Las Vegas NHL team name to be unveiled in November

We know there will be an NHL team in Las Vegas, and now the team name has an official unveiling date.

The NFL may not be too far behind, and the NBA could put a team there eventually. But the NHL will forever have the distinction of being the first major American sport to have a team in Las Vegas. In terms of a team nickname, owner Bill Foley only initially confirmed it would include the word “Knights” somehow.

Here’s what Foley had to say about the team name back in early September.

"We went through with Adidas again last week. We have our colors picked, we have our basic logo picked, it needs some refinement. We have moved some color schemes around, and the team will be something Knights. K-n-i-g-h-t-s. We have the name. The name is trademarked, we have the domain name. That’s all I can say right now."

With the team’s front office continuing to take shape, and their home arena hosting a preseason game on Friday, now there’s a goal date for an announcement of the nickname.

Foley told Yahoo! Sports last Tuesday that trademarks were registered for “Desert Knights”, “Golden Knights” and “Silver Knights.” Apparently the name was settled on over a month ago, somewhere around the time of Foley’s aforementioned comments to a Vegas radio station.

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Whatever variation of “Knights” the new NHL team is, Vegas seems to be viable initial market for the sport and a merchandising boom will come. The team will surely be a road draw too, based on novelty alone, when they begin play at the start of the 2017-18 season. The NHL has long needed a re-invigoration, outside of the markets where die-hard fans are, so Vegas is at least offering that until further notice.