Carolina Hurricanes Logo

Carolina Hurricanes logoCarolina Hurricanes Logo PNG

The club’s management chose an expressive version of the Carolina Hurricanes logo. Everything is twisted in it – emotions, power, and professionalism. The emblem represents the epicenter of the passions taking place around the rotating puck. At the same time, the swirl looks like a sign of yin and yang, where everything is harmoniously balanced, despite the apparent opposites.

Carolina Hurricanes: Brand overview

Founded: 1972
Founder: Thomas Dundon
Headquarters:
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Website: nhl.com

The early 1970s is the most memorable era in the sport’s history of Boston. It was the time of the big hockey boom. In the 1969-70 and 1971-72 seasons, the Boston Bruins captured their fourth and fifth Stanley Cup. Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito were the idols of the city. There wasn’t room to swing a cat in the Boston Garden, which hosted home games for the Boston Celtics of the NBA and the Boston Bruins of the NHL. In 1972 the World Hockey Association decided to start a new franchise named New England Whalers. They said, let the Boston Bruins by the kings of Boston; we would be the kings of New England. The team joined the NHL just before the 1979-80 season. Under pressure from the NHL, the present Hurricanes club was compelled to rename the Hartford Whalers team, exploiting this name during 18 seasons.

In 1994, the owner of the software company Peter Karmanos purchased the club. Despite the previous assurances that the Whalers would remain in Connecticut, in 1997, the team moved to North Carolina. This move was caused by Karmanos’s inability to deal with Connecticut’s Governor about constructing a new arena and selling a proper amount of tickets for the matches. In a relatively short time after arrival in Raleigh, North Carolina, the team changed its name to the Carolina Hurricanes. By that time, a great new arena for the basketball team of North Carolina University had been built.

It is a rather interesting fact that the new owner did not announce any name-the-team contest, as many of his colleagues did. Karmanos himself thought of and decided upon the new name, explaining that North Carolina is certainly no stranger to hurricanes. Therefore, the given name would be perfect for the club. Meanwhile, due to many pig farms in the state, he also considered the Carolina Ice Hogs name. So, the current Hurricanes could be called Ice Pigs. However, the allusion to pigs can be noticed in Stormy the Ice Hog, the Carolina Hurricanes’ mascot.

Besides, Karmanos decided upon red, black, white, and silver colors of jersey and controversial logo. It was a red and black circle resembling a hurricane. In the naval signal alphabet, the flag warning of a hurricane is red and black. This flag is depicted on the alternate logo of the team, along with a triangle.

By the way, not everyone appreciated Karmanos’ ideas. Shortly before the hockey team arrived in North Carolina, there was a hurricane of great destructive power, and the local community thought his humor was not appropriate. However, it was quickly forgotten, and now Hurricanes fans drive their trucks with hurricane flags screwed to the body.

Meaning and History

Carolina Hurricanes Logo History

The Carolina Hurricanes were established in 1973. The Carolina Hurricanes sports club, formed in 1973 as the New England Whalers, has changed five logos in its history. Moreover, the first emblem stands apart from the rest because it differs sharply from them. As a result of the search for visual identity, the team went through several stages, reaching balance through the harmonious combination of geometric shapes and zigzag lines. Moreover, all existing versions form two independent categories, unless, of course, the debut logo is excluded.

What are Carolina Hurricanes?

Carolina Hurricanes is a team member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. It is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. After 1979, the club was accepted into the NHL, when it was still called the Hartford Whalers. After completing the 1996-1997 season, the franchise moved to its current location, changing its name.

1973 – 1979

New England Whalers Logo 1973-1979

In 1973 the hockey team still called the New England Whalers was based in Boston. Its logo was completely different from the next ones. It was a white circle framed in green, containing the semicircular New England Whalers inscription written in black. Inside this circle, there was a smaller green circle with a white letter “W,” the initial letter of the word “Whalers,” in the middle. This circle was “pierced” by a black harpoon, a long spear-like instrument used its whaling.

1980 – 1992

Hartford Whalers Logo 1980-1992

In the next 12 years, the team spent under another name and a completely different logo. It combined a green “W” with a blue whale’s tail to create the letter “H” in the white space in the center of the logo between the two shapes. The “W” stands for Whalers, and the “H” stands for Hartford.

1993 – 1997

Hartford Whalers Logo 1993-1997

The third Carolina Hurricanes emblem slightly differed from the previous one. However, it was altered a bit. A white outline was added to the whale’s tail and the letter “W” to make them more volumetric. The white space was replaced with gray, thus making a thick outline for the entire logo.

1998 – 1999

Carolina Hurricanes Logo 1998-1999

In 1998, the team moved to North Carolina, sitting directly in the path of many hurricanes. So it was decided to change the basic logo colors. Now they were black and red. The logo is a schematic image of the hurricane’s so-called eye, i.e., it is very central. It was a red and black circle resembling a hurricane and a puck at the same time. The entire logo was circled with a thin silver line.

2000 – today

Carolina Hurricanes Logo 2000-Present

The modern visual identification mark was adopted in 2000. Since then, it has been used unchanged: it includes three clear diagonal ovals – central, intermediate, and external. The emblem also contains evenly spaced sharp edges and irregular stripes. Moreover, chaotic elements do not merge, as they are painted in different colors and separated by white lines. The outer edge has a gray border.

As conceived by the developers, such a cluster of geometric shapes is a vortex formed from the puck and club’s rapid rotation. This is, in fact, the same hurricane the team is named after. Entering the game, she demolishes everything, leaving no one a chance to win. This is the concept of a logo.

Font and Colors

Carolina Hurricanes emblem

The logos’ division into two groups brought them wide recognition because the fans had time to get used to their design. The first category is based on the tail of a whale that appears to have just dived into the water. This is a nod to the whalers: their harpoon was featured in the debut emblem when the club was named New England Whalers. Below the wide tail is a white “H,” and even below the green “W.” They denote the then name of the franchise – Hartford Whalers.

Carolina Hurricanes symbol

The second group of logos consists of modern adaptations of team symbols. It is a swirling hockey stick and puck. This is how the word “Hurricanes” is visualized. This is why fans have given the emblem the nickname Eye of Hurricane.

If we talk about the symbolism’s textual content, then it is not: there is only an image on the corporate badge. But the color scheme is diverse. It includes white, black Pantone Black, gray PMS: 429, red in two shades – Pantone Color Matching System: 186 and PMS: 188.

Carolina Hurricanes color codes

Red Hex color: #cc0000
RGB: 204 0 0
CMYK: 2 100 85 6
Pantone: PMS 186 C
Black Hex color: #000000
RGB: 0 0 0
CMYK: 0 0 0 100
Pantone: PMS Process Black C
Flat Grey Hex color: #a2a9af
RGB: 162 169 175
CMYK: 21 11 9 23
Pantone: PMS 429 C
Dark Red Hex color: #76232F
RGB: 118 35 47
CMYK: 16 100 65 58
Pantone: PMS 188 C
Storm Grey Hex color: #333F48
RGB: 51 63 72
CMYK: 65 43 26 78
Pantone: PMS 432 C

What does the Carolina Hurricanes logo mean?

The logo in the form of a spinning washer, from which uneven amplitudes diverge in different directions, denotes a powerful pressure, passion, and striving for a goal. But allegorically, it represents the epicenter of a hurricane, as evidenced by its colors.

Did the Carolina Hurricanes change their logo?

The Carolina Hurricanes club adopted a new logo after moving to Raleigh and changing the old name to Hartford Whalers. Now, instead of a whale’s tail, a rotating puck flaunts on its emblem. This happened in the 1998-1999 season. The last change took place in 2000.

What is the Carolina Hurricanes alternate logo?

An alternative logo for the Carolina Hurricanes team is a warning to opponents of an impending hurricane. It is a signaling sign in the form of two red and black flags flying on the handle of an inverted hockey stick. This corresponds to the name of the team and is a symbol of the threat to the opponents.

What is the new hurricane logo?

The Carolina Hurricanes logo features a washer. It is located in the center of the rotating element that symbolizes the hurricane. Semi-oval lines of three colors – red, white, and black – diverge from it in different directions.