And then there were four.
Speaking today with Brian Blessing of Sportsbook Radio, The Creator confirmed the organization has narrowed their search to four possible team names.
The team name is one of those four. It’s not Black Knights, that’s been sort of vetted and there were too many objections from my alma mater and then some push-back from some other people so we’ve put that one aside. But the name is going to have that kind of you know (K)Nights somewhere in some fashion some way. Or, there’s one particular animal… a bird, that we have available to us that we might use. -The Creator
We’re still holding out hope the bird name is Peregrines, but the last time I asked him about that name he told me “there are some concerns with the pronunciation.”
Based on the quote, it sounds like the other three are all Knights related. But as I alluded to in the transcription, it’s possible he was saying Nights rather than Knights. If I had to guess, I’d say the three are Silver Knights, Neon Knights, and Nights.
He did not mention the London Knights today, who have been causing issues with the name Las Vegas Knights. Steve Carp of the RJ says because of the team in London, Ontario, that name is “unlikely.”
We have a video conference tomorrow with the NHL and Adidas. So I should have a good feeling of what the name’s going to be tomorrow. I’m not going to release it because we want to have a party, and we want to have an announcement, and we want to have our logos completed, and we want to have jerseys and T-Shirts and hats available for fans so we’re close. -The Creator
If all goes according to plan, you’ll be able to pick up that Las Vegas Night/Sliver Knight/Neon Knight/Peregrine/(Insert Other Name Here) gear at the team store at T-Mobile Arena almost immediately the announcement, and then at casinos like Bellagio, Monte Carlo, New York New York, and other MGM properties shortly thereafter. The Creator is also in contact with McCarran Airport trying to get his apparel there as well.
We’ve also confirmed a few local outlets have outstanding orders for Vegas NHL gear and one particular owner is expecting to open a “hockey-only” shop later this fall.
The Creator did go on to say the jerseys may be a little further delayed, but it still appears the timeline has remained the same with the unveiling coming in Mid-September.
While you wait the month and a half, scroll through our jersey concepts, and continue wondering what might be.
Tom
Let the ticket holders pick the name Mr. Foley. Stick to your word.
Ken Boehlke
Oh boy. We are WELL beyond that being a reality.
A Fan
I personally think Mr. Foley is trying to throw us off track so his surprise in Sept/Oct is actually a surprise. He’s no fool. Because based on what he said today, it would have to be either a Knight/Name (not Black Knights) or a bird, and the only bird name that’s been talked about is Peregrine. I think he’s got something else in mind that hasn’t been talked about much, say maybe like Mustangs. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part. Either way, I guess we’ll all find out in about a month or two.
A Fan
I meant Knight/Night name…
Michael
An interesting thought. It does seem like he is rather obsessed with having ‘Knight’ in there somewhere. I guess I could live with Silver or Neon.
The irony of all this is that in a couple of years, we will all be so used to the name that it will seem to fit really well.
Tom
Yep. It looks like he scrapped plans to let us pick the name when he saw how much people didn’t want Black Knights. That’s a little disingenuous. I understand it’s his money, but don’t say it if you don’t mean it. He could do a poll for ticket holders and have his name in say 48 hours, but he doesn’t want to risk us not liking a “Knights” name. We’re gonna look like wannabe LA Kings. He seems like a nice guy, but he also seems hard-headed if he thinks Knights would work 4 hours away from the Kings.
Michael
Yeah, it is a shame. If it has to be Knights, it almost makes me think Neon Knights is best with a colorful scheme, as at least it is a crazy fusion of modern and oldy worldy, and would not seem as direct a corollation to that team down in CA. A straight up traditional ‘Knights’ or ‘Silver Knights’ is too much of a subject to the Kings.
James
I was thinking along those lines … I don’t hate Neon Knights. I actually quite like it, but it wasn’t at the top of my Big Board. Neon and countless others were rated higher.
A Fan
Since the season ticket holder name the team contest was never done, how about the team put something out asking the season ticket holders which one of the 4 names that he submitted is the season ticket holders favorite? He must be ok with all 4 names since he submitted them. I’m sure he has a favorite out of the 4 names…maybe he doesn’t want to chance that name not winning.
James
I get the impression that Mr. Foley was set on Black Knights since day one. The “Name the Team” contest would have been a charade. There was only going to be one winner. It would have been a complete waste of time. Mr. Foley had the deciding vote. He would have considered the suggestions and picked Black Knights.
I thought he might have been more open-minded to other names after Black Knights and Knights were all-but ruled out. But he still seems in love with Knights in some fashion. Mr. Foley will get the Knights name he desired and Silver or Neon will represent for Las Vegas, NV.
At least he tolerated the idea of Peregrines, which was a season ticket holders suggestion. The optics look a little better.
A Fan
If they are serious about the name Peregrines, it appears someone slipped up as LVperegrines.com was just purchased a couple of hours ago by someone in Canada. One would think they would have registered that for a few dollars just in case. Now if that ends up being the name, some domain re-seller will want a bunch of money for it. LasVegasPeregrines.com & LasVegasPeregrine.com were purchased on June 25, 2016 by what appears to be someone else. Both domain names are protected by different privacy companies. So Ken, do you own LasVegasPeregrines/Peregrine.com ?
James
Call me skeptical, but I don’t think Peregrines ever stood a chance of winning. The Peregrines played the role of The Washington Generals.
Tom
I still don’t understand how someone can hijack a name like LasVegasPerilegrines.com when the real website would be LasVegasPeregrines.n hl.com? I wouldn’t be surprised if he had someone purchase it just to rule it out as an option. After he reneged on the “name the team contest,” nothing would surprise me.
Tom
If it really is the 4 mentioned, then I like:
1. Peregrines
2. Nights
3. Neon Knights (So at least the colors will be different enough so that when we play L A. we don’t keep passing the puck to Kings players by accident)
4. Silver Knights
Based on Murphy’s Law coupled with my bad luck, it’ll be Silver Knights.
Julian Carracino
Knights and lets getting this going already.
Nothing with 2 last names
If you look around pro sports there are very few
Reuben DeBoer
Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Red Wings…. ya two worded sports teams never make it….
A Fan
What should be mentioned here is not the 2 words, but 4 words. Las Vegas Silver Knights as an example. How many 4 word pro team names are there? Terrible idea marketing wise, and Mr. Foley wants to market jerseys, etc. internationally. Blackhawks is 1 word. It used to be 2 words (Black Hawks) but was changed some years ago. Shorter is usually better.
nick
It will be Silver Knights or our birds the Peregrines. For starters Silver for the State, Knights for Foley! Secondly Peregrines is a fan fav here and he may be listening. As far as neon goes, no way a grown man pro sports team are called Neon, it is the weakest image invoking name around. Maybe good for a girls cheer squad in fact neon knights may actually be a girls cheer team, no joke!
James
‘3. Neon Knights (So at least the colors will be different enough so that when we play L A. we don’t keep passing the puck to Kings players by accident)
4. Silver Knights’
Not sure if you saw the Silver Knights Jersey Concept, but the colours chosen were Blue White and Silver. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Foley is flexible on the colours. It’s a bit daft being called the Silver Knights, but playing in black, gold and gray.
https://sinbin.vegas/las-vegas-silver-knights-jersey-concept/
James
Bill Daly called Las Vegas a “unique market” for the league to consider. Neon Knights reflects uniqueness. I don’t think Las Vegas should act like a traditional hockey market. They should be themselves.
nick
If Silver Knights I am sure he was flexible on colors. Neon is unique alright but not to girls, signs, girls, makeup, girls, Miami, girls, etc. It’s a very un masculine name in my opinion. Time will tell but Mr Foley doesn’t give off Neon vibes 🙂
Tom
@James,
I didn’t see the Silver Knights concept jersey, but my thinking is if Mr. Foley doesn’t want our opinion on the name, then I think it’s fairly safe to say he won’t take our opinion on the jersey either, which would be a shame because a lot of these concept jerseys are really nice.
Tom
Ok I just looked at the Silver Knights concept jersey and I gotta say it’s pretty badass. If we do get stuck with that horrible name (which I think we will) I hope either Mr. Foley considers this jersey (probably won’t) or Adidas convinces him to go with something that isn’t overly silver. I’m a huge LA Kings fan, which is the main reason why I’m against anything Knights related. I know I should just be happy with whatever we get, and I know it’s Mr. Foley’s money, but when he pitched the idea of the team, he said ticket holders would get to pick the name. I honestly think he’s afraid we won’t pick one that includes “Knights” in the name so he changed his mind about thr contest.
Dave
I believe a big reason why he didn’t go through a “name contest” was dealing with NHL approval. Sure he could have given out a list of names to vote on, but dealing with the NHL can be a bitch.
Tom
@Dave,
Maybe, but I believe the 4 names that are in the running are all NHL worthy, so why not let us pick? Because we might pick the bird name lol. It’s so obvious to me but hell I could be wrong.
nick
Let the man have his Silver Knights! He did give us NHL hockey, name aside that is what counts.
Tom
I know I should try to look at it that way Nick. I’ll try man. Whats funny to me is Westpoint basically said screw you to the idea of using Black Knights. If I was him in my mind I’d be like “fine screw you to Westpoint, I was trying to give you props.” And then I’d do something totally unrelated to my alma mater who didn’t let me show my love for them. But that’s me. This guy is loyal af.
Timothy Pietrzak
I just like how there is a forum going.. hopefully soon we can have hockey discussions. .. I agree with Dave about the pain in ass a naming contest would be.. and people would’ve picked Aces over n over(i hates it)… I say Go Las Vegas Silverbacks.. RAWR!! Welcome to the Jungle.. (Tarzan Yodel)
James
@Tom,
I don’t think it’s wise at all for the Silver Knights to don Silver and Black with the Oakland Raiders possibly moving to town. The Raiders have made those colours iconic on and off the gridiron. The LA Kings followed their lead. The Silver Knights should form their own identity.
As for the name, there are so many similarities between knights and the modern hockey player – Knights were warriors. They were heavily armored soldiers who rode on horseback. Only the wealthiest nobles could afford to be a knight. They needed very expensive armor, weapons, and a powerful war horse.
Tom
@James,
I don’t think Knights is a bad name for a hockey team (if we could have just Knights). I just think it feels like for a Pacific Division team name the idea is kinds played out. A one word name would be great.
Michael
One possibility no-one has mentioned: Las Vegas White Knights. I only bring this up because I see lasvegaswhiteknights.com was registered TODAY, with privacy protection through Panama. Hmmmm….
A Fan
But whomever bought it, didn’t grab lasvegaswhiteknight.com also. Hopefully a team employee would know enough to do that. Probably someone domain speculating.
Michael
I hope so! I am not sure if White Knights is any better than Black Knights. I just though the timing was weird with Foley basically saying he expected to know more after that video conference today.
Michael
They did buy lvwhiteknights.com also.
Tom
One less sylable. That’s a little better I guess.
James
@Tom
4 word pro team names are taking a beating on here, but Las Vegas Neon Knights has the same amount of letters as 3 word pro team Columbus Blue Jackets. I haven’t checked the other names.
I agree that some four-word names are too much. ‘Greater Western Sydney Giants’ is a mouthful, but is there much difference between Las Vegas Neon Knights and Columbus Blue Jackets. Las, Vegas, Neon and Knights are all relatively short words.
A Fan
There are not any pro 4 word team names for a reason. And I’ll be very surprised if Mr. Foley decides to be the first to do so.
Michael
@James
Good point. If we break it down by syllables, we have 6 in Las Vegas Neon Knights.
other notables:
Montreal Canadiens: 7
Carolina Hurricanes: 7
Arizona Coyotes: 7
Philadelphia Flyers: 7
Colorado Avalanche: 7
Toronto Maple Leafs: 6
Columbus Blue Jackets: 6
Ottawa Senators: 6
Washington Capitals: 6
Okay, I have way too much time on my hands today.
nick
It’s not whiteknights, neonknights, it’s SilverKnights, watch. Why? Foley came up with it 1 year 5 months ago as an alt to black. It reps Nevada and him, neon does not, it’s feminine and means nothing to Foley. White? What is this another Disney team lol their captain is Ken doll Tom Brady lmao. Silver Knights 100%
Michael
@nick
Despite all the speculation, I still think Silver Knights is the most likely at this point too.
Michael
A question to everyone – we are all kind of assuming Peregrines is the bird, even though Foley told Ken there are issues with pronunciation. Any ideas as to what the bird might be if not Peregrines? Vultures, maybe?
Ken Boehlke
The reason I used Peregrines as my bird guess was just an educated guess. It could absolutely be something else. Reasons are that A) Foley had mentioned it and said”there were some issues” not “Ken, we aren’t using that name” which is what he told me about Rat Pack. B) There’s no team or business or anything that could have a conflict for trademarks. C) There is a connection to Vegas. D) The fact that Peregrines are the fastest animal on the planet fits very well with the marketing the NHL uses.
Thunderbird would be my next most likely guess, but there’s no doubt there can be TM issues with that name.
Michael
Thanks Ken, that makes sense. From the quote to Brian Blessing it sounds like the Knight variations may have the upper hand anyway. At least we don’t have to wait so much longer to find out!
Ken Boehlke
I agree with that. The favorite is Silver Knights but I think Nights is the best option of the four.
nick
Yes and yes, I agree with above 100%
nick
Meaning yes Silver Knights odds on Foley fav.
A Fan
C’mon now Ken. Peregrines is actually a great name in a lot of ways, and I’m sure is a no brainer as far as any trademark issues, etc. A cool logo can be made with that bird also. And to the lucky guy who owns the domain names… *wink* *wink*
Ken Boehlke
I swear to you I do not own any domain names outside of the ones relevant to this website.
A Fan
Ok. Do you know who owns the Peregrines domain names mentioned earlier?
Nicky
I heard somewhere can’t remember where .. Night owls is possible ??
nick
LOL yes of course owls lol
James
First time I’ve heard of Night Owls. For those concerned about a team mascot for the Las Vegas Nights, an owl would go over well with the kiddies. You wouldn’t need an owl in the logo.
Not sure how I feel about Night Owls, it’s so far removed from the original proposal of Black Knights. I need time to let it marinate, but I’m inclined to put it above Silver Knights on my Big Board.
Tim
I like peregrines. The nickname will be the perrys or the grines.
Silverknights works if you say it as one word. Aces would have been perfect with a spade and a fighter jet
James
@Nicky
Regarding Night Owls, it’s just Sports Illustrated’s Allan Muir taking a wild stab in the dark. He wrote the following:
“It’s not Black Knights,” Foley said. “That’s been vetted, and there were too many objections from my alma mater [West Point] and then [we got] some push-back from some other people, so we’ve put that one aside. But the name is going to have … Knights somewhere in some fashion, some way. Or, there’s one particular animal, a bird, that we have available to us that we might use.”
Hmmm … Night Owls, perhaps?
http://www.si.com/nhl/2016/08/10/las-vegas-nhl-expansion-team-name
nick
I read that and yes, just a joke, no Night anything ever mentioned by Foley. Just a wishful Ken’s thinking!
Kenny
Don’t be surprised if its the NIGHT HAWKS
A Fan
I have to admit, since I guess my #1 choice of Las Vegas Mustangs isn’t an option, I’m really starting to like Peregrines. I don’t believe they will do Nighthawks, too similar to Blackhawks. Even the new name for NCAA hockey champions North Dakota is now the Fighting Hawks. Falcons sounds boring. The whole Knights/Nights thing is sounding worse every day. I’ll put my money on Las Vegas Peregrines as the winner.
Ken Ongtengco
Instead of Peregrines, how about just Falcons?
nick
I would be very surprised!
Ken Ongtengco
Nevada Falcons?
Tom
Maybe it’s the Night Knights. Hahaha
nick
If up to some lol
Liam Rogers
Why the hell should VEGAS care what a Semi pro team in LONDON thinks. Branding wise, all they need is Los Vegas if front of everything and has differnt colors they are legal proof. You cannot claim a team name for all eternity for teams not even in the same league or level.
K2D9
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE not the Nights or Neon Knights! Both are absolutely dreadful choices.
Silver Knights is meh, but Peregrines is by far the best choice of the 4 (if it is indeed the bird still in the running). It’s original, has something to do with southern Nevada, has a ton of flexibility from a marketing standpoint, and it is a fast & nasty bird of prey. Great choice!
Tom
@Liam,
I was thinking the same thing. Doesn’t make sense. But now it looks like it’s gonna be Nighthawks, Desert Hawks it Red Hawks, if the report is true (please be true, please be true)
Tom
@Ken,
Have you heard whether the “hawk” names are a fallback in case Silver Knights doesn’t work? I’m thinking just because he trademarked those names, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s take them over Silver Knights, which he also trademarked. Your thoughts?
Ken Boehlke
I feel as clueless as everyone else on this one unfortunately. Literally everything I know is on the site. It kind of sucks that I don’t have anything else to offer.
Tom
Not your fault lol. They’re being as secretive as they can. Keep up the good work man.
Michael Marstellar
Las Vegas Horsemen
Edmond Bavzee
From the start, Foley has made it clear that his preferred team name is the Black Knights , which is appropriate given the club s location. Unfortunately, things have been difficult with the Knights nickname.