Utah Hockey Didn’t Exist Six Months Ago. It’s Debuting to Major Buzz

The Utah Hockey Club completes its rebrand Tuesday night when it hosts the Blackhawks to cap off the NHL’s opening-night tripleheader of games on ESPN. The puck is dropping in North America after the Devils swept the Sabres in a two-game global series in Prague over the weekend.

Salt Lake City’s new NHL franchise has gone through a wild ride this year:

• Just six months ago, the team completed the 2023–2024 season as the Arizona Coyotes.
• The NHL moved swiftly in buying the team from owner Alex Meruelo and reselling it to Ryan Smith, who also owns the NBA’s Jazz and is a co-owner of Real Salt Lake (MLS) and the Utah Royals (NWSL). Smith then relocated the franchise to Utah.
• It took just two months for Smith & Co. to land on the interim name of Utah Hockey Club for at least this season. Permanent options range from the Yeti and Glaciers to the Mountaineers and Mammoth. 
• With Utah playing in the Delta Center (also the home of the Jazz), Smith and local officials are nearing a $900 million deal to help fund upgrades to the arena and the surrounding area.

Now, as the season begins, Utah is a major part of the NHL’s expected continued growth.

Hitting the Ice

The hype has been building around Utah all summer and into the fall ahead of the franchise’s regular-season debut.

“You felt the general enthusiasm from the public—and that started with an Uber ride to dinner right after we first landed here,” Bill Armstrong, the club’s general manager, tells Front Office Sports senior reporter A.J. Perez, who is in Salt Lake City covering the special occasion.

“There’s a fascination with having their own NHL team in this market,” Armstrong says. “There’s already been a lot of powerful moments that we’ve had with this community and it’s still early on. We want to be community-obsessed and we want to pay them back for that emotion that they gave us on the first day.”

Utah head coach André Tourigny is ready to get the season started. “So far, everything that’s been promised has been delivered,” he told the media in Salt Lake City on Monday. “I think the enthusiasm around the team is through the roof.”

“We have a great opportunity to start in front of our fans with a lot of energy,” Tourigny said. Utah will go on a three-game road trip after their home opener.