Utah NHL team announces tentative nickname for inaugural season

NHL

by Christian Arnold

Utah's hockey team has a name.

And it will disappoint you.

The franchise, formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes, will operate as the Utah Hockey Club for its inaugural season in Salt Lake City, the team announced Thursday.

This was the day the sale of the team to Smith Entertainment Group, owners of the Utah Jazz, which the company announced it would acquire in April, was officially completed.

SEG acquired the franchise, players and hockey operations, and the team's previous owner, Alex Meruelo, retained the Coyotes' intellectual property.

“Today marks a monumental day for the state of Utah as we officially complete the creation of our newest NHL franchise,” Utah Hockey Club Governor Ryan Smith, chairman of Smith Entertainment Group, said in a statement. “The NHL has been a great partner throughout this process, providing us with invaluable guidance and support.”

“There's a ton of work to do. Training camp starts in less than 100 days. I couldn't be more excited for what's to come.”

The team's official name will be announced before the 2025-26 season, and fans can still vote on the name.

The club also unveiled the uniform design and colour scheme on Thursday.

The jerseys will feature “UTAH” on the front and the color scheme will complement the Jazz's revamped look and will become the team's permanent color scheme.

The hockey team worked with design firm Doubleday & Cartwright to come up with the new look.

“The color palette consists of Rock Black, which represents the darkness of mountain nights and the volcanic rock of Utah's desert; Salt White, which represents the snow on Utah's mountaintops and famous salt flats; and Mountain Blue, which represents Utah's rich winter sports history and more than 230 days of sunshine per year,” the Utah Hockey Club said in a statement. “The distinctive colors will serve as a cornerstone of the club's brand as it evolves through the team name selection ahead of the 2025-2026 NHL season.”

“The color palette selected for Utah's first NHL team is an intentional complement to that of the Utah Jazz, also owned by SEG, which introduced an expanded color scheme last week and includes a similar sky blue as a tertiary color.”