Everything old is new again with vintage logo

Rebranded jerseys coming at draft

The Ottawa Senators have turned back the clock for their new look.

As part of the club's rebranding, the Senators released their 2D logo Friday, and the new jersey plus uniform will be unveiled on the first day of the NHL draft on Oct. 6. Naturally, it's very similar to the logo the Senators wore from 1992-97 when they returned to the league.

Anthony LeBlanc, who was hired as president of business operations by owner Eugene Melnyk in March, has spent a lot of time working on a marketing rebrand. The work on this project started before his arrival, but the Senators want a fresh look for the 2020-21 campaign as their rebuild shifts into high gear with Ottawa holding three picks in the first round of next month's draft.

Fans appear to be thrilled to see the old logo return because the feedback so far has been positive.

“It is time for the Senators to return to our roots,” Melnyk said in a statement Friday morning. “The fans of this great franchise have high expectations. We have heard from our fans, our partners and our players, and we have listened. It is time to return to our heritage, but in a bold, new manner. The Senators have a rich history in our community, and we are ready for the next chapter to begin.”

Though, there has been no shortage of speculation about the logo through the summer, the Senators wanted to wait until after Labour Day before making the release official. The reality is with the Stanley Cup Final getting underway Saturday and the weather cooling off, there's more engagement with hockey now.

The logo replaces the modernized 3D version that was introduced during the 2007-08 campaign.

“It's the start of a new chapter in the organization,” LeBlanc told this newspaper in a telephone interview Friday afternoon.

“I was talking to Eugene before I joined the organization and we talked about the fact that's it's going to be critically important that we reconnect and reconnect to our roots with the community.

“When I was talking to him — and I really can't take any credit for this logo release because this was all done before I joined — this process was going forward. When I saw, not just the logo, but what we'll unveil on Oct. 6 with the entire jersey and reboot, it's pretty exciting.”

The players have seen the new look and they give it a passing grade.

“What I liked the most was in talking to (GM) Pierre Dorion and hearing the players were behind this,” he said.

“It's all part of us focusing on that next chapter in the Senators history and what we think is going to be exciting.” bgarrioch@postmedia.com