SALT LAKE CITY – The NHL Board Of Governors approved the establishment of a new hockey franchise in Utah using the assets of the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
With the move altering the landscape of the National Hockey League and professional sports in Utah, people had a lot to say on social media.
Sources say #NHL Board of Governors has formally approved #Yotes sale and relocation to Salt Lake City, Utah.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 18, 2024
Ryan Smith quoted the NHL’s hype video announcing the NHL coming to Utah.
“The NHL is here! Utah let’s go,” Smith wrote.
The @NHL is here! Utah let’s go! https://t.co/VwfWS2mkS9
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) April 18, 2024
The Delta Center, home to the new Utah NHL franchise, welcomed the league in a post on X.
The @NHL is coming to Utah 🗻#NHLinUtah
MORE: https://t.co/OEA5ebH6vS pic.twitter.com/yIGNNauPLI
— Delta Center (@deltacenter) April 18, 2024
The Utah Sports Commission also got in on the welcome.
Utah hockey fans rejoice! Welcome to The State of Sport, NHL 🎉 https://t.co/u0IoXd9Q2Q
— Utah Sports Commission (@StateofSport) April 18, 2024
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall expressed her excitement for the future of downtown SLC when the news broke.
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
Utah Senator Mitt Romney also welcomed the NHL to Utah.
Welcome to Utah, @NHL! https://t.co/yM9QAPzTHa
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) April 18, 2024
Can’t wait!!! 🏒 https://t.co/eklC1WcaaZ
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) April 18, 2024
Yoooooooooo 👀 https://t.co/52S1SRg8v0
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 18, 2024
LET’S GO!!! https://t.co/l8APsEea9c
— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) April 18, 2024
This is awesome! Can’t wait for this fall. Welcome to Utah
— Jake Hatch (Yawk) jakehatch.bsky.social (@JacobCHatch) 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
UTAH IS HOME TO THE NHL LETS GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
— Alex (@mrmcmillan87) April 18, 2024
Ignore the logo, if given a choice between a purple jersey or a blue jersey, which one are you picking? #NHLtoUtah pic.twitter.com/tbsnwYBHTu
— Utah Yeti (NHL to Utah) (@UTYeti) April 13, 2024
Exciting news for the state of Utah and the best fans in the world!!! https://t.co/RSf39dCSlJ
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) April 18, 2024
Welcome to Utah! 💜#NHLinUtah
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 18, 2024
Let’s go!!! https://t.co/iEn0kwrUua
— Salt Lake 2034 (@SLC2030) April 18, 2024
Welcome to Salt Lake! https://t.co/uGrIC12z4e
— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 18, 2024
This is so exciting for the entire state….congratulations to @RyanQualtrics and his team for making it happen. @utahathletics welcomes the NHL to SLC!!!! https://t.co/RUI7TqjEUB
— Mark Harlan (@MarkHarlan_AD) April 18, 2024
Welcome to Utah! https://t.co/GFo0rLIbCn
— Big League Utah (@BigLeagueUtah) April 18, 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
My official ballot for NHL team coming to town … Utah Eagles 🦅
Ryan & Ashley Smith love paying respect to Utah history. And this name does just that. Paying homage to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles who were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake Cityfrom 1969 to… pic.twitter.com/O6zVujsd0d
— JazzNation (@JazzNationNews) April 18, 2024
My next batch of Utah NHL concepts:
I picked the name Yetis to fit with the mountains found in the state. The striping and shoulder logo comes from their new flag. Thoughts? @NHL @icethetics #Yotes #NHL #NHLUtah #NHLSaltLake pic.twitter.com/f1Ie14Tx4E— carter richard (@carterrichardd) April 13, 2024
The Salt Lake City buyer of the Arizona Coyotes, Ryan Smith asked NHL fans yesterday:
“If an NHL team were to come to Utah, what should we name it”.
There are some uh… clever names here Thanks to AI 💯 pic.twitter.com/saVuogyUnt
— THE CAYDEN LINDSTROM FAN CLUB (@German_Diver) April 11, 2024
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
