Frozen_Fury
Frozen Fury is an annual pre-season ice hockey game hosted by the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL), held in Salt Lake City since 2021. A previous incarnation of the series was held between the Kings and the Colorado Avalanche in Las Vegas from 1997 to 2016. On four occasions, the Kings faced different teams instead of the Avalanche; once each against the Arizona Coyotes, the San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, and the Dallas Stars.[1][2][3] The 15th Frozen Fury was originally supposed to take place on September 29, 2012, but was cancelled due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout.[4] It resumed September 27–28, 2013, with the New York Rangers making their debut in the series.
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The first game to be played in Las Vegas was also the first outdoor game in the league's history: 14,000 fans came to a rink set up outside Caesars Palace to see the Kings defeat the New York Rangers 5–2 on September 28, 1991. The air temperature was 85 °F (29 °C) during the game. The game served as a predecessor to both the Frozen Fury series (which was played indoors) and the NHL Winter Classic, the annual regular season game held on New Year's Day that began in 2008.
From 1997 to 2015, these games were played at MGM Grand Garden Arena; in 2016, they were played at T-Mobile Arena.[5] The 2016 games were the end of the original tradition, due to the launch of the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017–18 season.[6]
In 2021, a new Frozen Fury series was launched at the then-Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City between the Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights;[7] the Sharks then rejoined the series in 2023.[8]
The status of the series is currently unknown following the NHL's expansion to Salt Lake City.