No Matter What You Think Of The PWHL's Logos, They'll Never Be As Bad As These

The PWHL dropped their six new logos this week. As always, there were many who loved the logos, and some who didn't. It seemed near consensus that the least beloved logo for the second year league was that of the Ottawa Charge. There was also plenty of online chatter of the strikingly similar Toronto Sceptres logo, to that used by Taylor Swift on a uniform in her "Shake It Off" video.

No matter what PWHL fans think of their team's new logo however, they'll never be as bad as these hockey logos.

Here are some of the worst hockey logos of all time. Have a look and you'll soon feel relieved these aren't your team's logo.

California Golden Seals

It looked like step one of a drawing, the vague and uninterrupted outline, that would soon receive detail but never did. Perhaps the Golden Seals like that "stick person" look, but so say the image even resembles a seal would also be a stretch.

They were better off when the team ditched this logo and went with the word "Seals" across their sweater. Don't blame the logo, but the Seals' history was short running from 1967 to 1976.

Buffalo Sabres...The Buffaslug

If you want to talk about an immediate, negative reaction, look no further than the Buffaslug. The yellow blob of a legless Buffalo garnered a petition with 30,000 signatures to get rid of the slug when it made its NHL debut in 2006-2007. As Jeff Barak of The Hockey News wrote, "the “Buffaslug” is just a big, mute head in a big hurry that wants nothing to do with anyone or anything."

Not an ideal message to send for an NHL team. Or as Greg Wyshynski critiquing the logo, he called it "a furry horned cashew nut that spawned everything from ridicule to widespread — and eventually successful — fan protests asking for 'Death To the Slug.'"

These weren't the only awful NHL logos in history however, as you can run it back to the Wild Wing Anaheim Mighty Ducks logo, or the Los Angeles Kings' truly awful 1995-1996 third jersey logo. Not to mention the remaining racism of the Chicago Blackhawks logo, which thankfully the PWHL's new launch avoided all avenues of controversy in their logos, although some did question the thick colonial commentary with the Toronto Sceptres. All in all, the PWHL didn't have a Slug or a weird Seal in the mix.

Reiverlöwen Oberhausen

No one ever wants to see a hockey team fold...unless it means ridding the world of this logo. But it's a prime example of a wave of cartoon-esque logos that became increasingly "popular" in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Teams all over the globe were coming up with logos that looked like cheap cartoons or Pixar rejects. Perhaps no logo personified this more than the awful Reiverlöwen Oberhausen lion-flower-thing.

The Entire Original NWHL

If you want to see an era of forgettable jersey logos, take a trip back in history to the original NWHL that ran from 1999 to 2007. From the Brampton Thunder to the Toronto Aeros (a logo that still remains today), Calgary Oval X-Treme, Oakville Ice, Ottawa Raiders, Etobicoke Dolphins, Edmonton Chimos, British Columbia Breakers and everyone in between, this was an era of logos that should be preserved only for history's sake. Some of those logos persevered into the CWHL era as well, and were joined by others that wouldn't make the cut under today's scrutiny.

ECHL and AHL History Is Full Of Bad Logos

Two of the hockey leagues with the most turnover, new franchises, and branding re-designs are the AHL and ECHL. Over the years, there have been some truly awful logos, like the Toledo Storm logo from the early 2000s, which The Hockey News ranked worst out of 56 AHL and ECHL teams at the time. But it was a logo that could easily be joined by the fire helmet wearing Dalmatian of the Columbia Inferno, or another dog, that of the Grrreenville Grrrowl. There was the font heavy fail of the Richmond Renegades, of the coat of arms Greensboro Monarchs. And perhaps the worst was the Confederate flag waving Roanoke Valley Rebels. In truth, you could look through the history of hockey's minor pro logos and find dozens of laughable, offensive, and amateur logos.

While the PWHL's logos may not have pleased everyone, they're miles ahead of many leagues across the world in not only their appearance, but the thought put into the meaning. If you're not a fan of your PWHL team's logo, just remember, hockey history has shown, it could be a lot worse.

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