The NHL's Utah franchise has narrowed down its search for a potential team name.
Smith Entertainment Group, which owns the relocated NHL organization, announced six finalists for the team name on Thursday:
- Utah Blizzard
- Utah Hockey Club (Utah HC)
- Utah Mammoth
- Utah Outlaws
- Utah Venom
- Utah Yeti
The finalists were determined through fan voting. More than 520,000 votes were cast in the first round of voting, which included 20 possible team names, per Smith Entertainment Group.
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Voters have until June 20 to cast their top choice among the six finalists.
While the new team name will be determined before the puck drops on the team's inaugural season in the Beehive State, it won't take affect on the ice until 2025. The Utah team will wear jerseys with the state name across the front in 2024-25. Smith Entertainment Group will create a logo, mascot, branding and uniforms for the 2025-26 NHL season once the team name is determined.
The Utah team was formerly the Arizona Coyotes before relocation was announced in April. It will play its games at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, which is also the home venue of the NBA's Utah Jazz.
Former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo gets to retain the Coyotes team name and logo with an opportunity to bring a franchise back to Arizona if a suitable arena is built.
