Article Archive #27 - Five Years of Jets

This post originally appeared on Hockey Jersey Concepts on July 22nd, 2016.

Now it's time for another segment of "Today in HJC History" (actually this time it's more like "Today in Winnipeg Jets History").  On July 22, 2011, the Jets rushed to unveil their new logo after it had been leaked earlier in the day.  Before I review those logos, let's take a look at some reaction from that day's HJC post.

Image from jets.nhl.com

At the time Ryan thought the primary logo looked "like something I (Ryan) could have drawn on Paint.net", but he also said "I like it! I like how simple it is. I like how even though it's a new logo it has some heritage behind it".

A few people in the comments section weren't as nice, Brad said "Ya.....no.  That jets logo.....no.  Military supported, 18 different colours, a rip off maple leaf....um, no....bad, bad!  I grade it a C".  An anonymous commenter added "Total Garbage, this is not a military team.  If this is the logo they can go back to Atlanta for coming up with something so putrid...!!!".  Yeah, I don't think they liked it.

Image from jets.nhl.com

Here are my thoughts five years later.  I like the direction they went with the primary logo, it's completely new compared to the original Jets logos, but it still has some meaning behind it since it's based off of the Royal Canadian Air Force's roundel.  The notch pointing true north is also very clever.  However I don't think the idea was executed as well as it could have been, the grey jet doesn't contrast very well from the red leaf behind it, and the leaf almost makes it look like the jet is exploding.

Primary Logo Grade: B

Image from jets.nhl.com

I think the secondary logo is nice, as a secondary logo.  The chevrons further emphasize the military theme, and the hockey sticks let you know that the Jets are in fact a hockey team.  I have no complaints about this logo, but it should stay in a secondary role.  It wouldn't work on the front of a jersey in my opinion.

Secondary Logo Grade: A-

The Jets also unveiled a wordmark logo that day, which I think is just okay.  Mostly I dislike the thick outline, but this wordmark isn't used much in their branding so it's hard for me to be too upset about it.

Wordmark Grade: C

Image from ic.gc.ca

Lastly, I want to add that at the time I was hoping the Jets would be called something else (something like the Falcons), since the original Jets franchise still exists in Arizona.  The Avalanche weren't called the Rockies, the Wild weren't called the North Stars, and I didn't think Winnipeg's new team should of been called the Jets.  I understand all the fans in Winnipeg wanted the team to be called the Jets, and it would have been foolish for the owners not to listen to them, but part of me still disagrees with the decision.

Do you remember your initial reaction to the Jets logos five years ago, and if so has your opinion changed at all?