Hockey fans are ripping on the new Utah NHL team after the franchise announced a dull temporary name for the 2024-25 season.
In April, the NHL approved of the Arizona Coyotes’ sale to a group led by Qualtrics executive chairman and co-founder Ryan Smith, who also owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz. The new Utah NHL team will begin playing at the Salt Lake City Delta Center this fall.
Smith announced on Thursday that his NHL team will be known as the “Utah Hockey Club” for the 2024-25 season. The franchise is holding a fan vote that runs through June 20, with the Blizzard, Hockey Club, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom and Yeti as the six finalists.
Yes, there’s a legitimate possibility that Utah will permanently adopt the “Hockey Club” team name. And as you could guess, fans on X/Twitter weren’t thrilled to learn of the “Utah Hockey Club” name:
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The Utah NHL team will be the state’s second “big four” professional sports league club, joining the aforementioned Jazz. The NBA team relocated from New Orleans to Utah in 1979, retaining the Jazz team name.
The NHL and NBA regular season always begins in October, so the Hockey Club’s inaugural season will take place around the same time as the Jazz commence their 2024-25 campaign.
What To Know About The New Utah NHL Team
The Utah Hockey Club is taking over the assets from the Arizona Coyotes, including its players, general manager Bill Armstrong and head coach Andre Tourigny.
Like the Coyotes, Utah will play in the Central Division that also features the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.
Per the NHL’s scheduling format, Utah will play each of their seven division rivals 3-4 times a season. They’ll play each Pacific Division team thrice, with one home and one away game against each of the 16 Eastern Conference clubs.
Utah holds the No. 6 selection in the 2024 NHL entry draft.
