5 highlights from the ESPN broadcast at the Utah Hockey Club arena

Call it a six-hour party or a typical NHL opening night broadcast.

Whatever you call it, ESPN brought it to Salt Lake City on Tuesday for the Utah Hockey Club's first regular-season game as a franchise.

NHL experts Steve Levy, Mark Messier and PK Subban spent their afternoon and early evening talking hockey at a makeshift desk outside the Delta Center as Utah hockey fans cheered behind them.

Before, during and after the two games leading up to Utah Hockey Club's game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the trio discussed upcoming NHL action and chatted with some high-profile guests.

Here are highlights from the ESPN broadcast from outside the Delta Center.

The NHL commissioner loves Utah

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman praised Utah as a state and Utah as an NHL team during his Tuesday broadcast on ESPN.

He described the state as a “winter sports market” with passionate fans and noted that Utah will host the Winter Olympics in 2034.

“The Utah Hockey Club will be part of the revitalization and revitalization of this downtown area, and I think the league will be stronger having a club in Utah,” Bettman said.

An NHL expansion is not coming yet

Bettman also praised Ryan and Ashley Smith and the Smith Entertainment Group, noting that he was blown away by the way they handled the Arizona Coyotes' transition to the Utah Hockey Club.

“We had high expectations and they exceeded them,” the commissioner said.

But despite the league's positive experience so far in Utah, Bettman said the NHL won't rush into expansion.

“We are not yet entering into a formal expansion process,” he said. “And there’s no need for us to expand.”

The players are thrilled with the fan response

Bettman and the ESPN team had many kind words for Utah hockey fans.

So did Utah Hockey Club defenseman Sean Durzi, who was interviewed on the “blue carpet” by Subban. (He and other players walked the blue carpet to enter the Delta Center and prepare for the game.)

“You just look around and it’s something really special. I’m just happy to be a part of it,” Durzi said.

PK Subban would play in Utah

Ryan Smith, co-owner of the Utah Hockey Club, joined the ESPN broadcast about 45 minutes before the start of the Utah Hockey Club's first-ever regular season game.

Among other things, he talked about what makes Utah a great place to live and argued that players – and fans – enjoy being able to hike in the state's beautiful mountains.

Subban chimed in during Smith's comments, noting that he took time for a hike Tuesday morning before the ESPN broadcast.

“I took 14,000 steps in these mountains today. Incredible. I love it here. I would play here,” Subban said.

Ryan Smith says hockey can bring people together

During his segment, Smith spoke about hockey's power to unite people and thanked Utahns for seizing the opportunity to create an NHL team.

“In a world where people don't seem to come together all that much, there's a state, a city, Republicans, Democrats – right now everyone is united on one thing, and that's the Utah Hockey Club,” he said.