While one of the Arizona Coyotes’ biggest problems was attracting fans, the team is now turning over a new leaf in Utah and giving some power to the people.
With the NHL franchise moving north, the team is now letting fans have the option of picking a new name.
The team launched a website with a list of 20 potential names that were compiled following an initial survey issued on social media. Each fan can vote once for up to four different options.
“Utah’s NHL team is for the community and will be named with help from the community,” the website states.
“In partnership with Qualtrics, the leading feedback and experience management provider, and Doubleday & Cartwright, a highly acclaimed creative consultancy and design studio, Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) has created a multi-phase branding process for fans to vote on the name.”
Voting opened on Wednesday and will run until May 22. The next round of fan favourites will be announced and more details on future steps in the name selection process will be revealed later this summer.
According to the site, Utah’s NHL franchise will don jerseys that will only display “UTAH” during its inaugural season this fall.
Once a name has been selected, SEG will get to work crafting the team’s identity, including a logo, mascot, colours and other branding elements, which will debut in the 2025-26 NHL season.
The 20 options for the team’s name range from animals to weather-related events to simple initials and more.
The options provided 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.
Owner Ryan Smith told The Associated Press the team will have a name starting with Utah.
“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.”
Smith and SEG bought the franchise from Alex Meruelo for $1.2 billion last month and immediately relocated the team from Arizona, where it had struggled to find funding for a new arena.
The Coyotes had played the past two seasons in Mullett Arena, a venue with a capacity of 4,600 for NHL games.
Utah will start play in Salt Lake City’s downtown arena, the Delta Center. It is also the home of the NBA’s Jazz.
Utah has the sixth pick in the NHL draft after not moving up in the lottery won Tuesday night by the San Jose Sharks.