Here Are The Best And Worst Names Fans Pitched For A Salt Lake City NHL Team

It's no secret that Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith wouldn't mind adding an NHL team to his sports ownership portfolio.

This week, he has gone a step further asking fans what they think a Salt Lake City-based NHL team should be called.

Of course, the league plopping a team in Utah isn't set in stone, but the city is a major player for a possible expansion franchise or the relocation of an existing team (let's be honest: probably the Coyotes if they keep running into arena drama).

The market is on the NHL's radar, and so Smith shared a survey soliciting team names.

We don't know what people are throwing in the survey, but we do know what people are commenting on X.

As far as names go with the NHL's two newest teams — the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken — I think they've been pretty successful, so let's look at some of the names people are pitching for a hypothetical Salt Lake City/Utah-based NHL team.

Some are good, while others simply aren't.

One of the names that has really been floating around is Utah Yetis. Never mind the obvious geographical issues — Yetis are known to habit the Himalayas on the other side of the world — it certainly rolls off the tongue.

That's a great set, and as a fan of cryptozoology, I'm all about it and would probably buy a Utah Yetis hat.

However, I can't imagine the league would be too pumped about going back to the mythical creatures well when the most recent team is the Seattle Kraken.

Still, in a vacuum, it's an awesome name and look.

The funny thing with team names is that sometimes it matters which level a team is playing at. For instance, Rocket City Trash Pandas is a great name… for a minor league team.

For an MLB team? No bueno.

That's how I feel about Salt Lake City Brine