The new NHL team in Utah is gaining prominence, even if it is waiting for a permanent name.
Utah sports mogul Ryan Smith officially closed in his purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday, an occasion that the team used to confirm its new name and temporary jerseys, as well as the permanent team colors.
The Utah Hockey Club will hit the ice this fall, wearing sweaters with the word “Utah” on them and little else. Never say the Washington Football Team wasn’t a trendsetter.
Some will call them clean, some will call them plain, some will call them the most boring jerseys in the NHL.
The Utah Hockey Club is currently in the process of having fans vote to determine the name the team will use long-term. It entered its second round of voting last week, with six options available: the now-incumbent Utah Hockey Club, Utah Blizzard, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom and Utah Yeti.
Whichever name is selected will use the following colours, seen below with the initial Hockey Club logos: rock black, salt white and mountain blue.
Obviously, some of the names will work better with those colors than others (can a woolly mammoth be blue)? The second round of fan voting will run until June 20 until 11:59 pm MT.
The NHL Board of Governors approved the sale of the Coyotes to Smith for $1.2 billion in April, adding an NHL team to a personal sports empire that already included the NBA’s Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake of the MLS, the Utah Royals of the NWSL and the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League. , Minor League Baseball’s Salt Lake Bees and MLS Next Pro’s Real Monarchs.
As part of the sale agreement, if former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo can secure a new stadium in Arizona within five years, he will be able to repay the $1.2 billion and will be awarded an expansion franchise.
