I haven’t seen any discussion of it this summer, but it appears the Los Angeles Kings have made a very minor change to their primary logo for the 2019-20 season. First, I’ll explain the difference, then I’ll break down all the evidence.
The first iteration of the Kings’ pencil- or banner-shaped logo was unveiled in 2008 for the team’s third jersey. Here’s the evolution of that mark over the past decade.
In 2011-12, it became their primary logo and to make it work on a white road jersey, they added a black outline. In 2016-17, a gold outline was added inside for the 50th anniversary jersey. Then last season, 2018-19, they brought back the anniversary jersey, but changed the gold outline to silver. That’s the logo that they seem to be switching to as their primary for 2019-20.
That said, don’t expect to see the change represented in their home and road uniforms this year. Changing the logo you use on social media is a snap of a finger. Changing anything about your jerseys requires an act of god—or in this case, the NHL. And I’m thinking this decision was made late in the game over the summer.
Based on tweets from @LAKingsPR last week, it sounds like the club’s communications department has undergone a bit of a restructuring. In fact, they stated as much in one tweet. The changes include new roles such as “Senior Director of Team Operations & Hockey Communications“ which “now oversees all hockey-related communications and team operations.” There’s also a new “Manager of Media Services and Team Operations.”
With new blood and new workplace structures often come managers looking to flex their new muscle and make their mark. I’m not saying that’s what’s happening here because I literally have no idea. I’m just saying the changes to their PR team sort of coincide with the changes to the logo being used in PR applications.
Speaking of which, those applications range from social media, where we can see the Facebook icon was changed over the summer (on July 1, in fact). The team’s other social media accounts and official website at NHL.com use the same logo. And most of the graphics being posted on those platforms are also using it.
But like I said, a digital icon is easy to change. So what? What’s more intriguing is the real world applications.
Take, for example, the center ice design that was installed at Staples Center last month.
The extra silver outline is quite visible there, especially so in this fisheye photo. It’s like they were trying to draw attention to it without really drawing attention to it if that makes any sense. But again, even the ice design is temporary. It melts and gets repainted on a regular basis.
So I have one more piece of evidence that isn’t so easy to write off.
In August, the Kings made some announcements about their training facility in El Segundo, which was renamed the Toyota Sports Performance Center. Featured on the outside of the building was new signage, including a giant Kings logo with the extra silver outline.
A sign like this, which is probably internally lit at night, is not cheap. The Kings likely spent some decent money on this which is why I think it’s a sign of things to come. (See what I did there? Right, I’ll see myself out.)
It all makes me even more curious to see what’s going on the front of their Stadium Series jersey in February. And the next step, in my mind, would be a redesign of their primary jerseys for 2020-21. But it’s far too early for that kind of speculation. The Adidas catalog usually turns up in December or January.
As far as the reason for the change, it’s hard to say. But it does look better. I’m not quite sure how to describe it. Sturdier, maybe. Anyway, what do you think? Am I spending too much time writing about nothing here?
