Las Vegas has been all over the news in the hockey world for months now. The team has announced their management team, their arena is built, and the expansion draft rules are set. What isn’t finalized yet, however, is a name. With an endless combination of possible names available, it would seem that the one they have their eyes set on could cause them some problems.
The London Knights are making things a bit complicated for the @VegasHockeyNHL name search. https://t.co/7WsD3j6yHq pic.twitter.com/iFpg7gVNLp
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 5, 2016
Bill Foley, the owner of the new Vegas franchise, is the chairman of Black Knight Financial Services, Inc. While the new team name possibilities “are narrowed to four from an original 18 names the team submitted to NHL for approval” it seems that the Knights are still in contention.
The complication with using the name of the “Las Vegas Knights” stems from the London Knights of the OHL. As Foley mentioned, “The London Knights own the name in Canada and to acquire the name from London is not economically feasible,” said Foley. “In the U.S., ‘Knights’ are fine. But we can’t use it in Canada.’
A deal could be struck between Vegas and the London Knights to allow Foley to use the name “Knights”, but as it stands, Las Vegas may need to get used to the idea of using a completely different name. The possibilities, as mentioned, are endless, and the speculation has been running rampant all over social media for months.
The new name will likely be announced in late September, or early October. For now, however, Foley is preaching patience from the NHL world as the team looks to pick the perfect name for their new franchise.
