It is set to mark the fifth pre-season fixture played by the Kings in the Utah capital since 2018, and the second consecutive edition of the Frozen Fury series held at the Vivint Arena, which can hold 14,000 spectators for ice hockey matches.

Under the name of the Salt Lake Ice Center, it held figure skating and short track speed skating at the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics.

It would be expected to serve as a venue should Salt Lake City be awarded the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

San Jose Sharks are first-time opponents for the LA Kings in the Frozen Fury match, which is due to take place on October 5.

The Frozen Fury series was created by the Kings in 1997, taking place in Las Vegas until 2016.

It moved to Salt Lake City in 2021, with the Vegas Gold Knights the opponents for the last two years.

Salt Lake City has made clear its preference for staging the 2034 edition of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics over 2030 to avoid a clash with Los Angeles 2028 sponsorships.

It has said it would be willing to stage the 2030 Games if required, and at the end of last year had appeared to be the sole credible candidate because of issues with several other interested parties, which led to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) postponing plans to confirm a host at this year's Session in Mumbai.

Sapporo in Japan's bid was "paused" following growing public anger at the Tokyo 2020 bribery scandal, and a proposal from Vancouver in Canada for 2030 effectively collapsed because of a lack of support from the British Columbia Government.

However, IOC Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi claimed last week there had been "renewed interest" in the 2030 Winter Olympics.

Sweden has launched a feasibility study into making another bid after losing out to Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy for 2026 and held talks with Latvia over joining forces, and Switzerland has revealed its intention to step up talks with the IOC over a potential future bid.

The IOC has also said Vancouver is "still at the table".

There are concerns over the future of winter sports given the increasing impact of climate change, and the IOC Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games chaired by Romania's Octavian Morariu has been tasked with investigating a number of options, including permanent rotating hosts and a joint award of the 2030 and 2034 editions.

Ice hockey has featured at every Winter Olympics since Chamonix 1924, although NHL players have not played at the last two editions and the League Commissioner Gary Bettman has insisted its requirements must be met for them to return at Milan Cortina 2026.