List of ice hockey nicknames

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

This is a list of nicknames in the sport of ice hockey.

Players

The following are hockey players listed by their last name along with nicknames.

Teams

The origin of the nickname(s) (if known) it is noted below. Several of the above are simply shortened names or plays on the current team name or jersey.

• "Broad Street Bullies" – Philadelphia Flyers: during the team's Stanley Cup runs during the 1970s, their home ice was the Spectrum on Broad Street in South Philadelphia. The team currently plays in the Wells Fargo Center (which is also on Broad Street.)
• "Buds" – Toronto Maple Leafs: probably based on the team's use of a leaf as a logo
• "Cats" - Florida Panthers: the Panther is a cat
• "Fishsticks" - New York Islanders: the Islanders' uniforms for two seasons (1995–97) featured a logo of what looked like the Gorton fisherman holding a hockey stick. Rival fans (especially Rangers fans) poked fun at the uniforms, playing up the Gorton's resemblance, hence the derisive nickname.
• "Les Glorieux" (French, "The Glorious Ones") – Montreal Canadiens
• "The 'Note" St. Louis Blues: abbreviation of "bluenote"
• "'Nucks" – Vancouver Canucks (Local Press and fans)
• "Les Rouges" – Montreal Canadiens: after the red colour of their jerseys
• "Slugs" - Buffalo Sabres: A disparaging nickname derived from their logo, which resembles a cross between a buffalo and a slug.
• "Swords" - Buffalo Sabres: A nickname derived from their title, the "sabres", which is a sword
• "Sabs"-Buffalo Sabres: An abbreviation of the name "sabres".
• "Le Tricolore" (French, "The Tricolour") – Montreal Canadiens: after the flag of France, which has the same colour scheme (blue-white-red)
• "Tomales" – Toronto Maple Leafs: Taken from the first two letters of the teams full name ('TO'ronto 'MA'aple 'LE'afS)
• "Dead Wings" - Detroit Red Wings: Nickname given by the rivaled Hawks fans
• "La sainte flanelle" (French, "The holy flannel") - Montreal Canadiens : Maurice Richard came back on the ice after being cut to the head to score the Stanley Cup winning goal against Boston Bruins in 1953. His jersey was full of blood.

Arenas

This is a list of hockey arena nicknames and their home teams; nicknames are often merely abbreviations of the full name; otherwise, the origin of the nickname (if known) is noted.

• "The Aud" – Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York; former home of the Buffalo Sabres (1970–1996)
• "The Bank"" - Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario; current home of the Ottawa Senators (1996-); as in 'two points in the bank' and reference to corporate sponsor
• "The Barn" – Windsor Arena, Windsor, Ontario; as Border Cities Arena, the former home of the Detroit Cougars (1926–1927); in reference to its appearance
• "The Bat Cave" – Luedecke Arena, Austin, Texas, home of the Austin Ice Bats; in reference to the home team
• "The Big Mac" – McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado; former home of the Denver Spurs (1975–1976), the Colorado Rockies (1976–1982), and the Colorado Avalanche (1995–1999)
• "The Bulb" – Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Thrashers; in reference to the arena's sponsor Philips major products, lightbulbs.
• "The Can" - Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado, home of the Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Mammoth and the Colorado Crush; in reference to the arena's sponsor
• "The Checkerdome" - St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, former home of the St. Louis Blues. Now demolished. in reference to Ralston Purina, who owned the team for a period of time. Also referred to as "The Barn", due to its decrepit appearance and its former function as an indoor agricultural center and use for horse fairs.
• "The Coliseum" - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Long Island, New York; home of the New York Islanders
• "The Dome" – Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta; home of the Calgary Flames; a play on the name "Saddledome"
• "Fort Neverlose" – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York; home of the New York Islanders; a reference to the Islanders dominance on home ice during the 80's dynasty
• "Fort Knox" – First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York; home of the Buffalo Sabres; a reference to the Sabres' original owners Seymour and Northrup Knox
• "F.U. Center" – First Union Center, former name of the Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; home of the Philadelphia Flyers, a play on the euphemism "F.U."
• "The Garage" – GM Place, Vancouver, British Columbia; home of the Vancouver Canucks; a reference to the arena's sponsor, General Motors
• "The Gahden" - TD Banknorth Garden or Boston Garden, Boston; Home of the Boston Bruins
• "The Garden" – Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York; home of the New York Rangers
• "The Hangar" – Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario; home of the Toronto Maple Leafs; a reference to the arena's sponsor, Air Canada. Also refers to American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, home of the Dallas Stars.
• "Hockeytown" – Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan; home of the Detroit Red Wings
• "The House that Al Built" - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Long Island, New York; home of the New York Islanders; a reference to the legendary coach, Al Arbour.
• "The Ice Palace" - (now known as the St. Pete Times Forum) Tampa, Florida; original name of the Tampa Bay Lightning's arena. Local fans frequently still call it that.
• "The Igloo" – Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; home of the Pittsburgh Penguins; a reference to how the arena from the outside looks like an igloo. Also a reference to ice and cold, despite igloos being arctic and penguins being Antarctic.
• "JLA" – Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan; home of the Detroit Red Wings
• "The Joe" – Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan; home of the Detroit Red Wings
• "Kålleseum" - Scandinavium, home of the Frölunda Indians; pronounced exactly like Colosseum, Kålle is a fictional character associated with inhabitants of Gothenburg where the arena is located.
• "MSG" – Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York; home of the New York Rangers
• "The Madhouse on Madison (Street)" – Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois; former (1929–1994) home of the Chicago Blackhawks; from the noise attributed to the fabled Barton organ that was played during hockey games there
• "The Mausoleum" - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Long Island, New York; home of the New York Islanders A Pejorative alluding to the Coliseum quality & condition as viewed by fans of rival teams, typically those in the mid atlantic division.
• "The Marina" – First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York; home of the Buffalo Sabres; a portmanteau of "Marine Midland Arena", its former name
• "The Meadowlands" or "Meadowlands Arena" – former name that the fans and the media still reference to the Continental Airlines Arena (now the Izod Center), East Rutherford, New Jersey; former home of the New Jersey Devils
• "The Old Red Barn" – Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan; former (1927–1986) home of the Detroit Red Wings; from its appearance
• "The Phil" – Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Thrashers
• "The Phone Booth" - Verizon Center, Washington, DC; home of the Washington Capitals; from it being named after a phone company
• "The Pond, Ponda Center" - Honda Center, Anaheim, California; home of the Anaheim Ducks; a reference to both the team and the arena's original name, Arrowhead Pond.
• "The Rat Trap" – Miami Arena, Miami, Florida; former home of the Florida Panthers; from the fact the fans littered the ice with plastic rats in the 1996 playoffs. Based on an incident involving Scott Mellanby and a live rat found in the locker room.
• "The Rock"^[125] - Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey; home of the New Jersey Devils; from Prudential's prior advertising campaign encouraging others to "own a piece of the rock".
• "The Shark Tank" – HP Pavilion at San Jose, San Jose, California; home of the San Jose Sharks; a reference to the team's name or "The Cow Palace" - a reference to the Sharks original home, as they once played in the California State Livestock Pavilion in Daly City prior to the construction of their new arena in San Jose. The Cow Palace was unique as it was the only building to host a professional sports franchise with extensive stable and barn facilities for animal events, which are used for the annual Grand National Rodeo and occasionally for other events.
• "Smashville" - Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee; home of the Nashville Predators.
• "The Swamp"^[126] - Continental Airlines Arena (now the Izod Center), East Rutherford, New Jersey; former home of the New Jersey Devils; a reference to the swampy area it sits on.
• "The Thunderdome" - St. Petersburg, Florida; nickname of Florida Suncoast Dome (now known as Tropicana Field and the current home of the Tampa Bay Rays), where the Tampa Bay Lightning played before the "Ice Palace" (now known as St. Pete Times Forum) was built in Tampa. Reference to the high incidents of lightning strikes in the area, it's a dome and a play on the team's name (Lightning), as well as a reference to the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
• "The UC" - United Center, Chicago, Illinois; Home of the Chicago Blackhawks (1994–Present)
• "The White House" – Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba; former home of the Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) and the Manitoba Moose (1996–2004); named for the Winnipeg White Out, where Winnipeg fans would wear white clothing for an attention-grabbing "Sea of White" effect
• "The World's Most Famous Arena" – Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York; home of the New York Rangers.
• "The 'X'" – Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota; home of the Minnesota Wild
• "The Old Barn, The Arena, The Checkerdome" - The Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, home of the St. Louis Eagles 1934-35, St. Louis Blues from 1967–1994
• "The Fort" - K-Rock Centre, Kingston, Ontario, home of the Kingston Frontenacs; in reference to the remaining walls of Fort Frontenac beside the arena

Notes and references

See also

• Nickname
• List of ice hockey linemates
• List of athletes by nickname
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of historical personages