National Hockey League team set to begin play in 2024
The
Utah Hockey Club
is a professional
ice hockey
expansion team
that will be based in
Salt Lake City
. The team will compete in the
National Hockey League
(NHL) as a member of the
Central Division
in the
Western Conference
, and will begin play during the league's
2024?25 season
. The team will play its home games at the
Delta Center
, the home of the
Utah Jazz
of the
National Basketball Association
(NBA), with plans being made to remodel the arena to make it more suitable for both franchises.
[4]
On April 18, 2024, the NHL Board of Governors approved the establishment of a franchise in Salt Lake City, to be owned by businessman and Jazz owner
Ryan Smith
. In lieu of an
expansion draft
, to stock the new team, Utah acquired the hockey assets of the
Arizona Coyotes
franchise, which suspended hockey operations at the same time.
[5]
The team will play its inaugural season in 2024?25 with a temporary name and colors, while a full identity is developed in time for 2025?26.
[6]
[7]
The team's name, colors and jerseys for their inaugural season were revealed on June 13, 2024.
[8]
History
Background and establishment
History of ice hockey in Salt Lake City
Professional minor-league ice hockey has been played in Salt Lake City since 1969, primarily at the
Salt Palace
(above) and the
Maverik Center
(below).
Prior to the arrival of the NHL, Salt Lake City had limited ice hockey history. The first team to call the area home, the minor-league
Salt Lake Golden Eagles
, played 25 seasons across the
Western Hockey League
(WHL),
Central Hockey League
(CHL), and
International Hockey League
(IHL) from 1969 to 1994. Playing out of the
Salt Palace
for their first 22 seasons and the then-new
Delta Center
for their final three, the Golden Eagles won two
Adams Cup
championships in the CHL and two
Turner Cup
championships in the IHL, before ultimately being sold and relocating to
Auburn Hills, Michigan
, as the
Detroit Vipers
after the
1993?94 IHL season
.
After just one season out of ice hockey, Salt Lake received another IHL franchise in 1995, as the reigning Turner Cup champion
Denver Grizzlies
, having been replaced by the newly relocated
Colorado Avalanche
of the NHL, relocated to the Delta Center for the
1995?96 season
as the Utah Grizzlies. The Grizzlies spent two seasons in Salt Lake City proper, including a second consecutive Turner Cup championship in 1996; notably, the Cup-clinching game 4 of the Turner Cup Finals saw an attendance of 17,381, at the time the largest attendance in minor-league ice hockey history.
[9]
The Grizzlies later moved to the newly constructed
E Center
(since renamed the Maverik Center) in the suburb of
West Valley City
for the
1997?98 IHL season
, and joined the
American Hockey League
(AHL) in
2001
alongside five other surviving IHL franchises upon the latter's collapse. However, the Grizzlies voluntarily suspended operations for the
2005?06 season
, before being sold to
Dan Gilbert
, the owner of the NBA's
Cleveland Cavaliers
, and relocating to
Cleveland, Ohio
, as the
Lake Erie Monsters
(later Cleveland Monsters) for the
2007?08 season
.
The AHL iteration of the Grizzlies were subsequently replaced by a relocated
ECHL
franchise
of the same name
; the franchise had most recently played in
Lexington, Kentucky
, as the
Lexington Men O' War
but had become dormant after the
2002?03 ECHL season
. The new Grizzlies began play out of the E Center in
2005
, immediately after their AHL predecessor had gone dormant, and have played 19 seasons in the ECHL since. However, the franchise has been comparatively unsuccessful; although they have missed the playoffs only three times, they have won just one division championship and no conference championships, only having reached the conference finals twice.
The Delta Center has hosted multiple
Los Angeles Kings
preseason games as part of the NHL's
Frozen Fury
series.
[10]
[11]
However, the arena was not considered well suited to host ice hockey permanently, owing to poor sightlines and broadcasting capabilities.
[12]
The Maverik Center, and the
Peaks Ice Arena
in the suburb of
Provo
, hosted the
ice hockey tournaments
at the
2002 Winter Olympics
in Salt Lake City, which featured NHL players. Salt Lake City is also the preferred host city for the
2034 Winter Olympics
.
[13]
Establishment of the team
Salt Lake City initially emerged as a potential NHL destination in June 2023, with rumors regarding the
Arizona Coyotes
' potential relocation spreading after the failure of the
New Tempe Arena
referendum.
[14]
Six months later, in January 2024,
Ryan Smith
, owner of the NBA's
Utah Jazz
and co-owner of
Major League Soccer
's
Real Salt Lake
, petitioned the NHL to begin the process of expansion to
Salt Lake City
. Discussions to bring an expansion team to the city were revealed to have been underway since early 2022,
[15]
with the
Utah State Senate
passing tax legislation in February 2024 to support a new ice hockey-capable downtown arena proposed by Smith; the only condition asked by the Senate was that any potential team be branded "Utah" to honor the state in general, as opposed to any branding using Salt Lake City.
[16]
On April 13, 2024, it was reported that, with the NHL's permission, the Coyotes were making efforts to relocate to Salt Lake City following concerns about an indefinite timeframe on a new arena and the effects of continued play at the 4,600-seat
Mullett Arena
.
[17]
The deal became official on April 18 after the NHL Board of Governors voted to establish a team in Utah using the Coyotes' hockey assets;
[18]
under the terms of the agreement, rather than a formal relocation the Coyotes will be considered "inactive", with Utah regarded as an
expansion team
in a similar situation to the
Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens
of the
National Football League
.
While the deal was reported in the media as a $1.2 billion "sale" of the Coyotes,
[19]
[20]
it is in reality two separate transactions in which $1 billion is being paid by the NHL to
Alex Meruelo
for the Coyotes franchise while Smith is paying a $1.2 billion expansion fee to the NHL's other owners. The $200 million difference is thus in effect a
de facto
relocation fee to be shared equally by the other 31 NHL clubs.
[21]
According to Smith, the team sold more than 11,000 season-ticket deposits in the four hours after going on sale, with 6,000 sold in the first two hours.
[22]
The team was formally introduced at the Delta Center on April 26, with over 12,000 fans attending a welcome celebration featuring players and coaches.
[23]
[24]
On May 6, the Smith Entertainment Group announced that a practice facility would be built for the team in the nearby suburb of
Sandy, Utah
.
[25]
On June 13, the NHL announced that the sale of the franchise had officially been completed and that the team would go by the name "Utah Hockey Club" for their inaugural season.
[1]
On June 17, Utah made their first official player signing, with former Coyotes third-round pick
Noel Nordh
signing his three-year entry-level contract.
[26]
Team identity
Initial announcement logo
Name
The team was initially introduced without a name, though Smith confirmed on April 18, 2024, that the franchise would use the "Utah" state moniker, rather than Salt Lake City.
[27]
[18]
After emphasizing not wanting to "rush" the naming process, Smith announced on April 22 that the team identity would be chosen via an eight-name bracket, voted on by fans using the Smith-founded
Qualtrics
platform.
[28]
In the days surrounding the team's founding, a law firm filed trademarks for a multitude of names on behalf of an anonymously owned LLC; these included Utah Hockey Club (Utah HC), Blizzard, Fury, Venom, Yetis, Outlaws, Ice, and Mammoth.
[28]
[29]
On May 8, the Smith Entertainment Group confirmed the team would play their first season simply named "Utah", with no logo, mascot, or official team colors, and "Utah" written across the jerseys.
[30]
At the same time, SEG released a Qualtrics poll featuring the 20 name finalists. The options included Black Diamonds, Blast, Blizzard, Canyons, Caribou, Freeze, Frost, Fury, Glaciers, Utah HC (Hockey Club), Hive, Ice, Mammoth, Mountaineers, Outlaws, Powder, Squall, Swarm, Venom, and Yeti.
[6]
[7]
On May 29, Smith confirmed on the
Pat McAfee Show
that the club had narrowed the list down to four names, specifically mentioning the Mammoth and the Yeti.
[31]
On June 6, however, the six finalists were revealed to be Blizzard, Utah HC, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom, and Yeti, and a second round of polling began.
[32]
On June 13, it was announced that the team would be known as the
Utah Hockey Club
for the
2024?25 NHL season
.
[8]
Logo, colors, and uniforms
On June 13, the same day that the temporary name was revealed, the team also released their logos, colors, and jerseys for the inaugural season; the primary logo depicts a roundel with a "Utah" wordmark in the center, ringed with "Hockey Club" and colored with mountain blue, rock black, and salt white. The secondary logo features a "Utah Hockey Club" wordmark over an outline of Utah itself.
[8]
The home uniforms consisted of a black base with a diagonal "UTAH" wordmark across the front, with blue and white striping, with the road uniforms utilizing a white base with black and blue striping.
[33]
Team information
Broadcasting
Television
On April 18, 2024, shortly after the establishment of the team, it was announced that the team had reached an agreement with the
E.W. Scripps Company
to broadcast Utah NHL games on their
Provo
-based station
KUPX-TV
.
[34]
KUPX, branded as Utah 16, had previously served as a regional affiliate of the
Vegas Golden Knights
' television network,
[35]
and also broadcast select
Arizona Coyotes
games.
[36]
Players and personnel
Current roster
Updated June 3, 2024
[37]
[38]
Owners
The team is owned by Smith Entertainment Group, which is controlled by businessman
Ryan Smith
and his wife Ashley Smith.
[39]
General managers
Head coaches
References
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.
There could be a new arena -- eventually. Meruelo had been pursuing a tract of land in north Phoenix to build it. When delays pushed the land auction until June, the NHL and the players' association got cold feet about continuing to play at Mullett Arena, the loud-but-bandbox-sized venue shared with Arizona State University. Meruelo was adamant about not selling the team despite constant offers since he bought in 2019, but he also didn't want the players stuck playing in a 5,000-seat arena -- by far the NHL's smallest -- that wasn't up to league standards. With no guarantee he would have an arena and with no other options, Meruelo agreed to sell the franchise.
- ^
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External links
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Franchise
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Culture and lore
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