Who Has the NHL’s Top 10 Goal Horns?

The Grand Casino Arena (formerly the Xcel Energy Center) also has a lighthouse that plays a foghorn when the Wild score. The goal horn is designed to resemble exactly this. It’s pleasing to the ears while using just enough rawness to remind people that the team’s name is the Wild.

9. Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres use a goal horn that is similar to the Wild, at least relative to other teams. The Sabres’ horn isn’t high-pitched or low-pitched; rather, it has a powerful sound and falls right in the middle. However, it’s more unique than that of the Wild. Buffalo’s horn sounds like something is vibrating rather than a smooth sound. This unique feel sets it apart from others around the league.

8. Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators’ horn resembles a drawn-out, more powerful Sabres horn. Even though the horn only goes off once, it’s strong enough that the quality outweighs the lack of quantity.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

It is very hard to go wrong with a goal horn based on a strong bass sound. The Leafs understood that when picking their horn. In addition, after the first long horn, the Leafs use several rapid-fire horns, a feature that no other team has. Toronto’s horn is simple, but sometimes simple is best.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins’ goal horn is exactly what it should be for a team with that name. The horn sounds semi-royal, with an almost playful vibe. Maybe this is reading too much into it, but king penguins and emperor penguins are both subtypes of penguins. Regardless, they’re usually friendly animals. Thus, the semi-royal, playful vibe makes sense.

5. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets’ goal horn is the same one used on Canadian Pacific Railway trains. Unlike other high-pitched goal horns (looking at you, Edmonton Oilers), this one isn’t painful to listen to. The horn has a light, airy feel, and while it’s sometimes better to have a more aggressive-sounding horn, it fits the team name and a cold city like Winnipeg.

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, not only is the quality and pacing of the goal horn important, its context matters too. The Florida Panthers, for instance, wouldn’t crack the top five on this list with the same horn as the Jets since they play in a warmer climate.

4. Seattle Kraken

The rest of this list falls into the elite category. The Kraken’s horn would be higher if it didn’t sound a bit like barber clippers. But the same quality that holds this horn back is exactly what makes it rank this high. It sets the right tone and stands out significantly from the other horns around the league that have a strong bass.

The Kraken’s goal horn is what you’d expect to hear at a pier as a boat is leaving the dock, great for a team named after a sea monster. The same effect that makes the horn sound like barber clippers simultaneously makes it resonate the right way.

3. Dallas Stars

If there was one word to describe the Stars’ horn, it would be “majestic.” For this reason, the noise is so annoying to listen to for fans of the opposing team. However, objectively, it is a beautiful sound. It’s pure and smooth. It’s probably the NHL’s only goal horn you could play to a baby without making them cry.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning really have no weak points. They’ve been a title threat for the past decade, and are one of only three teams to have won three championships in the past 25 years. Their goal horn is also amazing. They have the benefit of a strong, vibrant bass in their goal horn, and they added a hint of the sound of electricity to it.

It fits perfectly with the team name and is a bold sound that will never go out of style for the franchise.

1. Boston Bruins

Every time the Bruins’ goal horn plays at TD Garden, it sounds like a juggernaut is rolling through. In certain years, this is correct. But even when it’s not, the Bruins have the perfect horn. It’s bold, strong and deep.

Adding some unique pacing, as Toronto does, would make it even better. But when it comes to sound quality, Boston’s horn is the cream of the crop. There’s a reason why Team USA chose the Bruins’ horn for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

In addition, the horn is followed by “Zombie Nation” as the goal song. That is hands-down one of the best one-two punches in the league, if not the best.

But we’ll save goal songs for the next time.

The post Who Has the NHL’s Top 10 Goal Horns? appeared first on The Lead.