How did each NHL team get its name? From Avalanche to Wild, the history of every

Utah’s new NHL team has a major decision on its hands.

The naming of a hockey franchise can help define a team’s identity for generations. New owner Ryan Smith seems to inherently understand the importance of this decision, opting to take his time to ensure they get the name right. The plan is for the team to play its inaugural season in 2024-25 under the Utah banner, allowing them enough runway to properly choose a name and logo.

Last week, Smith said they would launch a March Madness-style bracket and allow hockey fans in Utah to vote amongst eight legitimate nicknames.

What Utah is doing here isn’t exactly unique.

Over the years, many NHL clubs have solicited opinions from fans to choose a nickname, launching a variety of name-the-team contests. Other teams landed on their nickname without public consultations, with the owner unilaterally selecting the name. We’ve also seen teams hang onto nicknames from old cities and even one that was generated by a backyard thunderstorm.

One Original Six team adopted its name thanks to slang from local sportswriters.

There have also been some colorful and entertaining suggestions that ended up on the cutting room floor.

Could you imagine the Buffalo Buzzing Bees? The Rocky Mountain Extreme? Or the Florida Block Busters?

With Utah pondering a handful of potential names for its team, here’s a look at how the 31 other NHL franchises ended up with their respective nicknames.

When Disney landed an NHL franchise in Southern California for the 1993-94 season, it was only natural that they named it after their wildly popular “Mighty Ducks” film that hit movie theatres in 1992. “If we’re a very good team, I think it will be a great name. If we’re a very bad team, it will be a bad name. But I welcome the puns,” Disney chairman Michael Eisner said when launching the name in March of 1993.

For the first 12 seasons of their existence, they were officially known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In January of 2006, new team owners Henry and Susan Samueli announced the club would be rebranded as the Anaheim Ducks starting in the 2006-07 season.

Boston received an NHL franchise in 1924, when grocery store magnate Charles Adams secured the team. Adams insisted the colors of his hockey team match the same black and gold scheme from his supermarket chain. As for the actual nickname of the Bruins, there is some dispute around the origin. The first mention of the “Bruins” nickname appeared in the Nov. 14, 1924 edition of the Boston Globe newspaper. That article gave credit to Adams and his new head coach, Art Ross, for coming up with the name of the team.

But when the Bruins celebrated their centennial season in 2023-24, their official team website credited Adams’ secretary with actually…