Ice, Outlaws, Yeti among 20 options fans can vote on to name Utah's NHL team
The NHL's Board of Governors approved the $1.2 billion sale of the Arizona Coyotes to Ryan Smith in April
Ryan Smith, owner of Utah's new NHL team, announced on Wednesday the 20 options the team will allow fans to vote on for the franchise's new nickname.
Voting in the first round (of "several rounds") will end May 22 and fans can select up to four names, which were picked from a social media survey posted by Smith on X in April.
Here are all 20 options for the team, which will begin play at Delta Center next season:
Utah Blast
Utah Powder
Utah Mammoth
Utah Mountaineers
Utah Black Diamonds
Utah Swarm
Utah Yeti
Utah Caribou
Utah Frost
Utah Venom
Utah Squall
Utah Outlaws
Utah Hive
Utah Freeze
Utah Fury
Utah HC
Utah Glaciers
Utah Canyons
Utah Blizzard
Utah Ice
The favored choices by fans that will move to the next round of voting will be announced "later this summer," according to the team.
“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 in a press release. “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."
Fans may only vote once and there are measures in place to ensure there are no shenanigans when it comes to the voting process.
Qualtrics will employ best practice survey research methodology to ensure fairness, accuracy, and unbiased results including randomization, geo-location identification, progressive discrete choice analysis, the prevention of ballot box stuffing, encrypted data collection and storage. Backend analysis will also include deduplication and best practice statistical methods to ensure data integrity.
Once an official team nickname has been selected, the team will then "work diligently over the next year" on designing a logo, mascot and colors. When NHL Utah takes the ice for the 2024-25 season, they will wear jerseys with their chosen colors but without a nickname. Only UTAH will appear on the jerseys for their first season.
The nickname and other branding will be revealed before the 2025-26 NHL season.
In April, the NHL's Board of Governors approved the $1.2 billion sale of the Arizona Coyotes to Smith, a billionaire who co-founded Qualtrics and also owns the Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake. The Coyotes had originally relocated from Winnipeg in 1996.
As part of the sale agreement, if former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo can secure a new arena in Arizona within five years he can pay back the $1.2 billion and will be awarded an expansion franchise.
