SALT LAKE CITY — The door to the chartered Delta Airlines plane carrying the inaugural members of Utah’s NHL team popped open at precisely 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
Immediately, the passengers inside the aircraft were hit with a warmth that had nothing to do with the sunny and 75-degree weather that greeted them on the tarmac. Instead, it was the toasty energy radiating from roughly 1,000 fans — most of them minor hockey kids from the state — who packed the airport hangar to greet the players and staff.
After turbulent seasons that have been riddled with uncertainty and drama, the former members of the Arizona Coyotes finally had an opportunity to turn the page on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
“Getting off that plane and for those players today, it was a clean slate for them,” said Utah general manager Bill Armstrong. “You could see the joy in their faces when they saw the kids. I don’t know if the kids will ever understand how much that meant to the players. I almost had a tear in my eye coming down.”
“Obviously a lot went on the past couple of weeks, but we’re super excited to be here,” added Utah forward Clayton Keller. “Stepping off the plane was unbelievable.”
Dozens of children held up homemade signs, welcoming the players to Utah, their enthusiastic voices echoing inside the hangar. At one point, a loud cheer of “Utah Yetis” broke out from the children, who were trying to advocate for their preferred nickname for the team.
Very cool scene here in Salt Lake City. Hundreds of hockey-playing kids have skipped school to greet roughly 15 ex-Coyotes players, coach Andre Tourigny and GM Bill Armstrong who will land shortly on a private plane.
These kids chanting “Utah Yetis” — hoping that’s the nickname. pic.twitter.com/hrwKrPUcNy
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) April 24, 2024
As they waited for the plane to arrive, the music selection was carefully chosen inside the hangar.
They played Stompin’ Tom Connors’ “The Hockey Song,” which was sandwiched in between Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Smash Mouth’s “I’m a Believer.” It was an attempt to try and encapsulate the sentiment of Utah almost inexplicably landing an NHL team in a matter of only six weeks.
As the players and staff stepped off the plane they were wearing team-issued black hoodies that featured an NHL logo and the phrase, “Utah, Est. 2024.” The players then spent roughly 15 minutes signing autographs and taking pictures with the fans.
Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said his wife grabbed him and relayed her astonishment at the scene unfolding in front of her.
“She said to me, ‘Can you imagine all those kids missed school to come here and welcome you to town?’” said Tourigny. “That touched her.”
Tourigny later added that the show of support inside the airport hangar forged an instant connection between the team and their new city.
“It made us feel at home already,” said Tourigny. “We already want to fight for Utah. I’m blown away right now.”
From there, 17 players, staff and their significant others were shuttled off to get a firsthand look at their new home. The players were given a tour of the Utah Jazz state-of-the-art practice facility, which is located less than two miles from the Delta Center in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City.
And when the players got their first tour of the Delta Center — which will serve as their home arena next season — they were impressed by the configuration. For starters, it will allow for almost three times as many spectators as the 4,600 that could fit into their previous home at Mullett Arena in Tempe. And given the steep curvature of the seating bowl, it has a different look and feel than most NHL venues. The hockey team is planning for drastic renovations in the years ahead that will eventually result in a seating capacity in the neighbourhood of 17,000 for NHL games.
“It’s unique with the seats kind of being right on top of you,” said Keller. “And from everything we’ve heard, the building is always super loud.”
“The rink today got them excited. We want to rev it up in here. We want to become the loudest building in the NHL,” added Armstrong. “That building in here gives us a chance. The way it’s built, how steep it is, you couldn’t design a better building for us.”
The players and staff got a preview of that energy inside the Delta Center during a splashy launch event on Wednesday evening. More than 12,000 fans packed the arena — the maximum allowed with the stage and configuration for Wednesday’s event — to greet the players and staff in person.
Delta Center is absolutely jammed here for the introduction of the NHL players and staff. pic.twitter.com/ABnPWrN6Bx
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) April 24, 2024
Team owners Ashley and Ryan Smith were introduced to a raucous ovation and each took a few moments to express their feelings.
“We are so excited to take the energy of the Jazz and multiply it and create an even better fan experience in this area,” Ashley said while holding the wireless microphone on stage. “And we are just full of gratitude, excitement and energy to come watch these players do their thing on this ice.”
Ryan indicated that the number of fans who have placed a deposit for season tickets for the 2024-25 season has risen to 29,000.
Each of the 17 players was then given a chance to take the microphone and introduce themselves to their new fans inside the Delta Center.
Center Liam O’Brien may have stolen the show when he introduced himself and said, “My name is Liam O’Brien, but you can call me Spicy Tuna. Let’s get this place buzzing!”
That whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Then at Jack McBain’s urging, the entire arena erupted into a “Spicy Tuna” chant.
When Alex Kerfoot was handed the microphone, he told the crowd, “This is one of the coolest experiences we’ve had as hockey players.”
The entire scene was a remarkable turn of events for a group of players and staff that were feeling abandoned and neglected only two weeks ago. As rumors of the team’s sale and potential relocation started to crop up, the players and staff were left completely in the dark about the proceedings.
“The process was complicated for everybody. We understood both ownership past and present could not talk. The league could not talk,” said Tourigny. “We were caught in the middle.”
But all of that changed last week when the Smiths flew to Arizona a few hours after the league’s board of governors approved a plan in which they would assume ownership of an NHL franchise in Utah and inherit the Coyotes hockey operations staff and roster. The Smiths had a direct conversation with players and staff, informing them that they would be coming under the Jazz umbrella, which had the personnel and infrastructure to help support their move to Utah. Any of the concerns for players and staff were alleviated during that meeting.
“The thing that we respected the most was how genuine they were. Ryan came into the room, pulled up a chair and we just had an honest conversation,” said Utah forward Lawson Crouse. “I think that went a really long ways with our group with everything that we’ve been through the past couple of weeks.”
“From the moment Ryan and Ashely came and talked to us, the way they talked to us, they got us excited,” added Tourigny. “From there, we felt like we have some stability here. We are excited.”
One of the things the Smiths promised was an opportunity for the players, their staff and significant others to get a chance to visit Salt Lake City before the start of the summer. Wednesday’s visit was hastily arranged but executed to perfection. At one point, Tourigny says he and Armstrong were standing in the hotel lobby when the wives and girlfriends returned from their own sightseeing and tour of the city.
“They were smiling and excited,” said Tourigny. “To see our families and the families of the players get excited, it shows two things: How much the people of Utah have welcomed us and how excited we are to come.”
Armstrong said Wednesday’s visit “planted a seed” of excitement in the players and their families so that when they return to Salt Lake City on a full-time basis in roughly five months, they will have a positive experience to hang their hat on. When the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in the spring of 2011, they were not offered an opportunity like this to tour their new city and NHL facility months in advance.
And the Utah players and staff walked away from Wednesday’s visit understanding they had just participated in something unique and memorable.
“It’s been a surreal experience,” said Armstrong. “I don’t think there is a player here that is coming to visit that isn’t emotional about the feeling they get when they see the fans here. And how excited they are in Utah to have us.”
“It will be my seventh year in the NHL and I said to my wife, ‘I think this is my best day in the NHL so far,’” added Tourigny. “That’s how I feel.”
(Photo of Liam O’Brien speaking at NHL Utah’s launch party: Chris Gardner / Getty Images)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
