The Utah Hockey Club may be a new team, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have a few rivalries from the second they step onto the ice. In fact, you can even argue that there are three teams; right now, the fanbase can’t wait to see step into the Delta Center and immediately realize that they’re skating in front of a hostile environment.
So, who will those three teams be starting in 2024-25? Keep reading and catch my educated guess on the matter, but note that this is an “including, but not limited to,” list. Dirty hits, fights, and general dislike occur between many teams, so there’s a good chance that Utah will consider a few more teams their “rivals” before their first season ends.
Colorado Avalanche
Should Utah indeed call themselves the Yeti starting next season, this rivalry will go beyond just the natural fit that it is geographically. While I’m of the unpopular opinion in saying Yeti isn’t the best nickname out there, even I won’t deny the fuel to the fire it will bring.
Anyway, look for a lot of hard-hitting, trash-talking, and general dislike between the two teams starting in their first-ever matchup against one another. While Utah doesn’t quite look as though they’re at the Avs level on paper, expect them to pack a punch every time they play Colorado, even if it means struggling through a few losses early on.
Vegas Golden Knights
Two teams played in the desert up until last season - the Arizona Coyotes and the Vegas Golden Knights. While Utah is now playing in the mountains, it doesn’t mean this rivalry, even if it’s not a traditional divisional rivalry, will go dormant.
Plus, let’s contrast the two franchises - Arizona never enjoyed sustained success and Vegas has yet to struggle through a difficult season, playing well even in the lone year they missed the playoffs.
But with Utah being, in a way, the “spiritual successor” to the Coyotes, there’s a chance that, if they gain an early edge over Vegas, a rivalry will commence. Or maybe Utah fans just won’t like the “historically” good Golden Knights, who have become one of the more disliked teams in hockey among those not in their fanbase.
Winnipeg Jets
There is a unique connection between the Utah Hockey Club and the Winnipeg Jets, as if it wasn’t for the original Jets franchise, there’s a good chance there wouldn’t be any hockey in Salt Lake City at the moment. Founded in 1972, the original Jets skipped town following the 1995-96 season and landed in Arizona, where they never seemed to fit in as the Coyotes, which culminated in the current move to Utah this past offseason.
Ironically, the Jets original name, colors, and history remain with Arizona or perhaps at this time, the NHL, as the original intention was to resurrect the Coyotes at some point. That isn’t happening, so, um, who owns the original Jets history here?
Yeah, both fanbases can definitely make a case here should the NHL decide to hand it to one of the two franchises. At this point, however, history could be on the Jets side, considering what had happened with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, but Utah can also make the case as Alex Meruelo did sell to Ryan and Ashley Smith, so yeah, this one could be a rivalry between some fanbases that will spill over to the ice.