Utah NHL franchise is already garnering support from fans

NHL hockey is coming to Utah, and fans are seemingly excited by the franchise's arrival. 

Less than an hour after the league unanimously approved the relocation and sale of the Arizona Coyotes, new owner Ryan Smith said ticket demand for the franchise, which will begin play in Salt Lake City in 2024-25, is already through the roof. 

"It's only been 45 minutes — we already have 4,000 people who've put deposits on tickets," Smith, who also owns the NBA's Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake of the MLS, told the NHL Network. 

The transfer of ownership from Alex Meruelo to Smith was unique. The hockey side of the Coyotes, including roster, draft picks and hockey operations, will head to Utah as a separate entity. At the same time, Meruelo will have five years to build a "state-of-the-art" arena in Arizona to resurrect the Coyotes as an expansion team. 

The Utah franchise doesn't have a name or much of an identity for now. However, that hasn't slowed interest in the team from the local fanbase, which is an excellent sign regarding the potential growth of the game in the area. 

The sport isn't foreign to Utah. Over the years, they've supported several minor league hockey teams, including the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the Western Hockey League (1969-94) and the ECHL's Utah Grizzlies, who've played in West Valley City, Utah since 2005. During the 2022-23 season, the Grizzlies averaged 5,334 fans per game, ninth in the league, according to hockeydb.com. 

How that will translate to an NHL team support-wise isn't clear, but as Smith put it, Utah is one of the "hottest markets" in sports, and he believes it's ready to back a pro hockey team.

"We're incredibly excited to welcome everyone, and we're going to go build something together," Smith said. "I think that should be super exciting for this team for this new franchise that we're actually establishing. Because everyone is going to look back 10 years from now and be like, 'I did that, I was there at that moment in time,' to establish this, and I think it's an amazing opportunity."