"Outlaws would have been better" "Logo goes hard though": NHL fans react as Utah HC finally announces new name

The Utah Hockey Club, or Utah HC, is officially no more. After their inaugural season with essentially a placeholder name similar to the Washington Football Team, the franchise has a brand-new name: the Utah Mammoth.

They confirmed the name with a promotional video detailing their journey to the decision and how they got fans involved with the process. After a lengthy search, this is who the team will be for the foreseeable future.

NHL fans aren't all pleased with the result, though. Some like the name and logo combination, but others have been left imagining what could've been with other team names.

"Yeti wasn't good enough, huh? Leave it to Utah to swing and miss," one complained.

"Utah Outlaws would have been MUCH better," another added.

"Logo goes hard though," a fan said.

"Yeti would’ve been the best, but this is a solid [consolation] prize. Fun name!" one said.

"Utah hates plural team names," another chimed in.

This is another singular creature mascot name similar to the Seattle Kraken.

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Utah HC owners reflect on name change

The Arizona Coyotes went defunct and were bought, moved and brought back to Utah. That team was briefly the Hockey Club, but owners Ryan and Ashley Smith wanted to get fans involved in picking a long-term name.

Ryan Smith owns Utah HC and the Jazz (Imagn)

After announcing the new Mammoth mascot, they said in a statement via ESPN:

"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. The community chose the Utah Mammoth brand, and it stands as a symbol of who we are, where we came from, and the unstoppable force we're building together."

The former Utah HC itself added:

"Evidence suggests mammoths charged in herds at speeds exceeding 25 miles per hour, comparable to the speeds reached by the fastest skaters in the NHL."

The franchise has already begun selling merchandise and memorabilia at their team store with the new logo, name and more. The entire process took about 13 months and had over 850,000 ballots cast by fans of the team.