Utah Hockey Club Adds 'Outlaws' to List of Nickname Finalists for Fan Vote

The Utah Hockey Club is reconsidering adopting "Utah Outlaws" as a team name following fan feedback.

The NHL's newest hockey team said Thursday night the first night of in-arena fan voting made it "clear" the Outlaws should be considered over the Wasatch, a Utah mountain range.

Fans will now be able to choose between the Utah Outlaws, Utah Mammoth and Utah Hockey Club when voting for the club's permanent name at Delta Center.

Fans will get three more chances to vote for their favorite name during Friday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Sunday's game against the St. Louis Blues and Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The NHL's newest club, which entered the 2024-25 season with Utah Hockey Club intended only as a temporary name, originally appeared to be leaning in a different nickname direction.

Clayton Keller told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger ahead of the team's inaugural season the final team name "sounds like it's going to be the Yeti."

Utah then ran into trademark issues with the proposed nickname. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied in early January the franchise's attempt to trademark the brand, citing a "likelihood of confusion" with other brands including the drinkware and cooler brand YETI.

Utah's ownership group, the Smith Entertainment Group, said in a statement YETI "was ultimately unwilling to agree to a co-existence agreement" that would allow the hockey team to use the name on merchandise.

Yeti was then left off the original list of three finalists listed during Wednesday night's fan vote at Delta Center during Utah's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

SEG executive Mike Maughan said the name Wasatch was originally chosen to fill the Yeti's slot as part of an attempt to keep a "Utah-centric" name on the list, per John Coon of the Associated Press.

The SEG has been polling fans for their opinions on team names since last spring. Wasatch was not on the original list of team names offered to fans, who voted for the Yeti, Mammoth, Outlaws and HC alongside the Blizzard and Venom as finalists.

Voting for the team names will take place on iPads set up on every floor of Delta Center, which are available from when doors open to the end of the game, according to Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune. Fraser noted fans taking the survey were asked not to use their phones while voting "to prevent the spreading of the logos."

Utah still plans to commit to a permanent name ahead of the 2025-26 season, according to SEG.