NHL and school district have discussed an agreement
The league did not discover Smoky Hill last week. The NHL initially contacted the district about the logo in 2019, but those discussions were disrupted by the COVID pandemic. The issue resurfaced in 2026.
The district and NHL have discussed a royalty-free agreement that would allow Smoky Hill to continue using the design, according to CBS News Colorado. No agreement has been reached.
The NHL said it remains committed to working with the district. If permission cannot be secured, Smoky Hill will keep its Buffalo nickname and school colors while developing a replacement logo with help from students, families, staff and alumni.
Legally, the NHL has an argument. Trademark owners are expected to protect their property, and Smoky Hill’s design is far more than a buffalo that happens to look familiar. Nobody spent days comparing the two logos before finally spotting a vague resemblance.
That does not make this any less ridiculous.
The NHL found the wrong opponent
High schools across the country have borrowed professional and college logos for decades. These schools are not launching rival clothing companies or convincing fans to purchase a Friday night football shirt instead of an official NHL sweater.
Smoky Hill is a public high school. Its merchandise is being purchased by students, parents and alumni who want to support their school. Nobody in Colorado accidentally bought a green Smoky Hill shirt believing it came from the Sabres.
The league could have quietly granted the school permission years ago. Slap a few restrictions into a royalty-free agreement, require the school’s name to appear on merchandise and move along. Crisis avoided. The integrity of the NHL somehow survives.
Instead, the school must stop selling merchandise while administrators wait to learn whether a professional sports league will allow teenagers to keep wearing a logo that has represented their community for more than two decades.
The NHL may be justified, but that does not make it right
The NHL may be legally justified, but targeting high schools seems like the last thing that should be on their “to do ” list.
If the league wants to protect the Sabres’ trademark from counterfeit operations or companies making real money from it, have at it. Sending legal warnings to a high school is considerably less impressive.
Perhaps the NHL should celebrate that young athletes have spent years wearing a logo connected to one of its franchises. That would require common sense, though, and no lawyer has figured out how to trademark that yet.
