The Quiet Rebrand Continues
Rink paint, special jerseys and more pointing to the Sens going with the O
In the quiet months of summer, the Ottawa Senators have been sneakily transitioning their brand, going from the 3D Senturion to the Heritage O.
A month ago I observed some of the changes that may be point to signs for a full switch, including the website, and the new logo for their AHL affiliate in Belleville. The unofficial decision seems to be popular with fans, as 76% voted in favour of the rebrand in the last article. Since then, there have been plenty more sightings of the Heritage O, which I would like to share with you today.
Figure 1: Arena Decorations
Every season, the front of the Canadian Tire Centre gets decorated with the Sens’ biggest stars, although this year, they’ve switched the logo. This photo comes from the Sens’ communications department.
Figure 2: The Ice
Last month, we saw the Heritage O at centre ice on the seating chart. Although now, we know that the Heritage O is this year’s logo at centre ice. The following photo comes from Farid Jaber.
The regular red/black bars on the back are missing, although that’s most likely to avoid having a large chunk of the rink blending in with the puck.
Figure 3: Hockey Fights Cancer Jerseys
The final step for any major hockey rebrand is to switch the jerseys, and the Sens seem to have done that... sort of. For the NHL’s media tour, Erik Karlsson was posing wearing Ottawa’s special jersey for the NHL’s annual #HockeyFightsCancer fundraiser. And of course, instead of the Senturion, there’s the Heritage O making yet another appearance.
Everything seems to be changing for the Senators’ brand, and all that’s missing is an official announcement. The logo’s rise to prominence seems to be all the confirmation we need, although the full-time jersey switch will really seal the deal, once it’ll presumably start in 2018-19.
This is just speculation, although maybe it gets officially announced in December, when the Sens will be hosting the Montreal Canadiens for the Heritage 100 Classic. The promo graphic shows Erik Karlsson wearing the Heritage Classic jersey, so it would be a perfect time to release some big news while they’re already wearing the special jerseys.
I’ll open up the question again: what do you think of the rebrand? Do the sightings convince you enough that it’s happening? Leave a reply in the comments.
