There wasn’t anything subtle about the way the Philadelphia Flyers took what is now their new alternate logo for a test drive.
Shortly before the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft got underway, the club posted an image on X of their empty war room in Atlantic City, N.J. Smack in front of the table and empty leather swivel chairs that would later be filled by general manager Daniel Brière, president of hockey operations Keith Jones and other executives, there was a black and orange carpet in the general shape of the Liberty Bell, treated to appear as if it was in motion from left to right, same as the “Flying P” logo that has been ubiquitous to the franchise since its inception in 1967.
The reaction was immediate and encouraging from both fans and many in the organization, according to Christine Mina, the Flyers’ senior vice president of marketing.
“We have long talked about different secondary marks or potential things to add to our brand,” Mina said. “We thought this might be a fun thing to start to incorporate, so we teased it over the summer with the rug. It was well-received.”
And now it’s sticking around.
The Flyers released their “Hometown Remix” sweater on Monday, along with the 31 other NHL teams. They’re scheduled to wear it 13 times this season, 10 of which are at home, beginning with Tuesday’s game with the Minnesota Wild at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The new logo wasn’t featured anywhere on the jersey itself — branded by the Flyers as their “Independence Edition” sweater — but it’s on a decal on the back of their new matte black helmets. The sweater instead features other, more subtle nods to the Liberty Bell, including the piping at the bottom mimicking the stripes on the city’s most iconic object, and the famous crack running up each of the players’ numbers on the back.
On Tuesday morning, the grander plans for the new Liberty Bell logo were unveiled, as the Flyers revealed what they’re calling an “alternate brand campaign” supporting the sweaters. It’s prominently stitched on to several merchandise items now available for fans to purchase, including T-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets.
(Courtesy of Philadelphia Flyers)
Still, the question that dominated social media in the wake of the “Hometown Remix” reveal was: Why not put the cool flying Liberty Bell on the front of the sweater worn by the players, in place of the standard Flyers logo, which they could have theoretically shifted to the shoulders? After all, a plurality of NHL teams did seize the opportunity to go away from their primary mark in their versions. From the anchor adorning the front of the Seattle Kraken’s sweater, to the Columbus Blue Jackets using their well-known cannon, to the Carolina Hurricanes opting for a walking pig in a sweater for some reason, there was no lack of creativity and panache from other clubs.
The primary reason the Flyers didn’t make that kind of dramatic change is simple: tradition. And respect for legendary owner Ed Snider, who would never have signed off on such a thing.
“They had that logo on Day 1, and deep in his soul it was never going to be any different,” said Paul Holmgren, who played for the Flyers from 1976-77 to 1983-84 before serving as their head coach, general manager and team president over the ensuing decades. “You could do other things with the jersey, maybe the sleeves or whatever, and make it look a little different, but the logo is the logo. It’s never, ever changing.”
Ed’s son, Jay Snider, served as the Flyers president from 1983-94. That was a different era, of course, when teams didn’t typically have third jerseys or alternate logos, and rarely altered their brand. Still, changing the logo “never came up,” Snider said. “Would have been unthinkable, so no one even suggested it.”
Years later, it did come up. Holmgren recalled an instance in which it was mentioned in front of Snider in a meeting. Although the exact circumstances are hazy to him now, he remembers Snider’s reaction.
“It was sort of an off-the-cuff quote … and he got how he gets — very emotional about his baby, and his team, and his brand, and his logo,” Holmgren said. “That was it.”
Mina has worked for the Flyers since 2014, two years before Snider died from bladder cancer at age 83 in 2016. She’s overseen every alternate jersey design since, including three different Stadium Series sweaters and a pair of so-called “Reverse Retro” designs.
Although there have been a few different treatments of the logo, including an orange sweater with some grey shading elements the Flyers wore from 2002-07 and a 50th-anniversary sweater in 2016-17 in which the logo was outlined in gold, the Flyers’ primary mark has never changed shape, and has been front and center on each and every sweater they’ve ever worn.
It’s something Mina knows not to alter.
“Don’t mess with the crest,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s a directive that’s been passed down, but it’s certainly just one of the bylaws you know as part of the Flyers organization.”
Dan Hilferty, the Flyers’ governor, reiterated the way the organization views its logo.
“Our tradition is the foundation of everything we stand for. How we carry on the legacy of this organization is always front of mind, especially when we honor the Flyers crest,” Hilferty said in a statement provided to The Athletic. “Our crest is more than just a logo; it’s a representation of what it means to play for this team, this city and our fans.”
There were logistical reasons, too, why the Liberty Bell wasn’t incorporated into the “Hometown Remix,” even as a shoulder patch. The process for that sweater took approximately 18 months from start to finish, as the Flyers worked with the league and Fanatics, which became the official jersey partner of the NHL prior to the start of the 2024-25 season.
The back-and-forth between Mina, her team, and the league and Fanatics was well underway by the time the Liberty Bell was designed by a member of the organization’s internal creative arm.
“The production process is lengthy, so that restricts us quite a bit,” Mina said. “And we want to be really intentional with additions that we make, and throwing too much too soon can sometimes not be the best result. There’s a lot going on here (on the “Hometown Remix”), so we want to let this breathe, and we’re excited about the elements here. Just because it doesn’t exist, doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. There’s a lot of possibilities.”
But one possibility that isn’t ever going to be on the table is changing what’s been on the front of every Flyers sweater since the team’s inaugural season nearly six decades ago.
“It’s something we all gather around,” Holmgren said, “everybody that’s had the honor to wear it.”
