The Kings and Ducks are “taking a look back while stepping into the future” with their new uniforms that were unveiled in recent days, according to Chuck Schilken of the L.A. TIMES. Both teams revealed logos that “harken to earlier days.” The Kings are “going with a logo very similar to one they used from 1988 to 1998” -- an era that overlapped with Hockey HOFer Wayne Gretzky’s time. The team colors “remain black, silver and white, although the palette has been updated to include a new ‘enhanced silver.’” The Ducks, however, “are trying something different.” Their new primary color “is now orange, with black, white and gold worked in.” That change “is a nod to the team’s Orange County roots. The new primary uniform is “similar to an alternate jersey worn by the team since 2015.” It features a “slightly updated version” of the original, “cartoonish and now retro-cool logo of a hockey mask shaped like a duck’s bill.” The previous logo -- a “D” shaped like a duck’s webbed foot -- has been “moved to the jersey’s shoulder” (L.A. TIMES, 6/26).
STAYING RETRO: In California, Andrew Knoll wrote the Ducks “went retro with a ‘brand evolution’” that brings back the classic masked duck logo with a “new, more expressive styling and no shortage of bright orange to enliven both the road and, particularly, the home sets.” The “Wild Wing” logo was used between the franchise’s inception in 1993 and 2006, the season before the Ducks won their first and only Stanley Cup. Then, they “transformed the original eggplant and jade color scheme into a black, gold and orange look that they sported for the majority of the period since,” often using wordmark logos or a large “D” on their crest. The Ducks’ new duds implement a “bold Art Deco font on both the names and numbers.” Bolder still is the “sea of orange, particularly on the home jersey, which inundates the eye with enough citrusy flair to make one’s lips pucker just a bit” (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 6/26).
PERFECT MASH-UP: THE HOCKEY NEWS’s Jason Chen wrote the Kings have “gone back to the ‘Chevy’ logo with slight alterations for a more modernized look.” It is the “perfect mash-up” between the new and old, even though it “is a little bittersweet that the Kings are retiring their ‘LA’ banner logo that had become synonymous with their Cup wins in the previous decade.” Chen gave the Kings a “Grade: A.” The Ducks are “going full orange.” The shade of orange is “rich and vibrant, with some black and gold accents.” They have “updated and modernized their Disney logo with a meaner look, starting with an orange eye in the duck mask, sharper lines” on the now-orange hockey sticks and a gold triangle in the background. Chen gave the Ducks a “Grade: A+” (THE HOCKEY NEWS, 6/26).
