The Utah Hockey Club wrapped up its inaugural NHL season by finishing sixth in the Central Division with a 38-31-13 record and 89 points. Despite missing the Stanley Cup playoffs, excitement over hockey in Salt Lake City has been through the roof, especially late Tuesday night.

When owners Ryan and Ashley Smith brought the Arizona Coyotes’ roster, coaching staff and front office to Utah in April 2024, Ryan Smith made it clear he wouldn’t rush the process of choosing a team nickname.

“It will 100 percent be ‘Utah,’ and then it will be ‘Utah Something,’ obviously,” he said. “I don’t think given this timeline that we’re going to have time — or nor should we rush with everything else that’s going on — to go force what that is in the next three months.”

Ryan Smith — already well-known to Utah fans as the owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz — wanted the community to help choose a permanent team name. So he and the organization let fans vote on the original options and then the finalists, which included Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and Utah Outlaws.

The name was expected to be announced this summer, but those plans may be changing.

Center Logan Cooley celebrates with his Utah Hockey Club teammates after a goal.

© Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Just after midnight ET on Wednesday morning, a fan scrolling through the official team YouTube channel noticed the handle read “UtahMammoth” instead of “Utah Hockey Club.”

The news then began to spread like a wildfire on social media.

It didn’t take long for the team’s YouTube channel to go down, displaying the message: “This page isn’t available. Sorry about that. Try searching for something else.”

It’s unclear when the official announcement will be made, but following the possible leak, it may occur sooner than the team originally planned.

The team played its first season at the Delta Center, where seating was limited, but Ryan Smith has announced plans for renovations. The 46-year-old said the upgrades will take two summers to complete.