What do you get when you pair a team that finished second to last in their division last season with a new arena and new city to play for? Well, in the case of the aptly named Utah Hockey Club, the answer appears to be perfection.

To give a brief history of how things got to this point, it’s only fair to start in Arizona. Last year, the then Arizona Coyotes posted a record of 36-41-5 and finished seventh out of eight teams in the Central Division of the National Hockey League’s Western Conference. This put them at 27th total out of the 32 teams. With a potential move becoming a major part of last season’s storyline, there was plenty of reason to doubt the team. On April 18, 2024, that possibility became a reality as the NHL board of governors officially and unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Coyotes to Smith Entertainment Group, led by Ryan Smith, who also owns the Utah Jazz.

Part of the move included various polls over the months leading up to the NHL preseason, asking fans to help name the team. For at least 2024-25, it was officially decided the organization will be named the Utah Hockey Club. A permanent name is expected to be voted on again and decided for the 2025-26 season and beyond.

With the start of the NHL regular season on Tuesday, a sold-out crowd showed up at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City for the kickoff game of the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season. Opening against one of the most hyped talents of the league in recent years, Connor Bedard, their matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks would be no easy task. Despite this, the first goal in the team’s history came just a few minutes into the first period as Dylan Guenther slotted one ninto the net, met by electric fanfare in the stands. This would not be the only goal of the night for both Guenther and the Hockey Club as he would end the night with two goals in a dominant 5-2 win.

For the second game of the season, the Hockey Club traveled all the way to New York to face off against the New York Islanders. This game turned out to be quite a thriller with Guenther again leading the way with two goals of his own, including the game winner in overtime. Team captain Clayton Keller was a playmaker for the team as he posted two assists himself to win a 5-4 game and bring their record to 2-0.

Utah again played an exciting matchup in New York as they faced off against the New York Rangers this time. A team who finished 55-23-4 last year and only lost to last year’s Stanley Cup champions, Florida Panthers, in the conference finals, is quite the matchup to have for a team’s third ever game as an organization. For a lot of this game, New York was that dominant team they were labeled as. While they never had a major pull over the Hockey Club, the game was 5-5 to end regulation just to put into perspective how much firepower the teams both had. In the end, it was the captain, Keller, who sliced the final goal home to lead Utah to a perfect 3-0 week and start to their franchise.

It is entirely fathomable the Hockey Club loses their next game and all of this “perfection” talk will be put to rest. But for now, the NHL’s newest organization is exactly that; perfect.

Utah will continue their east coast road trip with their next game being against the New Jersey Devils on Monday.