Sports
Analysis: Utah, the Beehive State, abuzz with arrival of NHL club
Sep 29, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Utah Hockey Club forward Clayton Keller (9) celebrates with teammates after a goal during the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images SALT LAKE CITY — Before he signed to play for the new hockey team in Utah, veteran defenseman Robert Bortuzzo couldn’t help but notice that there was something special going on in Salt Lake City in terms of the NHL.
“There’s definitely a buzz,” the former Stanley Cup champion told reporters after inking a one-year deal with Utah this offseason. “You talk to a lot of hockey people around the league, or buddies of mine who play in the league, it’s exciting for the league, exciting for a lot of the young guys on the team.”
The relocated NHL franchise, formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes, still doesn’t have an official name other than Utah Hockey Club. But there’s certainly a vibe and energy surrounding what many, including some within the club, have speculated will eventually be called the Utah Yeti.
Utah has been a successful staple in the minor league hockey ranks for decades, including championship Adams Cup (CHL) and Turner Cup (IHL) campaigns by the former Salt Lake Golden Eagles and Utah Grizzlies (now in the ECHL). The Beehive State also hosted in 2002 one of the greatest Winter Olympics gold-medal hockey competitions, when a powerhouse Team Canada defeated a loaded Team USA for a coveted on-ice and podium-topping celebration.
After efforts to find long-term security in Arizona fell apart for the Coyotes earlier in 2024, the NHL gave Utah billionaire Ryan Smith the opportunity to give the beleaguered hockey club a new home at the base of the Wasatch Front.
“We think NHL hockey will thrive here,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at the time.
Within days of the NHL’s announcement in April, nearly 30,000 made season-ticket deposits for an arena, the Delta Center, which had held 16,000 for hockey games and been reconfigured for 11,131 capacity this season. The buzz was off the charts. An energetic, “Let’s go, Utah!”-chanting crowd of 12,400 packed the arena — with hundreds more gathered outside – to welcome officials and players during an arrival celebration shortly after.
“Let’s not stop,” Smith told the crowd. “We want to make sure every single person in Utah gets a taste of hockey.”
Local sports fans, businesses and organizations, and politicians from U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox — all of whom have helped the Utah Jazz and other sports entities succeed in the Beehive State — clamored to welcome the NHL to town in person and via social media.
“Welcome to Utah, NHL!” Romney posted on X. Added Cox, “Welcome to Utah, the State of Sport! #LetsGo”
“This is incredible for the city and state! Utah is ready for another major league team,” posted former Utah Jazz employee Matt Sanchez, an assistant athletic director for the University of Utah. “Pretty wild how this came together so quickly.”
“You (Ryan Smith) are making dreams come true brother! Thank you!!” exclaimed Bam Bam’s BBQ owner and pit boss Cameron Treu on X.
The momentum and excitement levels have only increased since the move became official in April. The work has continued, too. The Smith Entertainment Group transformed the Utah Olympic Oval ice sheet into an NHL-caliber temporary training facility while making plans to build a training facility in the Salt Lake City suburbs. Plans have been hatched to renovate the Delta Center into a multi-faceted arena that will provide excellent sightlines for basketball and hockey. The arena also created an NHL-quality locker room for the club this offseason while designing a brand.
Equally important, the youth movement that began in Arizona will carry on in Utah with exciting potential to blossom. That’s no more evident than with the team’s selection of Clayton Keller, 26, as the franchise’s first captain. The center became the youngest captain in an inaugural season since Ron Chipperfield, then 25, captained the Edmonton Oilers in their NHL debut in 1979-80.
The youthful roster offers an exciting opportunity for Utah and its new hockey club to grow in the NHL together.
“We have a lot of young players, a lot of guys that took a lot of strides last season,” said Keller, a four-time All-Star who led the team in scoring in Arizona the past three seasons. “I think our core group guys have done a great job in helping them take that next step. And I think as you grow as a team, every day you get better. We’re a close group. We hang out a lot and are just super excited to go out on the ice and perform.”
His elder teammate concurs.
“You just want to be a part of building something, and that’s what they got here,” said Bortuzzo, 35. “It seems like they got a ton of buy-in from all the guys. It’ll be great to be a part of that and jump in and be a part of this cool thing that they’ve done … and just be a part of that excitement.”
Even before the first NHL puck dropped in Salt Lake City, the franchise’s head coach, Andre Tourigny, complimented Utah for an “amazing, first class” welcome.
“It made us feel home already,” he said. “We already want to fight for Utah. I’m blown away right now.”
Forward Liam O’Brien complimented the Utah crowd during the preseason, saying, “I don’t think I’ve ever had a crowd that loud in warm-ups.”
The noise level became near-deafening when Keller won the Sept. 23 preseason game against the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 with an overtime goal.
“With Arizona, a lot of things were up in the air with the arena situation,” Utah forward Lawson Crouse said. “It’s clear we now have a home. We can move on from all those distractions and just go play hockey. And we’re really looking forward to doing that.”
Clearly, Utah is looking forward to them doing that in their home, too.
–Jody Genessy, Field Level Media
Sports
Best NBA Bets Today: Game 7 Picks for Cavs vs Raptors, Magic vs Pistons
Feb 19, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) after the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images Two Game 7’s take place on Sunday in the NBA playoffs for the right to advance to the second round.
Both do-or-die contests feature Eastern Conference squads, starting with the top-seeded Detroit Pistons returning home to battle the Orlando Magic.
The night affair showcases the Cleveland Cavaliers, looking to avoid an early exit against the injury-riddled Toronto Raptors. The winners of each of these games face each other in the conference semifinals.
We’ll break down two plays for the Sunday action. Remember to monitor the odds throughout the day, as the sides and totals market is constantly changing.
Here are the free NBA picks for Sunday, May 3. Odds Courtesy of DraftKings.
Best NBA plays today
- Magic/Pistons Over (201.5)
- Cavaliers (-8.5) vs. Raptors
Magic/Pistons Over (201.5) – 3:30 p.m. ET
Orlando’s offense disappeared in the second half of Friday’s 93-79 home loss to Detroit, preventing the Magic from advancing. The Magic led by 22 points at halftime, but were outscored in the second half, 55-19 as Detroit forced a Game 7 back at home.
How bad was Orlando’s offense in the second half of Game 6? The Magic missed 23 consecutive field goal attempts at one point and finished 4-of-37 in the final 24 minutes.
Will things turn around in Game 7 back in the Motor City? The total closed at 209.5 in Game 6 and never threatened the Over. Sunday’s total has dipped to 202.5, as two games in Detroit finished with 213 points (Game 1) and 225 points (Game 5).
The teams combined for 51 points in the first quarter of Game 6 before Orlando outscored Detroit, 35-12 in the second quarter. It’s unlikely the Pistons will have another quarter like that and the Magic certainly won’t put up 19 points in a half again.
As long as these teams avoid a major cold spell, this game can hit the Over on Sunday afternoon.
Our Current Best Offers
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Cavaliers (-8.5) vs. Raptors – 7:30 p.m. ET
The Raptors stunned the Cavaliers in the final seconds of overtime in Game 6 on Friday behind R.J. Barrett’s go-ahead 3-pointer. Toronto returns to Cleveland for Game 7 on Sunday night as the home team owns a perfect 6-0 record in the series.
Toronto’s leading scorer Brandon Ingram missed Game 6 with a heel injury and is questionable for Game 7. Barrett has stepped up to be the Raptors’ top scoring option at 24.3 points per game, while posting at least 22 points in each of the three games in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers have not covered in the last four games since cashing in each of the first two wins at home. Cleveland squandered late leads in two of the losses in Toronto with the only bad performance coming in the 22-point Game 3 loss.
Since the 2023 playoffs, nine of the last 11 Game 7 winners have advanced with a victory margin of at least 10 points. Chances are Cleveland won’t win a close game here, so we’ll lay the points with them to grab a blowout and advance to the second round.
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Canadiens D Noah Dobson game-time decision for Game 7
Apr 11, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson (53) skates during the warmup before the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson is considered a game-time decision for Game 7 of the team’s Eastern Conference first-round series versus the host Tampa Bay Lightning.
Dobson has been sidelined with an upper-body injury after blocking a shot against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 11.
“He’s been a big player for us this year,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “I’m confident that if he plays, he’s going to bring something.”
Dobson, 26, recorded 47 points (12 goals, 35 assists) and averaged 22:29 of ice time in 80 games during the regular season.
The Canadiens acquired Dobson in a sign-and-trade agreement with the New York Islanders on June 27, 2025, as he agreed to an eight-year, $76 million contract.
In return, the Islanders received forward Emil Heineman and both of Montreal’s first-round picks (Nos. 16 and 17) in the 2025 NHL Draft. The Islanders used those selections on Swedish right winger Victor Eklund and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson of Barrie (OHL).
Dobson has totaled 277 points (62 goals, 215 assists) in 348 career games since being selected by the Islanders with the 12th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft.
–Field Level Media
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Predicting Second Round Stanley Cup Playoff Surprises
As the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs readies to kick into full gear, it is time to pull out the old Upset-O-Meter.
Now that the NHL is (almost) down to its elite eight, the championship chase hits another gear.
We have seen some trends already. All four division champions advanced, with the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche handily dispatching all four wild-card squads.
Curiously, three — and possibly four — of the third-place finishers knocked out the second-place squads. The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild eliminated the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks beat the Edmonton Oilers. Plus, the Montreal Canadiens are taking their best swing at the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Sunday’s Game 7 to decide that extremely tight, and exciting series.
So who will reach the final four?
The underdog with the best chance is the Anaheim Ducks. As well as the Golden Knights finished the regular season and pushed out the Utah Mammoth, do not simply award them the title from the Pillow Fight … sorry … Pacific Division.
Sure, Vegas has looked more like the club we all expected, but there are some cracks for the Ducks to expose, namely, the Vegas goaltending. The Golden Knights are a better defensive team than the Oilers, but Carter Hart’s sub-.900 save percentage will not scare a talented Anaheim team that lit up Edmonton’s netminders, especially when on the power play.
Throw into the mix Anaheim’s speed and size, and the Golden Knights will have their hands full, even with their experience.
On the other side of the spectrum in terms of upset potential, we have the Hurricanes-Flyers series, which opened with a 3-0 Carolina victory on Saturday.
Full credit to the Flyers for beating their state rivals in the opening round, but the Hurricanes showed in the opener why they finished atop the Eastern Conference.
By no means would it be fair to expect Carolina to sweep Philly, but the Hurricanes are poised to have this series done and dusted in five.
Looking at the other Eastern Conference semifinal, we do not know yet who the Sabres will meet, but whether it is the Canadiens or Lightning, it will be a tight series.
The Sabres will deservedly be the favorites, but not by much. No matter the opponents, Buffalo’s goaltending will be considered second best, even with Alex Lyon having a lights-out run upon taking the net in Game 2 of their series against the Boston Bruins. Also of concern is Buffalo’s power play, which scored only one goal on 24 chances against Boston.
In Buffalo’s favor will be the fatigue factor of whatever club advances.
Which brings us to the series that could top them all: Colorado versus Minnesota.
The marquee matchup within the marquee matchup will be the battle of the two best defensemen in the game, Colorado’s Cale Makar and Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes.
And that’s only the beginning of the cavalcade of stars. Colorado was the league’s highest scoring team in the regular season thanks to Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Makar, but showed its ability to defend against the Los Angeles Kings in its first-round sweep.
Granted, it will not be as easy for the Avalanche against a Wild team with far more firepower than the Kings, led by Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Hughes.
Unfortunately for the Wild, injuries to shutdown center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin put them on the back foot before the puck even drops.
Minnesota will put up a fight, but expect Colorado to be too much.
Best NBA Bets Today: Game 7 Picks for Cavs vs Raptors, Magic vs Pistons
Canadiens D Noah Dobson game-time decision for Game 7
