While I pride myself in being a hockey fan, I’m also realistic about where the sport stands in America. Among the big four major leagues, the NHL is most definitely the Ringo of the group.
Because of that status, it’s understandable fewer sports fans can identify a hockey team based solely on its logo, and while we at BetVirginia are ready to see the NHL get back to action for Virginia sports betting and to see if the Capitals make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we wanted to know which logos are the hardest to identify.
To do that, we looked at the results for a Sporcle.com quiz, which asks respondents to fill in the blanks for each logo, with named removed, within a time limit. We created a ranked list based on the percentage of quiz takers who guessed the logo correctly, according to the site’s data, from lowest percentage to highest.
Rank | NHL Logo | % Guessed Correctly |
1 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 64.7% |
2 | Vancouver Canucks | 68.2% |
3 | Montreal Canadiens | 73.3% |
4 | Winnipeg Jets | 73.9% |
5 | Vegas Golden Knights | 74.2% |
6 | Seattle Kraken | 74.3% |
7 | Ottawa Senators | 75.2% |
8 | Washington Capitals | 75.3% |
9 | New York Islanders | 76.6% |
10 | Minnesota Wild | 76.7% |
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One thing to note before we move on. If you haven’t taken the quiz, it has all the wordmarks removed. If you’re a Caps fan, then you know removing the words takes out about 95% of the logo. That might explain why it’s among the bottom 10. Perhaps they should have used the eagle logo that’s the shoulder patch on the jersey instead.
As for the others on the list, it’s totally understandable how the Blue Jackets logo is the hardest to identify unless you’re really into hockey and perhaps NHL betting. While it features the Ohio flag, nothing else about it would describe a Blue Jacket, which officially pays homage to Ohioans who fought for the Union in the Civil War.
Strangely, the Utah Hockey Club, which doesn’t really have a logo yet, ranks in the middle of the pack, according to the results. It’s possible the quiz was first created when the team was still the Arizona Coyotes, which was a far easier logo to guess.
Back in October, when the NHL season began, the Capital Region’s team was considered an afterthought by many, and Washington Capitals Stanley Cup final odds were long. The big discussion was on whether Alex Ovechkin would break Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record this season.
The Caps eked out a playoff spot last season, but few gave them a shot to do it again, as BetMGM VA Sportsbook gave the team odds of +6000 to win the Cup and +165 to even make the playoffs.
Now, with a 36-11-8 record, the Caps aren’t battling for a playoff spot. Instead, they’re right behind the Winnipeg Jets in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy, which goes to the team with the best record in the regular season, and the home-ice advantage it provides during the postseason. Their odds to win the Stanley Cup have been shortened to +1100, with only four teams with shorter odds on the BetMGM board.
A key piece to Washington’s unexpected success has been the play of goalie Logan Thompson. The 27-year-old is 24-2-5 this season with a 2.23 goals-against average, and both his wins total and GAA rank fourth in the league. His .921 save percentage is second best.
While he’s helped the Caps exceed expectations, it doesn’t appear he’ll win any regular season awards this year. DraftKings Virginia Sportsbook lists Thompson as its second choice for the Vezina Award, which goes to the league’s best netminder, but he’s a longshot at +2500 compared to Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets star’s odds are -4000.
USA Today photo by Jerome Miron
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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