The new Sabres marks were released this morning. The primary version (left) features a shield design with crossed swords and a modernized version of the white leaping bison along with a gold “50†set in the same style as the team’s jersey numbers.
From the team’s official website:
Owners Terry and Kim Pegula tasked executive vice president of creative services Frank Cravotta and his design team to develop a logo and a patch for the occasion.Â
“We did a lot of research,” Cravotta said. “Simplicity for Kim and Terry is key. You see some of these [logos other teams have created] that have very complex designs. They wanted it kind of stripped down, clean, and simple.”Â
The new logo was first seen over the weekend when season ticket holders began receiving what appeared to be refrigerator magnets that featured the design. Immediate response on Twitter from fans was mostly mixed. Some fans continue to insist the Sabres resurrect the royal blue the team wore through its first 25 years.
However, I can understand why the team has consistently chosen not to do so. For one thing, navy blue provides better contrast against the gold secondary color. And for another, royal blue is the primary color of choice for both of New York’s other two teams, the Rangers and Islanders. This isn’t to say a throwback design wouldn’t make for a welcome third jersey. I’d love to see that. But let’s let that be that.
Another welcome design update would be a simplification of the primary logo. The silver outline that wraps itself around every element of the mark like an invasive vine has never been needed. And if ever there was an excuse to let it go, their 50th birthday seem as good as any.
To that end, take a close look at the other 50th logo the Sabres released today.
