Following the considerable effort of acquiring an NHL team, moving players, coaches, and a full staff over 600 miles, and organizing everything within months before the start of a new season, it appears fitting that owners Ryan and Ashley Smith have chosen a potent identity after multiple rounds of fan voting.
On Wednesday, they revealed Utah Mammoth as the franchise`s permanent, full-time name. The unveiled logo features a profile of the ice age creature, incorporating elements that reference the state`s shape, its mountain range, and the familiar light blue, black, and white color palette quickly adopted by the team during its inaugural season in Salt Lake City.
“Our fans made it incredibly easy for us,” Ryan Smith commented at a news conference at the Delta Center, marking the completion of the branding process after over 850,000 votes were cast across 13 months. “Every single night the voting was open, Mammoth just started pulling away… And for us, it was like, ‘That’s clearly it.’”
Mammoth takes over from the 2024-25 temporary designation, Utah Hockey Club, which was also one of the three shortlisted options. Yeti was removed from consideration when the company selling coolers of the same name could not reach a copyright agreement with the Utah ownership. Wasatch, which refers to the state`s mountain range, was quickly replaced as a potential option by Outlaws.
The Mammoth team will retain the road jerseys featuring “UTAH” printed diagonally across the front. The logo itself, besides mountains and a hidden “M” along with other details Smith described as “Easter eggs,” includes a curved tusk that creatively forms a “U.”
Mammoth fossils have been discovered across Utah, including a complete skeleton unearthed in Huntington Canyon in 1988. The team has declared “Tusks Up” as its official rallying cry.
“We delved into some of the mammoth history within this state,” Smith stated. “It was striking – how deeply connected it is, whether through references to Lake Bonneville, Fairview, Utah, or Lake Powell, and considering the sheer size of the mammoth and their speed, it truly became something fascinating.”
Utah is set for an exciting summer, holding the fourth overall pick in the upcoming draft, beginning the initial phase of arena renovations, and possessing over $20 million in salary cap flexibility for general manager Bill Armstrong to pursue significant additions through free agency and trades. With promising young players such as captain Clayton Keller, emerging star forward Logan Cooley, two-time Stanley Cup champion Mikhail Sergachev, and developing goaltender Karel Vejmelka, the Mammoth could potentially compete for a playoff spot as early as next season.
Sitting alongside Commissioner Gary Bettman, Ashley Smith shared her ambition to welcome him back for a different kind of celebration in the future.
“Next time, it will be for the Stanley Cup,” she told Bettman, who responded, “It would be my pleasure.” Bettman, who will turn 73 in July, added, “When you win the Stanley Cup, I hope I’m still here to present it.”
Tristan Blackwood