Hire a new coach, trade for some new players, heck, get a new team owner. That's what happens in hockey and sports. For fans, that's an expected part of the game.
Changing the team logo?
Hold your horses, cowboy. Not so fast.
Changing personnel is one thing, changing the visual identity of the team is something else.
Wednesday's announcement by the Prince George Cougars was not met with the same "Thank God! Our long national nightmare is over" enthusiasm and relief as last year when EDGEPRO Sports and Entertainment, led by local businessman Greg Pocock, bought the team. Everyone was happy the Brodsky family finally sold the team but, if the early online reaction was any indication, it seems a few folks were fondly looking back at the previous logos before warming up to the new look.
There were some catty (pun intended) remarks about the similarity of the new look of the Cougars to the ThunderCats logo but clearly these folks spent way too much time watching cheesy TV shows in the late 80s.
Step away from the remote and put down the Netflix.
Hockey observers can't help but be cynical about sports teams messing with their look because it identifies fans wearing last year's jersey, ball cap, T-shirt and tuque as "like so last year." Having to spend some money on new merch to be up to date can rankle some fans and it'll be a few years at least before the minor hockey Cougars teams make the changeover.
That being said, going old-school and wearing the old logos of sports teams is seen as kinda cool these days. Even those hideous "flying V" and "flying skate" Vancouver Canucks logos from the 80s now identify a longtime fan, not someone who is colourblind.
For those unsure about the new Cougars logo, take a deep breath and look around.
The current Canucks logo, featuring the Haida-style orca, was not loved in its early days but is seen today as classy, cosmopolitan and a perfect fit for the team and the city. Except for the colour change in 2007 to blue and green, it's identical to the 1997 logo and it's unlikely to be changing anytime soon.
Closer to home, what's with the Kelowna Rockets logo? A goofy cartoon Ogopogo holding a hockey stick? And if you think that one's bad, you should have a look at the nerdy one they had after they first moved to Kelowna from Tacoma. Like the Flames when they moved from Atlanta to Calgary, the Rockets kept their Boeing-inspired name when they relocated to the Okanagan 20 years ago. They had a renaming contest for the team but it went as bad as the recent effort by B.C. Ferries to seek public input on a name for new vessels. The most popular suggestion for the team was the Kelowna Riot.
Even worse is the Kamloops Blazers logo. A flame set inside a capital B? That's it? Worst of all, the logo has been virtually unchanged in more than 30 years.
And it will probably never change.
That logo is tied to six Western Hockey League championship-winning teams and three of those teams went on to win the Memorial Cup. It may be ugly but it is Blazers hockey and it is Kamloops.
Same goes for Kelowna. Ogopogo with a hockey stick is dorky but that logo has carried the team to four league championships and one Memorial Cup in the past 12 years. It ain't going anywhere.
If the Cougars go on a similar winning streak over the next decade or so, then Wednesday's announcement will be the last logo change ever for the Cougars. Success with a logo is a visual reminder of the glory days, a link to past success and future dreams, and no one ever wants to let that go.
Look no further than the NHL for proof. No team that has won the Stanley Cup has ever permanently altered its logo. The New York Islanders tried it by putting what looked like Captain Highliner with a hockey stick on their jerseys for a couple years before thankfully switching back to the orange island in blue. Apparently the logo is going with the team to Brooklyn, too.
Even one-time Cup winners - the Calgary Flames, the Anaheim Ducks, the Dallas Stars, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes - have made little or no changes to their logos since hoisting Lord Stanley's prestigious mug.
So embrace the new Cougars logo, Prince George. If The New Ice Age translates into banners in the rafters at CN Centre for long-suffering junior hockey fans in Prince George, that cool cat is here to stay.
