Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point but says that the naming of his NHL expansion team doesn't cross any lines with the U.S. Army, whose longtime elite parachute team also uses the nickname Golden Knights.

"I have complete respect for the US Army and all that it does for our nation," Foley told ESPN in an email after news surfaced that the U.S. Army was looking into the official naming of the 31st NHL franchise last week because of the shared nickname.

"Our development and use of the name Vegas Golden Knights was based upon Nevada being the largest gold producing state in the country and the golden tones of the Las Vegas strip," Foley wrote.