With stable ownership and an energized market, NHL Utah has turned its plethora of draft picks into tangible assets that should make it a playoff contender, says Ken Campbell.
When Ryan Smith finally put the Arizona Coyotes out of their misery in April, it not only ended one of the longest-running soap operas in NHL history, but it also gave the new franchise a fighting chance to be competitive.
And competitive the Utah Hockey Club will be, thanks to the fact that GM Bill Armstrong was able to finally use his stockpile of draft picks for some real assets in the form of defensemen Mikael Sergachev and John Marino while re-signing Sean Durzi.
Will that make Utah the second coming of the Colorado Avalanche, which won the Stanley Cup the season after it relocated from Quebec? Probably not, because nobody expects this team to win a Cup in its first year in Utah, but this team will be better. It should seriously contend for a playoff spot and will almost certainly be playing meaningful games in April.
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