Is Utah Mammoth Already an A-Tier Logo In The NHL?

Just a season ago, Utah Hockey Club was a brand-new team trying to fit into its new Utah environment and transition away from its former identity in Arizona.

Just a season ago, Utah Hockey Club was a brand-new team trying to fit into its new Utah environment and transition away from its former identity in Arizona.

Come the 2025–26 season, change will come again, as Utah Hockey Club will no longer suit up under that name, making way for its new identity: the Utah Mammoth.

Anything beats the old Utah Hockey Club puck logo from the team’s first season, and the aggressive Mammoth logo is already seen as a major upgrade.

But now that Utah has a real logo for the foreseeable future, it also faces added scrutiny, especially since it’ll be compared to 31 other NHL teams.

So in this article, Utah’s new logo will be evaluated based on three categories: Creativity, Originality, and Historical Impact. Each category will receive a letter grade, followed by an overall final grade.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

For starters, the ‘Mountain Mammoth’ does a nice job of incorporating the current colors of the team’s uniforms while maintaining a more serious and intimidating design with the actual mammoth.

Credit is due to the design team for adding creative details to the logo as well.

Instead of simply focusing on the mammoth itself, the design cleverly includes the shape of Utah’s mountains at the top of its head, the Utah state outline as its ear, and a U-shaped tusk that ties in nicely with the team’s ‘U’ letter logo.

While the tusk isn’t as immediately recognizable as some other letter-based logos—like Calgary’s flaming ‘C’ or the semi-hidden ‘V’ in the Vegas’ Golden Knight logo—just incorporating a ‘U’ at all is a step above, as most NHL logos tend to commit to either a letter or a mascot, not both.

While the added details in Utah’s logo are certainly fun, it’s hard to forget how bold and creative the old Arizona Coyotes logo was. Though the serious-looking mammoth fits this mascot better, it’s difficult to compete with the uniquely artistic design of the Coyote.

The full-body depiction of the coyote gives it an edge, breaking from the modern trend of overly simplistic and polished logos. Its chaotic color palette and distinction as one of only two full-body logos in the league—alongside the Pittsburgh Penguins—make it particularly memorable.

Still, the Utah Mammoth logo is a strong start and adds another interesting design to the NHL’s already impressive collection. It also is much better than the Coyotes alternative red coyote head logo.

Paired with a strong uniform, Utah Mammoth stands out well, but it’s still tough to top Arizona’s previous design.

Besides the Alabama Crimson Tide having an iconic elephant mascot in “Big Al”, there is hardly any major sports team that has anything comparable to Utah Mammoth.

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Though some fans may still wish Utah had chosen the Outlaws, that name is much less original among major sports franchises, with teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Pirates having similar themes.

Utah never officially released any logo designs for the Outlaws, with only an unconfirmed leak offering an idea of what the logo might have looked like. In contrast, the ‘Mountain Mammoth’ is certainly more creative.

Compared to other NHL teams, Mammoth feels like a distinctive name, with the only connection being its ‘Ice Age’ link to the Nashville Predators.

But even with that prehistoric connection, it still feels unique. It doesn’t quite earn an A+ since Utah’s first logo choice, the Yetis, would have been even more original, but the Mammoth is a really strong alternative.

This is certainly a tricky task for a new team, as much of the history behind a logo develops over time in the league. That’s what makes logos like the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins so impactful, along with their well-received designs.

But credit must be given to the team for finding a Mammoth connection to Utah, given that actual Mammoth fossils have been found in the state.

So for that alone, Utah gets a boost in its grade for having an actual historical tie. But when people think of Utah, it’s more well known for the Mormon Pioneers, its unique landscapes, and even notorious outlaws like Butch Cassidy.

The main reason the logo receives the grade it does is simply because of its new look. The historical impact of a logo is about more than just the context behind the team’s name, it’s also about the logo’s impact within the NHL.

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When teams like the Winnipeg Jets or Minnesota Wild were established in the 2000s, their logos carried more impact because both cities had previously lost teams—to Dallas in Minnesota’s case, and, interestingly, Arizona in Winnipeg’s.

So while other teams have been reestablished or undergone new names, there still is important NHL history that helps strengthen their logos.

Similarly, NHL teams like the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins may have simple letter-based logos, but their century-old history gives those logos incredible weight.

For Utah, the new logo currently holds historical significance mainly tied to the state itself, rather than the NHL. Compared to its old Arizona Coyotes logo, it has less historical depth in its actual, as the Coyotes’ logo incorporated distinctive Native American-style art.

But Utah Mammoth also is shedding light on some Utah history that many people may not be aware of with its new name.

Source: Utah News