LATEST | City making strides toward an NHL team: They've become the clear frontrunners
The NHL has expanded twice in the last six years, welcoming the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken to the league in 2017 and 2021, respectively.
Cities across North America occasionally express there interest in having a National Hockey League franchise, with Houston, Atlanta and Quebec City being mentioned the most.
But according to Eklund from Hockey Buzz, another city is starting to grow as a potentially front-runner for future NHL expansion and that is Salt Lake City, Utah. But there's still also the possibility of relocating the Arizona Coyotes, if they're unable to find a new home in the desert, which they're actively searching for. If relocation is on the table, then Salt Lake City would be interested.
The city's interest in a NHL franchise has been known for quite some time now and the owner of the NBA's Utah Jazz has spoken with Gary Bettman to express that, as was noted back in June by Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.
Salt Lake City and state of Utah are no stranger to hockey. In 2002, Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics where Canada won gold in both men's and women's hockey. Meanwhile, the suburb of West Valley City has ECHL club Utah Jazz.
In 2021, the Los Angeles Kings revived their annual pre-season game dubbed 'Frozen Fury' that was played in Vegas, but now is held in Salt Lake City where they face the Golden Knights.
Would you like to see a National Hockey League franchise in Salt Lake City? Let us know what you think in the poll below!
| POLL | ||
Would you like to see an NHL franchise in Salt Lake City? | ||
| Yes | 307 | 36.6 % |
| No | 437 | 52.1 % |
| See Results | 94 | 11.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
