Back by popular demand: the Kachina coyote. The Arizona Coyotes are making the animal their primary logo, according to NHL.com.
It's all part of a "complete rebrand and business transformation" for Arizona. This is the first time since 2003 that the Kachina is the team's primary logo. To drum up excitement, the team even changed their Twitter bio to: "We heard you wanted white kachina back."
The team changed to the howling head logo and made their primary color red back in the 2003-04 season. The black Kachina coyote jersey made a reappearance as an alternate jersey in 2018-19.
"They still resonate with fans here too. We didn't want to get rid of it completely," Coyotes president and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said, via ESPN:
"It was the right brand for what we want to stand for as an organization: impact and leveraging the power of sports to make that impact in the community … It represents a point of pride. It's something that says, 'I may not be what you think is the traditional sports fan, but this speaks to me. I can identify in it.' We not only want to focus on our fans, but also our fans in waiting. In our research, we found that the logo resonates with people who aren't hardcore Coyotes fans or hardcore hockey fans."
Fans and players seem to approve of the new (which is technically old) look.
"I think it's awesome. Those were my favorite jerseys in all the NHL. A lot of great players have worn that jersey," Jakob Chychrun said.
This logo first made an appearance when the team moved from Winnipeg to Arizona in 1996. It was inspired by the ancestral spirits of the Pueblo people, according to ESPN. The colors were representative of the southwest and the letters 'C' and 'A' are hidden in the logo for 'Coyotes' and 'Arizona.'
The Coyotes haven't exactly been successful as of late, but Chychrun says maybe the new look will bring out a new fire in the team.
"They're better looking [uniforms]. And maybe it brings out something better in the guys, too," he said.
The Coyotes will debut the jerseys on Thursday, Oct. 14 when they face the Blue Jackets in Columbus. The logo will be featured at center ice for all games taking place at Gila River Arena this season -- which will be the team's last campaign in Glendale, Ariz. The team will move after the 2021-22 season, as the city of Glendale announced it would not renew their agreement with the Coyotes earlier this year.
