58]

17 hours ago, Morgan33 said:

 

This is how you make a fluorescent colour scheme work.  That is a stellar looking jersey, I don't care what anyone says.

Exactly - a black base allows the fluorescent colors to properly function.

[Foxxtrot44]

I don't know if I should post this in Concepts or not, but I finally finished creating some sweater mock-ups for the Utah Yetis.

I made sure to do Home, Away, and Reverse Retro. I'm not a wizard with Illustrator or Photoshop, but I think I nailed it.

[Cherono]

22 hours ago, Haz_Matt said:

I haven't seen any "iconic" or non "bush/minor league" names suggested by the people dumping on the rumored options either 

 

Yaks! Yaks! Yaks! Yaks! Yaks! 

 

 

On 4/30/2024 at 12:40 PM, Morgan33 said:

Outlaws is the only one that doesn't sound minor league.

 

I did see a comment that Outlaws is not very Utah, but those people don't know their Mormon history. The Mormons settled in Utah after getting kicked out of New England, New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. The founding of the state was done by literal outlaws. It makes sense from that perspective, but I don't know if Utahns or Mormons or (more importantly) Ryan Smith would want to embrace that angle of their history. 

 

17 hours ago, seasaltvanilla said:

Kraken, like Wild, is still a terrible name despite the fantastic branding around it.

 

I was a fan of just calling them the Squids (Squids! Squids! Squids!). But too often when the branding is mostly right they can overthink it. Like how Rays is way better than Devil Rays as a name. Everything else can be the same.