The Utah Hockey Club finally has a name more than a year after the team’s move from Arizona, and hockey fans in the Valley are taking one more shot on the chin.
The NHL franchise unveiled its new name and permanent identity on Wednesday, further distancing itself from its former home in Arizona.
The franchise formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes will now be known as the Utah Mammoth.
“More than 10,000 years ago, herds of mammoth claimed Utah as their home and, ever since, the mammoth has embodied strength, momentum, and an earth-shaking presence – qualities that are brought to life by the passion of Utah’s hockey fans and that mirror the franchise’s bold emergence into the NHL,” the team said in a release announcing the name.
“In a process driven by the community, the Utah Mammoth name was chosen by fans during a 13-month process involving four rounds of fan voting and more than 850,000 votes.”
The NHL approved the Coyotes’ move to Utah on April 18, 2024, and the team was known as the Utah Hockey Club for its first season in Salt Lake City.
The team had 38 wins, 31 losses, and 13 overtime losses last season. It finished with 89 points, sixth place out of eight teams in the Central Division and 11th of 16 teams in the Western Conference.
“We couldn’t be more excited to launch the official name and marks for Utah’s NHL hockey team,” Ryan and Ashley Smith, owners of the Utah Mammoth, said in a release.
“When it came to naming the team, we did something unprecedented – going through four rounds of community voting, including getting feedback not only on potential names but also on potential logos. We love the passion of the people of Utah and the way they showed up for the team during its inaugural season and the energy they brought to voting on its permanent identity.”
The Utah NHL franchise showcased its branding on a series of social media posts Wednesday, and the Clayton Keller jersey examples serve as another gut punch for Arizona hockey fans:
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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