In general news and sports coverage, the full city and team name should be used on first reference in copy.
However, in all headlines and on first reference in copy where the NHL context is obvious, only the full team name needs to be used: Flyers drop Game 3 as power play falters again; The Ducks begin a five-game road trip Thursday.
Below are common nicknames for each team, all of which are acceptable on subsequent reference in copy. Nicknames with a caret (^) are the preferred name, whereas nicknames with an asterisk (*) should be used sparingly, if at all.
| Anaheim Ducks | |
| Boston Bruins | B’s |
| Buffalo Sabres | |
| Calgary Flames | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Canes |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Hawks |
| Colorado Avalanche | Avs |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Jackets |
| Dallas Stars | |
| Detroit Red Wings | Wings |
| Edmonton Oilers | the Oil |
| Florida Panthers | |
| Los Angeles Kings | |
| Minnesota Wild | |
| Montreal Canadiens | Habs |
| Nashville Predators | Preds |
| New Jersey Devils | |
| New York Islanders | Isles |
| New York Rangers | Broadway Blueshirts, Blueshirts |
| Ottawa Senators | Sens |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Broad Street Bullies, Bullies |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Pens |
| San Jose Sharks | |
| Seattle Kraken | |
| St. Louis Blues | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Bolts |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Leafs |
| Utah Mammoth | |
| Vancouver Canucks | ‘Nucks* |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Knights |
| Washington Capitals | Caps |
| Winnipeg Jets |
