NHL Returns To Play with Motion Graphics

When COVID-19 brought the National Hockey League to an abrupt halt in March, the teams still had 189 games to play. Fans waited anxiously to learn the fate of the season and culminating Stanley Cup Playoffs, wondering what that might look like when it returned minus the cheering spectators filling packed arenas.

Their answer, kicking off in full this month with the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, is an exciting use of video, audio and lighting designed to vary the way each game looks. Instead of cardboard cut-outs filling seats, viewers see LED screens, monitors and stages around the ice for a unique, television-friendly feel.

Undefined Creative, a creative partner of the NHL for over 10 years, was called on to produce the extensive array of motion graphics required for its “Return to Play,” a package consisting of over 1,000 individual deliverables.