Sometimes, teams look to their city to find something with some symbolism and meaning to the locals, capturing the aura of the city or State they play in, like the Seattle Kraken did. The Minnesota Wild, being up north, surrounded by wilderness, is another. For Salt Lake City and Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, there are some interesting possibilities for names and logos for their new NHL franchise.
One we can probably eliminate right now is the "Gulls". With Utah's State bird being the California Gull (no, it's not made up - Google it), I view that one as highly unlikely. Not only because the AHL's San Diego Gulls likely wouldn't sign off on the naming rights being used, but also because there are better names out there. Similarly, their State flower, the Sego Lily, is also probably out, as it doesn't strike much fear into the hearts of the opposition.
Their State tree does yield one potential possibility for the new team in Utah. The Quaking Aspen is the tree, so something derivative of that, like "Utah Quake", "Salt Lake City Quake" or "SLC Quake" might be a possibility. Their State reptile is the Gila Monster, so perhaps there's something that can be derived from that as well. Still, there are a few names, like the ones The Score have suggested, that really stand out.
On Wednesday, The Score presented 3 ideas for new names and logos for the new team in Utah that may actually gain some traction, both online and in the board room. Two of them are derived from the State animal (Elk) and the State insect (Honeybee). The Score dropped these unique name and image ideas for the Salt Lake Stags and Salt Lake Swarm (it's worth mentioning that the State emplem is a beehive as well) as possible candidates.
The third idea that The Score brought up is the one that seems to be generating the most discussion on social media, the Utah Yetis. Obviously, with outdoor sports like skiing and snowboarding being so popular in Utah, of course the lore of the abominable snowman is prevalent in the State.
Now, obviously these should all be taken with a grain of salt (see what I did there?), as The Score has no ties to the franchise, but the names and logos seem like plausible ideas, so perhaps we could see something similar to this when the name and logo is finally announced. We do know that fans are already being polled for ideas in Salt Lake City for their input.
If you had a say in re-naming the Coyotes following their move to Salt Lake City, which of the names listed about would you choose? Or is there another name you think would fit the team best? Have your say in the poll below!
POLL | ||
AVRIL 18 | 344 ANSWERS Sports network shares name, logo ideas for Coyotes before move to Utah What do you think the best new name for the Coyotes with their move to Salt Lake City, Utah? | ||
Utah Yetis | 86 | 25 % |
Salt Lake Swarm | 53 | 15.4 % |
Salt Lake Stags | 26 | 7.6 % |
Other | 179 | 52 % |
List of polls |