SALT LAKE CITY — The Delta Center became the 91st unique venue for a regular season game as the Rangers defeated Utah Hockey Club for the first time Thursday night, 5-3.
There's always a kind of buzz with any team competing in a new location, and the Blueshirts were no exception.
Thanks to the hard work of owner Ryan Smith, who has been working to acquire the team since 2022, Utah's NHL time has arrived quickly.
When arena and ownership issues reached a breaking point in Arizona in April, Smith purchased the Coyotes' assets from owner Alex Meruelo for $1.2 billion.
Utah is now the 25th state or district in which the Blueshirts have played.
In October, the Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously to approve and fund Smith Entertainment Group's plans to renovate the Delta Center. The center was built for the NBA Jazz and now needs to be renovated for dual use with hockey.
The renovation will be done in three phases and will accommodate 4,000 to 5,000 seats with obstructed views of the ice, and is expected to be completed by the start of the 2027-28 NHL and NBA seasons.
“It felt so good,” Braden Schneider told the Post the first time he touched the ice at Delta Center. “I think it's a great rink. It's a little bit unusual and it's quite steep. It looks nice. Everything here is really nice. I think that's a positive review for me.”
The commitment to promoting hockey in Utah is evidenced by the city's planned $900 million contribution and SEG's commitment to invest at least $3 billion, according to the Sports Business Journal. .
But hockey already had a presence in Salt Lake City.
The Utah Grizzlies (currently in the ECHL) and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (defunct) were ahead of the Utah HC, who is expected to announce a permanent name between the end of this season and the draft.
Peter Laviolette played for the Denver Rangers from 1988 to 1989, which was also the last time the Rangers head coach stayed with the Denver Rangers.
I laughed out loud when I remembered that there weren't many IHL teams in Denver or Salt Lake City back then.
“My God, we must have played 25 times,” he said with a smile after Rangers held an optional practice session at the Olympic Oval near Kearns.
The oval, built for indoor speed skating during the 2002 Winter Olympics, was packed Wednesday afternoon with youth hockey and curling practice across the street from where the Rangers skated.
Players had to walk from the Rangers' locker room below the main level up several flights of stairs to a designated rink surrounded by giant speed skating seats that covered the entire facility.
The arena and the city may be new to most Rangers, but not for Laviolette or assistant Michael Peca.
Peka has fond memories of winning gold with Team Canada in 2002.
“Please practice at the practice range.” [felt] I know it was the Olympics, so it was good for me,” Artemi Panarin told the Post before Thursday's game. “The Olympics are special to me and I enjoy the energy from the arena. It's pretty fun.”
Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 of 31 shots for his 14th win of the season.
Zach Jones was a healthy scratch for his 10th straight game and 12th time in the last 13.
The Rangers scored short goals in two consecutive games, giving the team seven points this season. That's good for third in the NHL behind the Panthers (11) and Lightning (eight).
