Five Potential Names For Houston NHL Expansion Team
The National Hockey League is the latest of the four major professional sports leagues to expand in recent years adding the Las Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2021.
These additions finally brought the NHL up to the NFL's 32 teams. But now the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman are interested in expanding once again, with a U.S. professional record of 33 teams and maybe more as well.
Houston has been a long-rumored destination for the NHL. For one, it has three professional teams: the NBA's Rockets, the NFL's Texans, and the MLB's Astros. Second, the city had a try at hockey with the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros from 1994 to 2013. The team was forced to relocate after the Houston Rocket's owner at the time demanded very high rent to share the arena. Despite high popularity, the team had to leave town.
While Houston has not bid for an expansion team, there has been some interest, and over the next few years, more information could be released on whether a possibility is likely. But it is time to think about what that potential NHL team in Houston could be called. Here are five names for a potential NHL expansion team in H-Town.
Houston Aeros
The Aeros were a beloved team and should be the obvious choice if the NHL relocates to Houston. They could choose to bring back the AHL team's green and blue color scheme or go bold and use dark blue and powder blue like the WHA team in the 1970s.
Houston Comets
Fitting with Houston's space theme, the Comets could be a dark horse name for the Houston expansion team. The logo could be similar to the NBA's Orlando Magic or the Edmonton Oilers' oil drop, and the jerseys could feature a colorful gradient as well.
Houston Voyagers
The third and final space-themed name on this list, the Voyagers, could represent an astronaut for its logo. While boring, a red and navy color scheme would fit well with this name. The jerseys could also take note from the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League.
Houston Bulls
A long time ago I saw a Houston Bulls concept team by a graphic designer named Dylan Nowak and I thought he did a really good job. The bull logo was fantastic, the jerseys were clean and simple, and it felt like it belonged to Houston. If the NHL expands to Houston, they should hire him to design the team as the Houston Bulls would be a really good choice.
Houston Herons
Could the official state bird of Houston boast the name of a successful hockey team? While it is a long shot, the Herons would be original and unique and would bring some creative jerseys and logos.
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS:
Order your favorite whiskey or spirit for the big game right to your doorstep and use code STADIUMRANT10 for a 10% discount at Caskers
Use code STADIUMRANT20 for a 20% discount at Bulletproof Coffee, SwingJuice and Performix.
If you love to shotgun beers, use code STADIUMRANT10 at Wild Man Drinking Company.
MORE FROM STADIUM RANT:
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here.
Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe!