This past week, the book closed on the Arizona Coyotes as the NHL officially approved the franchise’s move to Utah for next season.
With six months until the opening of the next NHL campaign, there is much for the league’s new Utah-based franchise. Among those tasks is to determine what the name of the team will actually be.
The first part of that equation was revealed — sort of — on Friday. The former Arizona Coyotes will adopt “Utah” as the first part of the team’s new name, at least for now.
However, eyebrows were raised around the league with reports that “Utah” may be all the team plays as in its first Salt Lake City-based season.
New NHL Team Won’t Rush Naming Process
The Smith Entertainment Group bought the Coyotes from embattled owner Alex Meruelo in a deal that was unanimously approved by the NHL Board of Governors last Thursday.
However, as part of that deal, the Arizona Coyotes name and franchise history will remain held in trust by Meruelo. The NHL has given Meruelo five years to sort out a viable financial plan that includes a new hockey-specific arena in the Phoenix area. If he is able to do so, the NHL will grant him an expansion team that will inherit the former franchise’s name and history.
It is similar to the deal the NFL struck with the city of Cleveland when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1995 before the city was granted an expansion team that began play in 1999.
However, while Baltimore adopted the “Ravens” nickname in fairly short order, new Utah co-owner Ryan Smith told reporters at his introductory press conference, that the franchise will take its time to find the right name for the team to go by, saying:
“It will 100 percent be ‘Utah,’ and then it will be ‘Utah Something,’ obviously. I don’t think given this timeline that we’re going to have time – or nor should we rush with everything else that’s going on – to go force what that is in the next three months.”
Utah NHL Team May Play Under Generic Team Nickname — or None at All — in 2023-24
There is growing talk that Utah’s NHL team may play under a generic temporary nickname, or none at all, in 2023-24. There is some precedence for this. All six teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League are playing name-less in the new league’s first season. They are all simply known as “PWHL (City).”
The former Washington Redskins of the NFL also played two seasons as the “Washington Football Team” in 2020 and 2021 before adopting the current “Commanders” nickname. Smith added on the subject, telling the Associated Press:
“It’s really important that we’re not saying, ‘Hey, this has to be ready by the fall,’ especially when it’s going to be Utah something. I think both the league feels better and we feel better to just run the process and then we’ll drop it when we drop it.”
However, a Delaware-based corporation, “Uyte,” has filed applications for six prospective nicknames with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Those names are: Utah Hockey Club, Utah HC, Utah Blizzard, Utah Venom, Utah Fury, Utah Yetis. It is not known what connection Uyte has with the Utah NHL organization, if any.
Utah’s NHL team also has to figure out a color palette for the team’s uniforms and marketing. Smith did tell the AP:
“We’ll start with Utah on the jersey and we’ll figure out the logo and everything else and what it is that we are.”
Whatever the team is called and what the uniforms eventually look like, Utah’s NHL team will play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The facility is currently home to the NBA‘s Utah Jazz.
For More Great Sports Content
Tom Carothers is a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience covering sports at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Still longing for the return of his Minnesota North Stars, he has a high pain tolerance as a big fan of the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
