The New Jersey Devils logo is a circular crest built around a stylized “NJ” monogram, with devil horns rising from the top of the “J” and a pointed tail extending from the bottom of the “N.” The team has described it as the “horned and tailed ‘NJ'” mark, a reference to the Jersey Devil folklore that inspired the franchise name when the club relocated from Colorado in 1982.[1]
The franchise began as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974, moved to Colorado as the Rockies in 1976, and became the New Jersey Devils in 1982.[2] The team’s first uniforms, worn from 1982 to 1992, introduced the red, white and green color scheme that fans later nicknamed “Christmas colors.”[2]
Design and History
The original crest featured the “NJ” monogram with horns and a tail, ringed in green, on the team’s first home jerseys.[3] A contemporary newspaper report from July 1982 described the new logo as featuring a green circle background with a stylized red monogram boasting “a devil’s horns at the top” and “a barbed tail at the bottom.”[4]
The logo concept originated with the wife of team owner John McMullen, who created a prototype that was later modified by a professional graphic design and marketing firm hired by McMullen.[5] The modified version became the logo used since the Devils brand launched in the summer of 1982.[5]
The primary logo underwent two notable color changes. Before the 1992-93 season, the team replaced green with black on its uniforms, a change that also affected the logo’s appearance.[6] The recolored logo used a black circle in place of the original green.[6] In 1999-2000, the logo was updated again with a darkened shade of red.[6]
In 2017, the Devils introduced new adidas uniforms, described as the first major change to the team’s look since green was replaced with black. The update removed stripes from the bottom of the sweater and added thicker sleeve stripes, but the primary crest remained the “NJ” monogram.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The “NJ” monogram represents the state of New Jersey, while the horns and tail reference the Jersey Devil, a legendary creature from the Pine Barrens region of southern New Jersey.[1] The team’s 2020 Reverse Retro jersey, which used a green base for the first time, was described by the club as reflecting “the famed Pine Barrens, legendary home of the Garden State’s mythical New Jersey Devil for which the team was named in 1982.”[2]
The original red and green colors were part of the team’s identity for its first decade in New Jersey. When the Devils wore throwback versions of these uniforms in 2010, then-general manager Lou Lamoriello said, “The original red, green and white jerseys are a part of our history here in New Jersey.”[7]
Typography and Design
The primary logo is a monogram of the letters “N” and “J,” rendered with devil horns at the top of the “J” and a pointed tail at the bottom.[8] The monogram was red with a green outline when the team began playing in New Jersey, and the circular frame surrounding it was also green.[8]
In 2021, the Devils released their first-ever third jersey, which replaced the “NJ” crest with a script “Jersey” wordmark across the chest. The team explained the change: “Having done so for our entire existence with the horned and tailed ‘NJ,’ now we proudly spell it out with ‘Jersey.'”[1] The third jersey was co-designed by Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur and featured a red drop shadow on the lettering as a nod to the team’s primary color.[9]
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