Utah Hockey Club swaps out Wasatch team name option in fan vote

Fans of the Utah Hockey Club attending the next three home games will notice a big change to the official ballots where they can decide the team's permanent name. Ownership announced in a post on X Thursday that it will be removing one option and replacing it with another after some minor fan backlash.

"Outlaws" will take the place of "Wasatch as an official choice after fans apparently wrote-in the former as a way of sending a message to the team. It's just another odd twist in the naming saga the newest NHL franchise has endured over the last few months.

Just on Wednesday, the team thought it had found a workaround after being denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to use the name "Yeti." Instead, it thought "Wasatch" - which is the indigenous name for the famous mountain range in the state - would evoke the image of a "mythical snow creature" like the Yeti.

Fans pressure Utah Hockey Club into replacing odd name choice with "Outlaws"

The final ballot now will offer fans a choice between "Outlaws," "Mammoth" and the already in-use Utah Hockey Club. Kiosks are set up across the Delta Center with tablets where fans can make their voice heard.

It seems like "Outlaws" already has a strong following, with many online mocking up jerseys and merchandise with an assumed logo.

The team will be providing fans who vote with the opportunity to view each name option with "branding treatments," presumably meaning workshopped merchandise and logo artwork.

At least ownership recognized what a significant amount of fans have been asking for and didn't just decide to ignore it for the sake of convenience. It's unclear if the "Outlaws" name has already cleared the patent and trademark hurdle but it would be hard to think of any good reason it wouldn't.