| Utah NHL team | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Central |
| Founded | 2024 |
| History | Utah NHL Team 2024–present |
| Home arena | Delta Center |
| City | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Owner(s) | Ryan Smith |
| General manager | Bill Armstrong |
| Head coach | Andre Tourigny |
| Captain | Vacant |
| Minor league affiliates | Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) |
| Stanley Cups | 0 |
| Conference championships | 0 |
| Presidents' Trophy | 0 |
| Division championships | 0 |
| Official website | https://nhlinutah.com/ |
The Utah NHL team is a professional ice hockey team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The still-unnamed team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and will began play during the league's 2024–25 season. They play their home games at Delta Center.
History
editOn April 13, 2024, it was reported that, with the NHL's permission, the Arizona 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 Mullett Arena.[1] This involved the NHL buying the franchise, then reselling it to Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), for a reported $1.2 billion.[2][3] Of the payment, $1 billion went to Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo for the sale and $200 million would go to the NHL's other owners as a relocation fee. The Utah team will play home games at the Jazz's home arena, the Delta Center. Renovations will be required to make it the team's permanent home, similar to the renovations made to Climate Pledge Arena before the Kraken began play in the NHL.[4] Rather than formally relocate, the Coyotes franchise was marked "dormant", with Utah considered an expansion team in a similar situation to the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Meruelo subsequently remains on the NHL Board of Governors as an observer, retaining the rights to the Coyotes brand with a five-year window to complete a new arena and "reactivate" the Coyotes as an expansion team.[5] The sale was finalized on April 18 after the NHL Board of Governors voted to establish a team in Utah.[6]
Players
editCurrent roster
edit
References
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ Friedman, Elliotte (April 10, 2024). "NHL, Arizona Coyotes preparing for possible relocation to Utah". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
- ^ "Report: NHL, Coyotes make progress on framework for Utah relocation". Sportsnet.ca. April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
- ^ Kaplan, Emily; Wyshynski, Greg (April 10, 2024). "Coyotes could relocate to Salt Lake City as part of NHL plan". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ Wyshynski, Greg (April 15, 2024). "Everything we know about the Arizona Coyotes moving to Utah - How is the transaction going to work?". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
It's expected that the final transaction will include a clause that allows Meruelo to "reactivate" the franchise as an expansion team -- paying what's expected to be a $1 billion expansion fee if that happens -- between now and 2029 if his arena project is completed. All of the team's intellectual property -- including those iconic Kachina jerseys -- would remain with Meruelo. It's an agreement that evokes the deal made with the city of Cleveland when the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1995.
- ^ Cotsonika, Nicholas. "'Utah's ready for a team,' new owner says". NHL.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
- ^ "Utah Hockey Club NHL Roster". ESPN. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ "Utah Hockey Club Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 20, 2024.