Las Vegas name search delayed by trademarks, NHL gambling stance

Two obstacles are standing in the way of Las Vegas' NHL franchise and its quest to find a name.

The amount of nicknames that have already been trademarked and the league's insistence on not using gambling references have kept the team's owner, Bill Foley, from approving a moniker for the new club.

"I didn't realize how complicated it was, and it is complicated," Foley said Wednesday at a press conference introducing general manager George McPhee, according to Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski. "We have a lot of names in mind, but they're trademarked."

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"(There are) various athletic teams and entities that may have a name that we're interested in," Foley said, adding that Las Vegas is working with Adidas and the NHL to resolve the trademark issues.

"Our goal is to have a logo and a team name ASAP. But we've got to do it properly. And we have to make sure that we have the right trademark."

There's also the betting issue.

"The league has made it very clear that the name really should not be associated with gambling and so on," Foley said.

That essentially rules out any playing card-related names like Aces or Black Aces, while the trademark issues would explain why the franchise hasn't been able to secure the rights to "Black Knights," Foley's preferred choice.

That's the name used by the U.S. Army, which would require negotiating with the government.

Foley also confirmed Wednesday that there won't be a name-the-team contest, because it would take too long and he's eager to move forward.

'We need a name," he said. "We need to get this done, and we need to get it behind us."