The Utah Hockey Club is set to begin its inaugural season in the upcoming 2024-25 NHL season. After the core of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and others finished outside of the playoffs last season with the Arizona Coyotes, they’ll look to make the playoffs in Salt Lake City.
Utah, like every other team, will play all 31 teams this season including welcoming some of the best players to Salt Lake City like Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Connor Bedard. However, there are some key games that fans should highlight on their calendars. Here are the top six in no particular order.
First Game in Salt Lake City (Oct. 8 vs Chicago Blackhawks)
There’s no bigger game currently this season for Utah than their first-ever game in Salt Lake City. It’ll be the first-ever NHL regular season game played in the Delta Center and Utah setting the bar for the season to come. We’ll get to see this core of players play in a normal-sized arena for the first time since 2022 when they played in Gila River Arena for the last time. We’ll also get to see Utah’s gameday presentation for the very first time and how they’ll welcome the NHL to their city.
Additionally, the game is against the Chicago Blackhawks which is a treat in itself. The Blackhawks could be a future Central Divison rival as they continue their rebuild and Utah exits theirs. Fans in Salt Lake City will also get to see Bedard for the first time as the 2023 first-overall pick tries to get the Blackhawks season started on a good note. When Bedard and Logan Cooley made their NHL debuts last season, all three times their teams matched up were highly anticipated so there’s no reason why that excitement could end this season.
Related: Utah Hockey Club 2024-25 Projected Lineup
The first game at Delta Center is already one most Utahns are excited about. The cheapest ticket currently is $248 and prices most likely won’t go down as the team and their fans gear up for this historic event.
First Rocky Mountain Rivalry Game (Oct. 24 vs Colorado Avalanche)
As a new team, Utah currently doesn’t have any rivals. However, it is all but written that the Colorado Avalanche could be a top contender for their main rival. The Avalanche are the closest team to Salt Lake City and are the only other American team located on the Rocky Mountain range.
When comparing the two teams, the Avalanche are clearly the better and more experienced team. They won the Stanley Cup back in 2022 and have made the playoffs every season dating back to 2018. However, as Utah’s youth continue to develop, they could meet soon in the playoffs with many projecting the team to make it as soon as this year.
Utah fans will also get to see stars like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar roll through Delta Center which is always a treat to see. The Avalanche are also the NHL affiliate of the Utah Grizzlies and while none of the players on the team have played for the Grizzlies, it’s always a nice connection for fans to see.
Utah will play the Avalanche twice in Salt Lake City with the other matchup scheduled for Dec. 27. The newest team in the NHL will make their way to Denver for the first time on Dec. 12.
The Stanley Cup Champions Come to Utah (Jan. 8 vs Florida Panthers)
It’s always exciting when the defending Stanley Cup champions come to town because you’re usually playing the best of the best and that’s no exception with the Florida Panthers. Even after having to shed off players like Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson this offseason, the Panthers still look like a deadly team that could win back-to-back Cups this upcoming season.
Fans will get to see stars like Matthew Tkachuk and Sergei Bobrovsky for the first time who were huge parts of the team’s championship last season. New Utah forward Kevin Stenlund will also play his former team and will presumably get his championship ring when they visit.
Utah will visit Florida in March towards the end of the season to play the Panthers for the second and final time. Meanwhile, Utah will meet the defending Western Conference champions, the Edmonton Oilers, for the first time on Nov. 29 in Salt Lake City. That’ll be 2024 Conn Smythe winner Connor McDavid’s first time playing the newest team in the league.
First Post-Trade Deadline Game (March 6 vs Detroit Red Wings)
Every team’s first game after the NHL’s trade deadline will be highly looked at. A team’s roster could look completely different post-trade deadline or a team could add a big name that could help them make a run at the Stanley Cup. While general manager Bill Armstrong hasn’t made any big splashes at the deadline recently, that could change if Utah is a playoff contender this season.
Utah most likely won’t make any huge additions this deadline, as the Carolina Hurricanes did last deadline trading for Jake Guentzel. However, it’s always fun to see some new faces especially when GMs reward their team for playing well by adding someone who will contribute, which is exactly what Utah could do.
Most additions don’t join the team until a couple of days after the deadline as they sometimes have to move their entire family out of the blue, but new additions could join as early as Utah’s first post-deadline game against the Red Wings.
The Red Wings will be a fun matchup as they are on a similar trend to Utah, trying to make the playoffs with a new young core. However, the intrigue of who Armstrong brings in and where they fit into head coach Andre Tourigny’s lineup will be interesting for first-time hockey fans in Salt Lake City.
Mikhail Sergachev’s Return to Tampa Bay (March 27 vs Tampa Bay Lightning)
Armstrong made a couple of big additions to Utah’s lineup this offseason but none as big as two-time Stanley Cup champion Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is expected to be Utah’s top defenseman this upcoming season.
Sergachev’s time with the Lightning was memorable. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the team in 2020 and 2021 and made the Final in 2022. He’ll play in Amalie Arena for the first time as a visitor on March 27 and is expected to get a nice tribute as a core piece of some of the greatest Lightning teams in franchise history.
The team will also see former Coyote J.J. Moser and potentially former draft pick Conor Geekie as well who were sent to the Lightning as part of the Sergachev trade. Moser in particular played with these Utah players for a couple of years in Arizona.
While Sergachev’s return will most likely be the most anticipated out of anyone’s return to play their former team, there will be a couple of other players who will get a chance to play against their previous team. John Marino will return to New Jersey on Oct. 14 where he played for two seasons. Ian Cole will return to Vancouver on March 16 where he played for one season. Finally, Stenlund as previously mentioned will play against his former team the Panthers on March 28.
Final Home Game of the Season (April 10 vs Nashville Predators)
The final regular season game of the year is always a big one for every sports team. It’s a time to say thank you to the fans as it’s the final time they’ll see them potentially until the next season begins. It’s no different for Utah as they’ll look to celebrate their fans and thank them for their support during their inaugural season.
Utah hopes though that it won’t be the final time their fans see them this upcoming season due to a clinched playoff spot or the team still fighting for one with three regular season road games remaining after their final home game. In any case, Utah will look to get one final win at Delta Center to close out the season.
It won’t be easy though as they’ll face off against their Central Divison rivals: the Nashville Predators. The Predators went big game hunting this past offseason by adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skeji to their core of Roman Josi, Juuse Saros, and Filip Forsberg. They’re expected to be competing for a top-three spot in their division.
These could be big games for Utah as their final home game kicks off a four-game stretch against Central Division opponents. The team will head on the road to play the Dallas Stars and the Predators again before ending the season against the St. Louis Blues. These games could control Utah’s seeding in the playoffs if they can clinch a spot.
This season could be a big one for Utah as they look to make the playoffs in their first year in the NHL. While these six games are definitely some of the bigger ones to look out for, every game will be a must-watch, especially towards the end of the season when the team could be in a battle to claim a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Whatever happens, it should be another step in the right direction for this core as they keep building towards a chance to win the Stanley Cup.
