The new NHL franchise in Las Vegas doesn’t have an official team name quite yet, but they’re closing in on making a decision. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Bill Foley and his group have narrowed down their list of potential names to just four after originally submitting a total of 18 names to the NHL for approval.
Foley states the team name is expected to be formally announced either at the end of September or the beginning of October.
Via the Review-Journal:
Foley said he wanted to keep the the final four names a secret until the official unveiling.
“We want to make it a special event for everyone,” he said. “I know everyone is anxious about the name. But we want to get it right.”
Back in July, it was reported that the new Vegas team would be called the Knights. That appears to still be an option, though the exact details aren’t being discussed.
Foley said “Knights” is still in play in some form. But the name “Las Vegas Knights” isn’t likely because a Canadian junior hockey team in London, Ontario, owns the rights to the name “Knights.”
“The London Knights own the name in Canada and to acquire the name from London is not economically feasible,” Foley said. “In the U.S., ‘Knights’ are fine. But we can’t use it in Canada.”
That means Black Knights or some sort of other color/Knights combination is still in play. It’s anyone’s guess what the other three options are for the team. The PDL team outlined their favorite choices, but the NHL has stated the team name can’t be associated with gambling. That pretty much rules out most of the other most speculated names (Aces, etc).
The hope is to have merchandise and gear ready to sell as soon as the announcement is made which means it’s highly likely the name will slip out well before the projected timeline. Someone is bound to let the name leak as soon as they get a glimpse of jersey/merchandise production. It sounds like Knights remain the favorite which means for better or worse (it’s awfully similar to the Kings), we might all have to get used to it.
