The Nationwide Hockey League formally confirmed as we speak which had been rumored all week. They’ve made the Arizona Coyotes franchise “inactive” and added a brand new franchise in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, to take their place beginning in 2024-2025. The brand new Utah franchise will probably be owned by the Smith Leisure Group, led by Ryan and Ashley Smith.
As a result of the Coyotes’ franchise will probably be inactive, they are going to switch all of their present hockey property – together with their whole roster of gamers, future draft picks, reserve listing and Hockey Operations division – to the brand new Utah franchise.
The league’s board of administrators can reactivate the Coyotes if their proprietor, Alex Meruelo, completes a brand new, state-of-the-art facility match for an NHL workforce inside the subsequent 5 years.
“As everybody is aware of, Utah is a vibrant and thriving state, and we’re thrilled to be part of it,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated within the launch. “We’re additionally excited to welcome Ashley and Ryan Smith to the NHL household and know they are going to be nice stewards of the sport in Utah. We thank them for working with the League to resolve a posh state of affairs on this unprecedented and useful approach.”
The Arizona Coyotes emblem, identify and historical past (additionally Jets?) all stay with Meruelo. “I’ve negotiated the best to reactivate the workforce inside the subsequent 5 years,” he stated within the press launch, “and have retained possession of the beloved Coyotes identify, model and emblem. I stay dedicated to this neighborhood and to constructing a premier sports activities enviornment and leisure district with out in search of monetary help from the general public.”
WHAT WILL THE NEW UTAH NHL TEAM BE NAME?
For the reason that Coyotes franchise and the brand new Utah franchise are clearly separate entities, this ensures that we are going to see a brand new identify and identification emerge for Utah’s NHL workforce. When? Properly, which may take some time. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski tweeted as we speak that the workforce might not have a workforce identify till the 2025-2026 season and can basically play anonymous this fall.
A report from NHL trademark spotter Clark Rasmussen on DetroitHockey.Internet appears to help this, as two unnamed Utah manufacturers, together with ‘Utah HC’ and ‘Utah Hockey Membership’, have each not too long ago been trademarked (not essentially by the workforce), along with a small vary of different, slightly boring choices:
Utah HC, Utah Hockey Membership, Utah Blizzard, Utah Fury, Utah Venom
Yeah, it isn’t the very best preliminary listing, if it is even the workforce that makes these logos. (Possibly Utah HC is the very best of the bunch for now.) For extra details about these logos, see Clark’s put up.
So this may very well be the tip of the NHL in Arizona, or it might simply take some time. Meruelo has till the 2029-30 season to get a shiny new NHL-quality build up and operating.