Smashville to Leafs Nation: NHL team slogans can be a hit or miss

Calling all hockey fans! I’m sure you have that favourite slogan you chant every time your team is playing, but just because you are chanting it doesn’t mean the slogan is doing its job. 

A team slogan needs to get the fans roaring and excited — something that will blow the roof off an arena. While some teams have great slogans, most NHL teams need to take a step back and re-evaluate theirs. 

From hockey fan to hockey fan, most NHL slogans are just flat and dull, but there are still a few diamonds in the rough. Some teams know how to do a slogan right — shout out to their marketing squads.

Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken’s famous three-word slogan “Release the Kraken!” is fire. 

The Kraken made their NHL debut in the 2021-2022 season, and since then, this slogan has been rocking off their roof. I have never heard of a more talked-about slogan in the NHL — and this one has it all.

Seattle’s slogan has become a massive part of their identity and branding. I bet the team has made a ton of money off of this slogan alone. Those merchandise stands are bringing in the big bucks.

Imagine being at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle and hearing this slogan roared by fans as the team comes out. I have chills — and I’m not even a Kraken fan. 

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators knocked their slogan “Smashville” out of the park. Nashville is also known as Music City, so when I think of Nashville, I think of smashing guitars and lively tunes.

Less is more, and one-word slogans can be just as, if not more, impactful than some of the longer slogans out there. Gold star for you, Nashville.

Winnipeg Jets

“True North.” The Winnipeg Jets fans nailed it with their slogan. No explanation is needed.

While “True North” does remind me of something Team Canada would use as their slogan, I can get past that because this slogan is iconic.

Despite these epic slogans, some make me shake my head in disappointment. 

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs fans, I’m sorry, but “Leafs Forever” and “Leafs Nation” do not cut it for me. Any team can take the words “forever” and “nation” and put them beside their name. There is no creativity or spark — nothing about this slogan is exciting to me.

The Leafs are an Original Six NHL team, so you’d think they would have something more catchy by now. Leafs fans, it is time for your team to revamp the slogans — and the time is now.

Vancouver Canucks

Warning — please don’t get mad at me, Vancouver Canucks fans. “Embrace the hard” and “We are all Canucks” are nice slogans that promote unity, but they could be better. Any team can add their name to the end of  “We are all.” 

Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet came up with the motto “Embrace the hard.” While I think the slogan was relevant when Tocchet was head coach, it’s time to ditch it now that he is no longer part of the organization.

Also, “Embrace the hard” sounds odd. I would change it to something like “Face adversity, skate with pride.” I am a proud Canucks fan, too, but a few slight tweaks to their slogan would give it some life.

NHL team slogans are a great way to market teams and increase fan engagement, but some can be dull. While some teams get a gold star for their slogans, most NHL teams need to get back to the drawing board — on and off the ice.