New NHL team in Utah closing in on new name as six official finalists announced

When the Arizona Coyotes made the move to Utah earlier this year, there was a lot of speculation over what might happen with the team's name. It was announced in the process of the relocation that Arizona will be given the option of retaining the Coyotes name and may return to the NHL as an expansion team in 2027-28. As a result, new owner Ryan Smith began the search for a new team name.

Originally, it appeared as though the franchise could opt to go with "Utah Hockey Club" as a team name for its inaugural season, but that decision quickly went to the wayside in favour of a fan vote to help patrons name the new team.

TSN's Chris Johnston reported on Thursday that the organization has narrowed things down to six potential names after generating more than 520,000 fan votes. The finalists are as follows:

Utah Blizzard
Utah Hockey Club (Utah HC)
Utah Mammoth
Utah Outlaws
Utah Venom
Utah Yeti

There's still another wave of voting to come between now and June 20th to determine the winner.

Source: SEG Media