SALT LAKE CITY — The Delta Center became the 91st unique venue the Rangers have played a regular-season game on Thursday night when they beat the Utah Hockey Club, 5-3, for the first time.
There's always some excitement for a team competing in a new place, and the Blueshirts were no different.
Utah's NHL era came quickly thanks to the diligence of owner Ryan Smith, who has been working to field a team since 2022.
When arena and ownership issues reached a breaking point in Arizona in April, Smith purchased the Coyotes' assets from owner Alex Meruelo for $1.2 billion.
Now, Utah is the 25th state or territory in which the Blueshirts have played.
In October, the Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously to approve and help fund Smith Entertainment Group's Delta Center renovation plans, which were built for the NBA's Jazz and need to be fixed up for dual use with hockey now also on the schedule.
The remodel, which is expected to take place in three phases and address the 4,000 to 5,000 seats with obstructed views of the ice, is expected to be completed by the start of the 2027-2028 NHL and NBA seasons.
“It felt pretty good,” Braden Schneider told The Post about his first touch of Delta Center ice. “I think it's a great rink. It's a little different, it's steep. It looks nice. Everything here with him is really nice. I think it's a positive review from me.”
The commitment to bringing hockey to Utah is evident in the city's planned contribution of $900 million, as well as in SEG's pledge to invest at least $3 billion, according to Sports Business Journal.
However, hockey already had a presence in Salt Lake City.
Before the Utah HC, which is supposed to announce a permanent name between the end of this season and the draft, there were the Utah Grizzlies (now of the ECHL) and the (defunct) Salt Lake Golden Eagles.
Peter Laviolette played for the Denver Rangers in the 1988-89 season, which was also the last time the Rangers' head coach was in town.
He laughed a lot as he recalled that there weren't many IHL teams around Denver or Salt Lake City at the time.
“Oh my God, we must have played them 25 times,” he said with a smile after Rangers held optional training at the Olympic Oval in nearby Cairns.
The oval, built for indoor speed skating in the 2002 Winter Olympics, was packed Wednesday afternoon with youth hockey and curling practices across from where the Rangers skated.
Players had to walk from the Rangers' locker room down the main floor and up two flights of stairs to their designated rink, which was surrounded by a massive speed skating sheet that wrapped around the entire facility.
The arenas and city may be new to most Rangers but not to Laviolette or Assistant Michael Pica.
Pekka has fond memories of winning gold with Team Canada in 2002.
“Practice in the training arena [felt] “It's good for me because I know the Olympics were there,” Artemi Panarin told The Post before the game on Thursday. “For me, the Olympics are something special, and I enjoy that energy in the arena. Very fun.”
Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced in his 14th win this season.
Zach Jones was a healthy scratch for the 10th straight game and the 12th time in the last 13 games.
The Rangers scored a shorthanded goal for the second straight game, giving the team seven goals this season. That's good for third in the NHL behind only the Panthers (11) and Lightning (8).
