Coyotes planning 1996 throwback jersey
/
New name to be matched with old sweater in 2014-15 season
Craig Morgan of FOX Sports Arizona elaborated on the Arizona Coyotes renaming with a report that they plan to bring back their original uniforms for a game next season.
You can see Morgan's series of tweets on the side. Hopefully this is more than just wishful thinking.
That's not all.
Coyotes owner may be mulling a future rebrand
Down the road, could the team also be considering a completely new look? Based on an article Morgan wrote Wednesday, it sure seems that way.
Once the Coyotes make the name change they might also consider rebranding. The team changed its logo once already from the old Aztec style Coyote — known locally as the Cubist Coyote — to the current logo when the team moved from America West Arena in Phoenix to Jobing.com Arena in Glendale in 2003.
But the uniforms will remain the same in the short term.
"Changing uniforms is a considerably longer term process that requires significant lead time with our merchandise partners," [Coyotes president and CEO Anthony] LeBlanc said.
There are two visible changes to the uniform that Coyotes fans can look for next season. The team will introduce a shoulder patch for their home and road jerseys. The patch will be unveiled for the first preseason game next season.
Will this bring another new logo? The third in less than two decades in the desert?
Even if LeBlanc is happy with the logo and just wants to update the uniforms, that would be big news. The Coyotes escaped the Reebok transition mostly unscathed — except for the disappearance of the waist stripes from their jerseys.
Personally, I've been hoping for an upgrade for the Coyotes for a long time. And not just the name change — though I do prefer Arizona Coyotes.
Anyway, if you're a Coyotes fan and not following Craig Morgan, get to it already!
Focus groups saw unused Coyotes logos in 2003
Since we're talking about the possibility of the Coyotes changing their 11-year-old logo, I thought this might be a good time to look back at its genesis.
Roll back the clock to Feb. 23, 2004 when the SportsBusiness Journal published an article talking about how the Coyotes successfully launched a new hockey brand... in the desert... in the summer.
The piece itself is an interesting read, but most notable were the various logo concepts shown to focus groups. You can actually see the evolution of the original logo into what it became.
The new "howling Coyote" logo, produced by the Adrenalin Design Group, was the most extreme of the four finalists presented to focus groups. It also was the most popular, fitting in with the fans' wishes to get far away from the previous multicolored "masked coyote" logo, yet remaining true to the Southwest identity.
The result was a mark that features a desert sand and red palate [sic] and connotes aggression and speed.
It's always exciting to see some of the drawings and logo designs that didn't make it through to the end of a team rebrand.