NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will have a name starting with Utah

The NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will be known as Utah, at least initially, until a long-term name is determined.

“We’ll start with Utah on the jersey and we’ll figure out the logo and everything else and what it is that we are," new owner Ryan Smith told The Associated Press. "We’re going to be Utah either way. We have the first part of the name. We don’t have the last.”

Smith Entertainment Group, which bought the franchise formerly known as the Coyotes in a deal unanimously approved Thursday by the league's Board of Governors, has already contracted ad agency Doubleday & Cartwright for rebranding efforts. Former owner Alex Meruelo keeps the Coyotes name and has the chance to reactivate the franchise if he’s able to build an arena.

The short timeline of relocating the club could mean it has a placeholder name for the first season, like the Professional Women's Hockey League did for year one or Washington's NFL team had in 2020 and '21 before becoming the Commanders.