It’s official, Utah has an NHL team. Yes, it finally happened.
It’s been years in the making and that dream became a reality on Thursday as the National Hockey League Board of Governors voted to approve the sale of the franchise from Arizona to Utah.
So long Arizona Coyotes and hello Utah ____ (Yetis? Outlaws? Blizzard?).
Luckily there is still plenty of time to figure out the name of the team/logo with the regular season just coming to a close.
“It’s OK if we take the full process and don’t rush it, because we’re going to have it forever,” Ryan Smith told ESPN. “And look, it’s not ideal for me. I would love to come in and have it all picked out and ready to go.”
With the Beehive State now home, the new Utah hockey franchise will play at the Delta Center, a facility the Smiths own and which is also home to the Utah Jazz. According to Smith, they are going to work on improvements over the summer to outfit the arena for hockey, including building a hockey-specific locker room. The Delta Center will have 12,000 unobstructed seats for hockey games next season and the goal is to expand that even more (17,000+) over the coming years.
But just how popular is hockey in Utah? It’s more than you think.
11,000 and counting … Utah shows up! https://t.co/ZQa59eg8Ct
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) April 19, 2024
According to Smith, within the first two hours, more than 6,000 deposits were made. A couple hours later, that number jumped to 11,000. Considering the Coyotes were playing in front of 3-4K fans before, the environment these players are about to get in the Delta Center is going to be special.
Here’s all the reactions to the historic day as Utah adds another professional sports team to the Beehive State.
The @NHL is here! Utah let’s go! https://t.co/VwfWS2mkS9
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) April 18, 2024
The @NHL is coming to Utah 🗻#NHLinUtah
MORE: https://t.co/OEA5ebH6vS pic.twitter.com/yIGNNauPLI
— Delta Center (@deltacenter) April 18, 2024
Utah is an incredible place and will continue emerging as a prime destination for families to thrive, businesses to grow, and yes…sports! The Beehive State welcomes another world-class amenity with the @NHL https://t.co/LCeKAFD71B
— Steve Starks (@StevenStarks) April 18, 2024
Setting the stage 🧊#NHLinUtah pic.twitter.com/OOud65tZUC
— Delta Center (@deltacenter) April 18, 2024
“Ducks Fly Together” https://t.co/BBAlOqroOQ
— Justin Giles (@JustinGiles_) April 18, 2024
Can’t wait! 🏒 #NHL #NHLinUtah https://t.co/YAenPM9RLR
— Justin Giles (@JustinGiles_) April 18, 2024
New Utah NHL owner Ryan Smith sat down with @Buccigross to discuss the relocation of the Coyotes to Salt Lake City 👀 pic.twitter.com/d5rICV2MrI
— ESPN (@espn) April 18, 2024
"I think it's gonna be great. It's a great winter sports area, so we're looking forward to going to Utah… We think NHL hockey will thrive there."
Commissioner Gary Bettman caught up with @adnansvirk to talk about the NHL in Utah. pic.twitter.com/8hofszIeK8
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) April 18, 2024
Welcome to Utah, @NHL! https://t.co/yM9QAPzTHa
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) April 18, 2024
The Utah Blizzard 🥶 🏔️ ❄️ #utah #saltlake #saltlakecity #saltlakecityutah #slc #nhl #nhlhockey #hockey #graphicdesign #graphicdesigner #sports #sportsdesign #hockeyjersey #nhljersey #hockeyjerseys #nhljerseys pic.twitter.com/WVUkBFJHXN
— The Colonel (@colby_colonel) April 19, 2024
Concept art for new NHL team in Salt Lake:
⚫️💠Utah Black Diamonds⚫️💠@NHL @ArizonaCoyotes @RyanQualtrics #nhl #utahhockey @KSL5TV @KUTV2News @AltaSkiArea @Snowbird pic.twitter.com/hjoNgGZaDo— 🏔️Lincoln🏔️ (@lincbang6) April 13, 2024
Personally I think these are my top 6 favorite purple, Yeti, Black Diamonds, Blizzard, Moose (Not going to lie kinda love this one), Snowhawks, and Olympians pic.twitter.com/0oP38bH5YF
— Utah Yeti (NHL to Utah) (@UTYeti) April 15, 2024
The Utah Outlaws
It’s a cool name
Utah has a history with outlaws such as Butch Cassidy and his gang
The Yeti could still be used because why not? Let’s have some fun here
The walkout song could be the main theme from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
This could be fun pic.twitter.com/eCiO8AFAg5
— Cap’n Cook (@JazzePinkman) April 18, 2024
Utah hockey fans rejoice! Welcome to The State of Sport, NHL 🎉 https://t.co/u0IoXd9Q2Q
— Utah Sports Commission (@StateofSport) April 18, 2024
Let’s go!!! https://t.co/iEn0kwrUua
— Salt Lake 2034 (@SLC2030) April 18, 2024
Utah… we are lucky to have an owner like Ryan and Ashley Smith and SEG. This Utah hockey team is going to be a legit #NHL Franchise and will contend sooner than later https://t.co/ZUmUJgDNhI
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) April 18, 2024
Hey @RyanQualtrics, my suggestion for the name of our new hockey team is the Salt Lake Snow or Utah Snow — a marketing dream come true! #NHL #Hockey #GoCougs
— Dave McCann (@DaveMcCannTV) April 18, 2024
The Utah NHL team going nameless for the first year is a far better option than forcing a name and a rebrand.
This whole thing has developed so quickly, no reason to make mistakes in the name of haste.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) April 18, 2024
Congrats to SALT LAKE CITY on landing an NHL FRANCHISE !
This guy thinks they should name the team – the UTAH GOLDEN EAGLES – and have an alumni room for ex-players at the DELTA CENTER ? #🦅 pic.twitter.com/A9ixuBQamY
— Cary Eades (@caryeades) April 18, 2024
YASS‼️
Welcome to Utah, @NHL https://t.co/Mdz24OdYzP pic.twitter.com/xnDHPy9UBE
— University of Utah (@UUtah) April 18, 2024
I'm really excited for sports in Utah right now.
-Jazz are shopping
-NHL otw
-BYU elite coaching hire
-Pili top 10 in the WNBA draft
-USU epic bball season
-Utah & BYU in Big12Now let's all just try to get along during football season. 😅
— Holly Hardy (@hallsrh) April 18, 2024
I can’t wait for the future of our downtown and the first @NHL game in Salt Lake City! This is the next step toward reinvigorating our downtown and cementing our city as the heart and hub of sports, culture, and entertainment in Utah and the Intermountain West. https://t.co/Ckwcd3bOEB
— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 18, 2024