Ownership of the NHL’s team in Utah has given fans 20 choices to vote on for the franchise’s new name, according to a survey sent out Wednesday by Smith Entertainment Group.
Owner Ryan Smith has told The Associated Press the team will have a name starting with Utah. The inaugural season will feature jerseys with the name of the state on them, with a name, logo and colors to debut for 2025-26 after work done by the branding company Doubleday & Cartwright.
“Utah’s NHL team is a community asset, and we want to make sure that the community has a say in what the name is,” said Smith, whose group also owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz. “Utah has shown up for this team from the moment the NHL awarded us the franchise less than three weeks ago, and it is only fitting that our fans get the rare opportunity to help name the team they’ll be cheering for.”
The options provided to choose from are Frost, Ice, Powder, Mountaineers, Freeze, Mammoth, Black Diamonds, Blast, Caribou, Blizzard, Swarm, Hive, Outlaws, Yeti, Squall, Fury, Glaciers, Canyons, Venom and HC, which stands for Hockey Club.
SEG bought the Arizona Coyotes from former owner Alex Meruelo for $1.2 billion and relocated the team to Salt Lake City. Utah will start play in the Jazz’s downtown arena, Delta Center. It has the sixth pick in the NHL draft after not moving up in the lottery won Tuesday night by San Jose.
___
This story has been corrected to show team was sold for $1.2 billion, not $1.2 million.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
