The Fascinating Stories Behind the Names of All 32 NHL Teams

Curious about the meaning of 'Canuck' or the origin of 'Blue Jacket'? Explore the captivating history behind the naming of all 32 teams in the league.

1. New York Rangers

In 1925, the New York Americans became part of the National Hockey League, hosting their matches at the original Madison Square Garden. Tex Rickard, a boxing promoter and former gold prospector who constructed and owned the venue, desired his own NHL franchise, granted to him in 1926. Rickard’s squad was quickly nicknamed “Tex’s Rangers,” a playful nod to the paramilitary group established in Texas in the 1830s. While the Americans disbanded in 1942, Tex’s Rangers continue to thrive.

2. New Jersey Devils

Since New Jersey isn’t famous for its mountainous terrain, the team required a fresh identity after the Colorado Rockies moved to the Garden State in 1982. The New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority organized a statewide newspaper competition to choose the new name, with finalists like Americans, Blades, Coastals, Colonials, Gulls, Jaguars, Meadowlanders, and Meadowlarks. Although some fans opposed the winning choice for religious reasons—even threatening a reporter covering the process—the Devil has a purely folkloric connection to New Jersey. Legend has it that a harmless being called the Leeds Devil, or the Jersey Devil, wandered the Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey from 1887 to 1938.

3. New York Islanders

In 1961, when New York’s new Major League Baseball team held a naming contest, Islanders came in third behind Mets and Empires. Over a decade later, Islanders was chosen as the name for New York’s hockey team, which is based on Long Island.

4. Philadelphia Flyers

After Ed Snider, the former vice president of the Philadelphia Eagles, reintroduced hockey to Philadelphia in 1966, the team held a naming contest. Snider’s sister, Phyllis, is said to have proposed the name Flyers, which pairs well with Philadelphia but holds no specific significance.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette organized a contest to name the team, but Carol McGregor, wife of part-owner Jack McGregor, ultimately chose the name. In his book, Pittsburgh Penguins: The Official History of the First 30 Years, Bob Grove explains how Carol McGregor conceived the idea. “I wanted something starting with a P. I asked Jack, ‘What’s the Civic Arena called?’ He replied, ‘The Big Igloo.’ That sparked the connection—ice, Pittsburgh, Penguins.” Out of 26,000 entries, over 700 suggested Penguins.

6. Boston Bruins

Charles Adams, a grocery store magnate, brought a team to Boston and appointed hockey legend Art Ross as general manager. Adams asked Ross to create a nickname, specifying that the team’s colors should match his grocery chain’s brown and yellow (later updated to black and gold). Ross chose Bruins as the name.

7. Buffalo Sabres

In 1970, when Buffalo joined the league, owners Seymour Knox III and Northrup Knox sought a distinctive name for their new franchise. They held a naming contest and ultimately chose Sabres, incorporating a buffalo into the team’s logo.

8. Montreal Canadiens

John Ambrose O’Brien founded the Club de Hockey Canadien in 1909. As a founding member of the National Hockey Association, Ambrose aimed to attract Montreal’s French-speaking community and create a rivalry with the city’s existing team, the Wanderers. The Canadiens are often called “The Habs” or “Les Habs,” short for Les Habitants, the term for early settlers of New France.

9. Ottawa Senators

The original Ottawa Senators, established in 1883, secured 11 Stanley Cups. When the NHL reintroduced a team to Ottawa in 1992 after a nearly six-decade absence, the name, reflecting Ottawa’s role as Canada’s capital, was a natural fit.

10. Toronto Maple Leafs

After acquiring Toronto’s hockey team in 1927, Conn Smythe prioritized renaming the franchise. Originally known as the Arenas in 1917, the team rebranded as the St. Patricks in 1919 to appeal to Toronto’s Irish community. Smythe ultimately chose Maple Leafs, inspired by his service in the Maple Leaf Regiment during World War I and a former local team called “the East Maple Leaves.”

11. Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets, established in late 1971, adopted their name from a team with the same title in Canada’s Western Hockey League. This franchise is the second iteration; the first moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1996, becoming the Phoenix Coyotes. The current team was initially named the “Atlanta Thrashers”—a nod to Georgia’s state bird, the brown thrasher, by Ted Turner—before being sold to True North Sports & Entertainment in 2011 and relocated to Winnipeg.

12. Carolina Hurricanes

Following the relocation of the Hartford Whalers to Raleigh in 1997, owner Peter Karmanos, Jr. chose a name inspired by the powerful storms frequently impacting the area.

13. Florida Panthers

If Tampa Bay had secured a baseball team in the early 1990s, they might have been named the “Florida Panthers,” honoring the endangered species. Instead, the name was claimed by Florida’s second NHL franchise. Panthers president Bill Torrey explained the choice, stating: “A panther is known for being the fastest striker among cats. We aim to embody that agility on the ice.”

14. Tampa Bay Lightning

In 1990, Phil Esposito, then-president of the Tampa Bay Hockey Group, found inspiration for the team’s name during a thunderstorm. Esposito noted that “Lightning” not only reflects a natural phenomenon common to the Tampa Bay region but also symbolizes the speed and intensity of hockey.

15. Washington Capitals

Washington’s owner, Abe Pollin, selected the fitting name Capitals following a team-naming competition.

16. Chicago Blackhawks

Frederic McLaughlin, a World War I veteran and coffee magnate, owned Chicago’s team when it joined the NHL in 1926. McLaughlin named the team after the 86th Infantry Division, where he served, known as the Black Hawk Division. This division honored Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk tribe, who battled the Illinois militia in 1832. The team’s name was officially updated from Black Hawks to Blackhawks in 1986.

17. Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets emerged as the winning choice in a team-naming contest, paying homage to Ohio’s significant contribution of soldiers during the Civil War.

18. Detroit Red Wings

James Norris, after acquiring the Detroit Falcons in 1932, rebranded the team as the Red Wings, inspired by the Winged Wheelers, the Montreal Hockey Club he once played for. The team’s logo, a winged wheel, symbolizes Detroit’s prominence as the center of the automotive industry.

19. Nashville Predators

Nashville’s team name was chosen through a fan vote, inspired by the discovery of saber-toothed tiger fossils during a 1971 excavation in the city.

20. St. Louis Blues

In 1967, owner Sid Saloman Jr. chose the name Blues, inspired by W.C. Handy’s iconic song, “St. Louis Blues.” Other contenders included Mercury and Apollo.

21. Calgary Flames

Originally based in Atlanta from 1972 to 1980, the Flames’ name commemorated General William T. Sherman’s burning of Atlanta during the Civil War. Despite the relocation, the name was retained.

22. Colorado Avalanche

The Rockies, the former name of Colorado’s hockey team that moved to New Jersey in 1982, was already taken by Denver’s baseball team when the Quebec Nordiques relocated to the Front Range in 1995. Initially, management considered naming the team Extreme, but faced significant backlash. Ultimately, Avalanche was chosen over alternatives like Black Bears, Outlaws, Storm, Wranglers, Renegades, Rapids, and Cougars.

23. Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton, Alberta’s capital, is also Canada’s oil hub. The team, which started in the World Hockey Association in 1972, kept the name Oilers upon joining the NHL in 1979.

24. Minnesota Wild

In 1998, Wild was selected from six finalists, which also included Blue Ox, Northern Lights, Voyageurs, White Bears, and Freeze. (Voyageurs were the laborers of fur trading companies in the area during the 18th century.)

25. Vancouver Canucks

Johnny Canuck, a Canadian political cartoon figure from 1869, was reimagined as a comic book hero battling Adolf Hitler and other foes during World War II. The term Canuck, also slang for Canadian, likely originated in 19th-century America and, though initially derogatory, became a source of national pride for Canadians.

26. Dallas Stars

After relocating from Minnesota to Texas in 1993, the North Stars dropped the North from their name and opted not to replace it with South or Lone.

27. Los Angeles Kings

Jack Kent Cooke, the late owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and later the Washington football team, chose Kings from fan submissions when the hockey team joined the league in the 1960s. The name echoed the Los Angeles Monarchs, a 1930s Pacific Coast Hockey League team, and Cooke’s new franchise adopted a royal color scheme matching the Lakers.

28. Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim entered the NHL in 1993 as the Mighty Ducks, inspired by the popular Disney movie and its marketing success. After Disney sold the team in 2005, the name was shortened to Ducks, and the logo was redesigned.

29. Arizona Coyotes

After the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix in 1996, Coyotes was chosen from over 10,000 entries in a naming contest, with Scorpions as the runner-up. The franchise is set for a rebranding, having been sold to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith, with plans to move to Salt Lake City.

30. San Jose Sharks

Sharks was selected from over 2,300 entries in San Jose’s team-naming contest. Other finalists included Rubber Puckies, Screaming Squids, Salty Dogs, and Blades. At the time, seven shark species inhabited the Pacific Ocean’s “Red Triangle” off California’s coast.

31. Vegas Golden Knights

The Las Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team debuting in 2018, was named to reflect strength and valor. Owner Bill Foley explained, “I wanted a logo and name that embodied the warrior class. Knights represent the pinnacle of defending the realm and protecting the vulnerable, aligning with the culture we aim to build.” Foley considered names like Silver Knights and Desert Knights before settling on golden for the team’s identity.

32. Seattle Kraken

The NHL's latest addition, which became part of the league in 2021, sifted through over 1,200 potential names before settling on the legendary sea monster that haunts sailors' dreams. Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services and a co-owner of the team, shared with ESPN in 2020, 'Seattle's deep maritime roots and its surrounding waters make the Kraken a natural fit. The mythical creature, long a part of local folklore in the Pacific Northwest, has fascinated generations with tales of its lurking presence beneath the ocean's surface.'