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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterJun 6, 2024, 12:45 PM ET
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- Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
The NHL’s newest franchise in Utah is close to choosing its name.
Smith Entertainment Group — which owns the still-to-be-coined team — announced Thursday the six potential nicknames Utah will take on before its inaugural season begins in 2024-25: Utah Blizzard, Utah Hockey Club (Utah HC), Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom and Utah Yeti.
The finalists were determined through a first round of fan voting. SEM said in Thursday’s news release that 520,000 votes came through in that wave, with more than 60% of them landing on the six names remaining. Fans can vote on their choice again through June 20.
Utah’s team will wear jerseys in their first season with “UTAH” scrawled across the front to represent the club’s roots within the state and dedication to its new fan base. When the name is decided upon, SEG will create a logo, mascot and branding to match that will appear on sweaters for the 2025-26 season.
SEG is inheriting the former Arizona Coyotes, who were relocated to Utah in April. The Coyotes were unable to find a permanent, NHL-caliber arena to play out of in the foreseeable future, and the NHL ultimately had to buy the franchise and re-sell it to Ryan Smith, owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz.
The NHL’s Utah team will play out of Delta Arena, the Jazz’s home, for this coming season, with renovations expected in the future to make the venue more hockey-friendly.
