Utah HC’s Clayton Keller May Have Spilled The Beans About Team’s Eventual Permanent Name

The newest team in the National Hockey League will make its debut this season, under the name Utah Hockey Club, but as you're no doubt aware, that's temporary. The name, logo, and jerseys are only planned to be in use until a permanent name is decided on.

There's been a lot of talk about what the team could call itself thanks to the franchise's March Madness-style bracket to narrow down the choices.

Some were great, some were horrendous, but the field got narrowed down to some names like Yeti, Mammoth, and Outlaws.

Now, one of the biggest names on the Utah roster — Clayton Keller — may have let the final name slip at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas this week.

"It sounds like it’s going to be the Yeti, but I don’t know," Keller said, per NHL.com. "We’ll see what happens. Whatever they choose, I think it’ll be a good one.

"It’s just part of the excitement of being part of something new."

Well, it did always feel like it'd be Yeti (not Yetis) didn't it? I mean, sure, the Yeti is super badass, sure, but "Utah Yeti" just rolls off the tongue nicely.

I think it'd be a great name and if they don't completely screw up the logo design, expect Utah to be one of the league leaders in merch sales.

But while the name is a big focus, what will Utah look like on the ice this season?

Well, Keller says they've got the playoffs in their sights.

Utah Hockey Club forward Clayton Keller dropped the team's possible permanent name, and talked about whether or not they can make the playoffs this season. (Getty Images)

A Brutally Tough Top Of The Central Division Could Make A Utah Postseason Appearance Difficult

"Our core guys have developed, a good coach in the locker room," he said. "We have a lot of young players who are coming in and are ready to take that next step. We’ve done a good job of helping them and guiding them in the right direction. And adding guys like (former-Devil John) Marino and (former-Tampa forward) Sergachev who have had playoff success is really going to help.

"The playoffs are definitely on our minds for sure."

I love the optimism, and there's no doubt that Sergachev and Marino were big adds… but making the playoffs is going to be tough. That's not because Utah isn't going to be good enough, I think they'll be alright this year, the problem is that they play in the Central Division.

That division is loaded.

I mean, expect the Avalanche, Stars, And Jets to be fighting at the top of that division this year, and throw the Predators into the mix. Then, Wild and Blues are sort of a mixed bag, but they could be sniffing around the wild card spots.

So… where is there room for Utah?

It's going to be tough, but I think Utah could be in the hunt for a wild card spot next spring (I wouldn't be shocked if both Western Conference wild card spots went to Central Division teams).

Utah will begin its inaugural campaign on October 8 at home against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.