Red Line Focus

The red lines on the ice used to be one of the most overlooked aspects of the aesthetics of ice hockey. Of course they also used to be mostly made up of either white boxes or diamonds and lacked variety. In recent years this trend has changed and fans are starting to notice. It is always nice to see teams try something new with the red line to try to be original. For a while the introduction of a team's primary logo stamped on the red line was a new and exciting concept. It has been done sparingly throughout the 1990's and into the early 2000's but the idea really took off in the last 5 seasons. Now it is so common that the old diamond and box red lines have become endangered. Each season we expect to see a few more teams adopt the once unique and original primary logo in the red line concept. Some teams have taken this overused idea and tweaked it to make it more unique such as Nashville and Tampa Bay.

Most of the red lines today are not painted on the ice anymore. Instead they are reusable fabric with excellent water transfer properties for ease of installation. They also eliminate the "human error" factor that comes with hand painting lines and logos. These fabric logos are known as textile logos by Jet Ice who have been the leading ice company for the NHL for many years. They also provide paint and stencils for teams as well.

I have put together an informative graphic that shows off the red line designs for all thirty NHL teams below. We would love your feedback. Which are your favorites, least favorites, and what are your feelings on the current trend of red line designs?