Utah NHL team

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Utah NHL team
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Founded2024
History2024–present
Home arenaDelta Center
CitySalt Lake City, Utah
Owner(s)Ryan Smith
General managerBill Armstrong
Head coachAndre Tourigny
CaptainVacant
Stanley Cups0
Conference championships0
Presidents' Trophy0
Division championships0
Official websitenhlinutah.com

The Utah NHL team is a professional ice hockey expansion team that will be based in Salt Lake City. The still-unnamed 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.[1]

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.[2] The team name, logo, and colors have yet to be announced, though it has been confirmed that the franchise will use the "Utah" state moniker, rather than Salt Lake City.[3]

History[edit]

Background and establishment[edit]

History of ice hockey in Salt Lake City[edit]

Further information: Ice hockey in Utah
Lighting of the Olympic flame by the 1980 U.S. men's ice hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

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hockey, Salt Lake received another IHL franchise in 1995, as the reigning Turner Cup champion Denver Grizzlies, having been replaced by the newly relocated Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, relocated to the Delta Center for the 1995–96 season as the Utah Grizzlies.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.[4] 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.

In addition to these teams, the Delta Center has previously hosted multiple Los Angeles Kings preseason games as part of the NHL's Frozen Fury series.[5][6] However, the arena was not considered well-suited to host ice hockey on a permanent basis, owing to poor sightlines and broadcasting capabilities.[7] Furthermore, the aforementioned Maverik Center, as well as the Peaks Ice Arena in the suburb of Provo, hosted Winter Olympics ice hockey in 2002, which featured NHL players.

Establishment of the team[edit]

Salt Lake City initially emerged as a potential NHL destination in June of 2023, with rumors regarding the Arizona Coyotes' potential relocation spreading after the failure of the New Tempe Arena referendum.[8] 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,[9] with the Utah State Senate passing tax legislation in February 2024 to support a new ice hockey-capable downtown arena proposed by Smith.[10]

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.[11] 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;[3] under the terms of the agreement, rather than a formal relocation the Coyotes franchise taking place 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,[12][13] it is in reality two separate transactions in which $1 billion is being paid by the NHL to 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16][17]

Team identity[edit]

Name[edit]

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.[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.[19] 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.[19][20]

Team information[edit]

Broadcasting[edit]

Television[edit]

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.[21] KUPX, branded as Utah 16, had previously served as a regional affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights' television network,[22] and also broadcast select Arizona Coyotes games.[23]

Players and personnel[edit]

Current roster[edit]

Updated April 19, 2024[24][25]

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
17 United States Nick Bjugstad C R 31 2024 Minneapolis, Minnesota
72 United States Travis Boyd Injured Reserve C R 30 2024 Edina, Minnesota
3 Canada Josh Brown D R 30 2024 London, Ontario
53 Canada Michael Carcone LW L 27 2024 Ajax, Ontario
92 United States Logan Cooley C L 19 2024 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
67 Canada Lawson Crouse LW L 26 2024 Mount Brydges, Ontario
33 Canada Travis Dermott D L 27 2024 Newmarket, Ontario
50 Canada Sean Durzi D R 25 2024 Toronto, Ontario
29 Canada Barrett Hayton C L 23 2024 Peterborough, Ontario
39 Canada Connor Ingram G L 27 2024 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
9 United States Clayton Keller LW/C L 25 2024 Chesterfield, Missouri
15 Canada Alexander Kerfoot C L 29 2024 Vancouver, British Columbia
63 Finland Matias Maccelli LW L 23 2024 Turku, Finland
22 Canada Jack McBain C L 24 2024 Toronto, Ontario
90 Switzerland J.J. Moser D L 23 2024 Zuchwil, Switzerland
38 Canada Liam O'Brien LW L 29 2024 Halifax, Nova Scotia
8 United States Nick Schmaltz C R 28 2024 Madison, Wisconsin
4 Finland Juuso Välimäki D L 25 2024 Tampere Finland
70 Czech Republic Karel Vejmelka G R 27 2024 Třebíč, Czech Republic


Owners[edit]

The team is owned by Smith Entertainment Group, which is controlled by businessman Ryan Smith and his wife Ashley.[26]

General managers[edit]

Head coaches[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Williams, Carter (April 19, 2024). "No new arena? Ryan Smith reveals new vision for Delta Center". www.ksl.com. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  2. ^ "NHL BOG approves establishment of new franchise in Utah". NHL.com. April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Cotsonika, Nicholas. "'Utah's ready for a team,' new owner says". NHL.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  4. ^ Turner, Tim (June 9, 1996). "ORLANDO OUSTED IN OT". Orlando Sentinel.
  5. ^ "LA Kings to Play Frozen Fury Preseason Game in Salt Lake City". NHL.com. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Salt Lake City Shows Out For Frozen Fury NHL Game". October 6, 2021.
  7. ^ Larsen, Andy (October 6, 2023). "The NHL's only Utahn thinks the state is ready for hockey's best. Is a major league team ready for Salt Lake?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2024. But the Delta Center simply isn't an ideal NHL venue at this time. Fans sitting in certain seats struggled to see the corners, TV cameras for the game had to be propped up in the row where broadcasters typically sit. The broadcasters and scorekeepers seated near me sometimes struggled to do their jobs as a result.
  8. ^ Cluff, Jeremy (June 6, 2023). "Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City? Relocation speculation swirls around NHL team in Utah". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Fox, Derick (January 24, 2024). "Utah sports mogul Ryan Smith submits bid to bring NHL to Salt Lake City". ABC4. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Romboy, Dennis (February 27, 2024). "Utah Senate passes bill for potential downtown hockey arena". Deseret News. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  11. ^ "Coyotes bid Arizona farewell with bittersweet win over Oilers". ESPN.com. April 17, 2024. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024. 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.
  12. ^ Friedman, Elliotte (April 10, 2024). "NHL, Arizona Coyotes preparing for possible relocation to Utah". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  13. ^ "Report: NHL, Coyotes make progress on framework for Utah relocation". Sportsnet.ca. April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  14. ^ Boudway, Ira (April 18, 2024). "Billionaire Ryan Smith Gets His NHL Team, Moving Arizona Coyotes to Utah". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Gould, Mike (April 18, 2024). "Ryan Smith says Utah NHL team has already sold more than 11,000 season ticket deposits". Daily Faceoff. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  16. ^ Cotsonika, Nicholas J. (April 25, 2024). "Players receive warm welcome from 12,400 fans in Utah". NHL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  17. ^ Romboy, Dennis (April 24, 2024). "'My best day in the NHL so far': Salt Lake shows up for new hockey club". Deseret News. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  18. ^ Cotsonika, Nicholas J. (April 18, 2024). "New NHL team will be called 'Utah Something'". NHL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Miller, Ryan (April 22, 2024). "Ryan Smith says NHL team name will be chosen by fan bracket". KSL News. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  20. ^ Holt, Chandler (April 24, 2024). "Two New Trademark Applications Submitted For Utah NHL Team Name". KSL Sports. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  21. ^ Tavss, Jeff (April 18, 2024). "Utah NHL games to air free on Utah 16". Fox 13. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Urban, Andrea (August 27, 2023). "Stanley Cup champions stop in Ogden on 'road trip'". KSTU. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  23. ^ McCarter, Rebecca (October 5, 2023). "Arizona Coyotes, Scripps Sports Form Multi-Year Broadcast Partnership". Scripps.com (Press release). Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  24. ^ "Arizona Coyotes Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  25. ^ "Arizona Coyotes Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  26. ^ Novy-Williams, Eben; Soshnick, Scott (April 18, 2024). "In Unique $1.2 Billion Coyotes Deal, Buyer Never Met Seller". Sportico.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.

External links[edit]

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