In just the past 24 hours, there’s been a lot of news and rumors swirling around the Utah Hockey Club. For a team that didn’t make the playoffs, they seem to be one of the teams with the most trending stories behind them. From a possible name leak to a player getting his first chance to play for his country, it’s been a busy week for Utah. Let’s get into some of the latest news and rumors. Delta Center Renovations Are Underway Starting with the biggest official news, renovations on the Delta Center are officially underway. It marks the second straight summer where the home of Utah and the NBA’s Utah Jazz will have zero events until preseason in September. Ever since the team was brought to Salt Lake City, we’ve known that the modernization of the arena would take years to be completed. A timeline was revealed last summer showing the plans of construction that would last until Oct. 2027. According to that timeline, this summer will include demolishing and rebuilding the lower bowl and new retractable seating. That is indeed what will be happening this summer, the Smith Entertainment Group confirmed on Wednesday, and to no one’s surprise, owner Ryan Smith is once again making magic happen. The arena will implement the world’s first retractable seating system that will provide the best sightlines for both the NHL and the NBA. When dual-use arenas are built, they are primarily thought of for hockey first due to an ice rink being bigger than a basketball court. SEG is making sure both Utah and the Jazz will have equally incredible seats for fans. “Adding an ice rink inside an existing basketball arena is an unthinkable feat given that an ice rink is nearly double the size of a basketball court,” Smith said. “We are excited for the challenge as we kick off this never-before-done renovation project. This transformation will create the most compelling, welcoming, and exciting experience for hockey fans, while also allowing us to maintain the steep vertical seating for basketball that has made Delta Center such a dynamic venue with its loud atmosphere that energizes our players night after night.” With this new feature, every seat in the lower bowl will have a complete view of the ice starting next season. This is helped with the extension of the lower bowl by 12 feet and raising the floor by two feet. By the end of the renovations in 2027, Delta Center will have a capacity for hockey of around 17,000 and a capacity for basketball of around 19,000. Here’s a look at renderings of Utah HC and Jazz games in Delta Center next season. Looks pretty cool. #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/zrAxJPRcko — Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) April 30, 2025 On top of that, new premium spaces will be added to level one, bathroom capacity will be increased by 12%, and four new dehumidifiers will be added to keep the ice at peak condition. Perhaps the biggest news is that a new 450-stall parking garage will begin construction behind the Delta Center. It won’t just be the Delta Center getting major renovations this summer. Downtown Salt Lake City might look a little different as well when hockey season rolls around. On Tuesday, the Salt Lake County Council officially approved the sale of a portion of the historic Salt Palace Convention Center to SEG. The group plans on tearing down that portion of the Salt Palace in order to build a revitalized downtown entertainment district that Smith wants to be one that attracts millions to Salt Lake City. Related: Utah HC Players Choose Their Favorite Moments of the 2024-25 Season This has been in the works ever since the NHL arrived in the city. The council deemed that this property sale, in particular, is a “necessary condition” for the Delta Center’s improvement. The project will aim to connect Salt Lake City’s most popular hubs, like Temple Square and City Creek Center, to the Delta Center. It marks another step Smith and his ownership group will take in order to turn the Delta Center and downtown Salt Lake City into a world-class destination. “By taking such significant steps to transform Delta Center into a world-class facility for both professional basketball and hockey, the Jazz and Utah’s NHL team will become anchors of downtown Salt Lake City for decades to come,” Smith said. “Fans will be further immersed in the game night experience both inside and outside the arena as we work to reimagine the downtown experience of Utah’s capital city. We look forward to welcoming everyone back for the 2025-26 seasons.” Smith and his group will gain control of the land by Feb. 2027. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 or 2028. Utah Mammoth Officially Confirmed? The renovations at Delta Center and around the arena would’ve been the biggest Utah news of the week if it wasn’t for the potential leak of Utah’s name. For the past couple of months, fans and media theorized that Utah would be releasing the new and permanent name of the team around the 2025 Draft. Theories that grew stronger when SEG announced the final three names in January that fans at Delta Center could vote for: Hockey Club, Mammoth, and Wasatch, which was quickly replaced by Outlaws. Now, as summer quickly approaches, it was only a matter of time before someone slipped up, and it seems like we’ve gotten that leak. On Tuesday night, the team changed its YouTube handle to Utah Mammoth. It went viral on social media before the team quickly took down the whole channel. The Utah Hockey Club has changed their YouTube name to Utah Mammoth. #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/eR5XO9KPdF — Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) April 30, 2025 Mammoth has been by far the most popular name out of the final three candidates. Fans have dressed up like mammoths to games ever since January, and the hashtag TusksUp has been a popular one around the fanbase. If you’re looking for any updates from SEG on the situation, good luck. Other than the YouTube mishap, the team has been pretty tight-lipped about the name, including after the potential leak. “We’re fully on track to announce a name and identity ahead of the 2025-26 season,” SEG executive Mike Maughan said. It’s the same quote Maughan gave the media back in January when asked anything about the name. Outside of the name more than likely being Mammoth, we don’t know anything about the logo, color scheme, and jerseys other than the mockups that were released with the final three names, the colors most likely being the same as they are now, and that one of the inaugural jerseys could be sticking around. However, we can assume with the team changing its YouTube name to Mammoth now in April that the name will most likely be officially revealed before the draft. Is Jon Cooper Utah’s Next Head Coach? If the potential name leak wasn’t enough, more rumors about the team came out early on Wednesday, this time about the personnel behind the bench. Larry Brooks, who is a longtime reporter for the New York Rangers, reported on X that he’s heard a fair amount of chatter on Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper and potentially being linked to Utah. Cooper signed a one-year extension last year to stay the head coach of the Lightning, where he’s won two Stanley Cups. Cooper has been with the Lightning since 2012, making him the longest tenured head coach in the NHL. Currently, he’s in the middle of his eighth straight playoff appearance with the Lightning, where they find themselves down 3-1 in their first-round series with the Florida Panthers. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers) However, Cooper has been good friends with Smith for a long time. When the Lightning visited Utah in March, Cooper fell in love with the state instantly. Before even being asked a question, the coach raved about his day off in Utah. “I went right to Park City, checked out the ski hills and Main Street,” Cooper said. “Didn’t want to leave, but had to leave because I wanted to come back and watch the Jazz. So, I went to the Jazz game. Had a blast. They treated us unbelievably well. I went to bed and showed up here for our game. It’s been a really good trip.” Cooper was asked about potentially joining Utah for the 2026-27 season, which would be the season after his contract is up with the Lightning. He avoided answering it by laughing and sharing more about his time in Utah. While Cooper may be connected to Utah, they do currently have a head coach. André Tourigny’s contract doesn’t end until after the 2026-27 season, and he hasn’t done much to warrant getting fired. Every season that he’s coached this group, they’ve only gotten better and better. Now with the support of ownership behind him, he took the team to their best season, missing the playoffs by only a couple of points. It’s highly unlikely at this point that Tourigny is fired before his contract is up. He, too, has formed great bonds within SEG, including attending Jazz games with Smith. However, in the NHL, coaching can change quickly, especially with a poor start. Last season, Jim Montgomery was fired early into the season after the Boston Bruins came out of the gate with a mediocre start. Montgomery had just led the Bruins to the best season in NHL history and won the Jack Adams Award in 2023, and took the team to the second round in 2024. While anything could happen, as of right now, Cooper still has a year left on his contract with the Lightning, and Tourigny has two left with Utah. If this rumor is true, more won’t come out of it until likely the end of the next season. It’ll be interesting to see how Utah does during the 2025-26 season. If it goes poorly, Tourigny very might well have his job on the line. Josh Doan Named to Team USA More news came out on Wednesday about Utah and the World Championship. Josh Doan was named to Team USA for the upcoming IIHF World Championship. This will be the first time Doan represents his country. Doan appeared in 51 games during Utah’s inaugural season, scoring seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points. He also appeared in 28 games for the Tucson Roadrunners, where he scored 26 points and was named to the AHL All-Star Classic, which he didn’t attend due to a recall to Utah. Doan joins teammates Michael Kesselring, Clayton Keller, and Logan Cooley as Utah’s representatives for America. He also joins former Arizona State University teammate Joey Daccord, who will be one of the country’s goaltenders during the tournament. Doan’s father, Shane, skated for Team Canada six times at the World Championship, winning gold twice and being named captain three times. Maksymilian Szuber was also recently selected to attend the World Championship for Team Germany. With the Roadrunners, Szuber was arguably one of the team’s most important defensemen, scoring 32 points in 65 games, which was second best on the team, only behind Robbie Russo. He joins the four Americans and Karel Vejmelka for Czechia as the six Utah representatives at the World Championship this summer. Recent Signings Finally, on Tuesday, Utah signed Jaxson Stauber to a two-year, two-way extension. Stauber appeared in six NHL games with Utah this season, posting a 2-1-1 record with a .892 save percentage and a 3.26 goals-against average. He recorded the first-ever shutout in franchise history in November against the Vegas Golden Knights. Jaxson Stauber, Utah Hockey Club (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers) With the Roadrunners, Stauber recorded a 12-7-2 record. It was in the playoffs where he thrived. After the team lost their first game against the Abbotsford Canucks, Stauber started the second game where he made 38 saves, helping the Roadrunners win their first playoff game since 2023 and force a Game 3. In total, he made 72 saves on 77 shots across his two games in the playoffs. With Stauber, the Roadrunners will likely once again run the same reliable tandem they had this season with him and Matt Villalta. Utah can also rely on calling him up if needed. With the uncertainty of Connor Ingram’s future, bringing back Stauber makes their backup position next season a little clearer. Last week, the team also signed Michal Kunc to a one-year, two-way deal. In 49 games with HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga this season, the 24-year-old scored 35 points. While it’s hard to tell if overseas players will translate well to the NHL (Utah has had poor examples with Patrik Koch and Milos Keleman), it’s another low-risk, potentially high-reward situation here. If Kunc can play well, he could earn a roster spot on Utah out of training camp. Worst case scenario, he becomes a part of the Roadrunners or goes back to Europe.