Infographic highlights NHL team milestones

After the Dallas Stars released their 25th anniversary logo yesterday, it got me thinking about what other teams might be planning special occasions next season. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up creating this infographic.

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It should seem obvious, but all milestones for future seasons are simply my best guess based on each team's most recent commemorative anniversary logo. It's not as straightforward as it should be because of the lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season.

Because of that, some teams don't include that season when they count up how long they've been around. Others do. Or sometimes teams just look at the calendar year to do the math. All this is to say I can't promise my chart is completely accurate after 2016-17.

It also assumes all the teams around today remain so for the next decade — which is not necessarily guaranteed given the situations with certain clubs.

As far as the math goes, one team that's tricky is the Nashville Predators. They celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2007-08 but then released a 15-year logo six seasons later in 2013-14. In fairness, both work. The team debuted in 1998, so 2008 marked 10 years and 2013 marked 15. It's just that the seasons don't align quite like you'd expect. That said, I made an educated guess for the 20th, 25th and 30th anniversary placements in the chart above.

Another interesting case is that of the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks. You'll notice 85th anniversary logos for the Rangers in 2010-11 and Blackhawks a year later in 2011-12. Scroll down a ways for each team's 100th and you'll see it's reversed with the Blackhawks' in 2025-26 and the Rangers' a year later in 2026-27.

Both teams debuted in 1926-27. Using the Maple Leafs as an example — they debuted in 1917-18 and marked 100 years this season, 2016-17 — it should be 2025-26 for the Rangers and Hawks. However, I adjusted the Rangers to 2026-27 because they're marking their 90th anniversary this year. It's confusing, I know. And they may end up pulling a Nashville and celebrating 100 in 2025-26 anyway. Only time will tell, really.