Bill Foley gives a “thumb’s up” to a new Las Vegas hockey team while on the red carpet for the 2016 NHL Awards at the Joint on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 | 5:39 p.m.
Las Vegas’ first professional sports franchise might not be as close to a name as it appeared on Thursday. After reports came out that NHL team expansion team owner Bill Foley narrowed the list of nicknames to Desert Hawks, Red Hawks, Nighthawks and two mystery possibilities, reports came out today that at least two of those are off the table.
Vegas won’t be the Desert Hawks or Red Hawks, but Foley told the Review-Journal he hasn’t given up on Nighthawks despite reports out of Chicago to the contrary. Reactions to the name locally have been underwhelming, and in Chicago, Blackhawks fans didn’t think too much of there being another Hawks in the league.
Perhaps that will still happen because Foley indicated he hasn’t received pushback from the league on using something involving Hawks. But striking down the other two Hawks makes the new options seem like the preferred ones.
The other possibilities haven’t been revealed, but until the nickname is officially announced, it’s probably best to view each suggestion as a possibility, not a guarantee.
Taylor Bern can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.
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