- The NHL contacted a Colorado school district over a Sabres Goathead lookalike
- Smoky Hill High School has used the buffalo head since at least 2001
- Read below for the league’s statement and where the two sides stand
A Colorado high school has been wearing the Buffalo Sabres’ Goathead for a quarter century. The NHL finally picked up the phone.
Cherry Creek School District got a letter from the league in March about the buffalo head Smoky Hill High School has used since at least 2001, as Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reported. It is the same charging bison the Sabres ran from 1996 to 2006, redrawn in the Aurora school’s forest green and scarlet.
Here’s the helmet at the center of it:
The district spelled out the problem in a letter to the Smoky Hill community.
“The National Hockey League (NHL) contacted the district regarding the high school’s continued use of the Smoky Hill Buffalo logo. Smoky Hill’s current buffalo logo is similar to a Buffalo Sabres team logo, which is trademarked by the NHL.”
Not much changes on campus in the meantime. Smoky Hill won’t sell new clothing or merchandise carrying the buffalo head this fall, and existing uniforms and materials stay in use.
League officials say they want a way for the school to keep it. A spokesperson told CBS Colorado the two sides are still talking.
“We have been in ongoing conversations with the school district regarding how Smoky Hill High School might continue using the Buffalo Sabres’ trademarked bison head logo. We remain committed to working with the school.”
This is round two. Cherry Creek says the league first reached out in 2019 before the pandemic stalled the talks, then came back in 2026. A royalty-free agreement is on the table and neither side has signed it.
Buffalo News Sabres writer Rachel Lenzi clocked the resemblance long before the lawyers did:
Alumni are not taking the news quietly:
If no deal gets done, Smoky Hill keeps the Buffalo nickname and its colors and draws up a new logo with students, families, staff and alumni. The school would join a crowded club, since we’ve argued that a handful of NHL franchises could use a rebrand themselves.
In Buffalo, meanwhile, the Goathead is thriving. The Sabres brought it back as an alternate in 2022 and it has stayed in the rotation ever since.
