The Utah Hockey Club may be entering their first season as a franchise but with a depth of talent from the existing group and some solid off-season moves, Utah may be seeing playoff hockey this very season.
We’re in the heat of summer, and that’s why everything you read below in this article should be taken with a grain of salt. But for those who are paying close attention to the NHL’s 2024 off-season, there’s one storyline that sticks out more than just about any other – and that narrative is the expectations for the first-year NHL team that is the Utah Hockey Club.
For reasons we’ll explain, the UHC not only should be considered as Stanley Cup playoff contenders, but favorites to end their four-year streak without post-season hockey. In our estimation, Utah is unquestionably a playoff team, and anything less than a strong showing in the Central Division would be a massive letdown for a franchise that’s trying desperately to make a good first impression.
It isn’t only Utah’s core of young talent that’s the reason for these heightened expectations, but that core sure doesn’t hurt matters for the organization. With youngsters Clayton Keller (26 years old), Matias Maccelli (23), Logan Cooley (20), Sean Durzi (25), Dylan Guenther (21), Barrett Hayton (24) and Josh Doan (22) in tow, Utah has approximately one-third of their NHL roster heading toward or directly in their prime. Internal development is going to be crucial for Utah’s playoff hopes, but even if one or two of the aforementioned youngsters take a lateral or backward step, there’s still likely going to be four or five that evolve into legitimate difference-makers.
Meanwhile, Utah’s off-season maneuvers have only helped their competitiveness. Utah GM Bill Armstrong had a wealth of salary cap space to play with this summer, and he’s used it wisely, acquiring former Florida Panthers forward Kevin Stenlund to shore up Utah’s fourth line. But the biggest improvement by far comes on Utah’s defense corps, which now has former Tampa Bay star D-man Mikhail Sergachev, former New Jersey Devil John Marino and former Vancouver Canuck Ian Cole on board. With the additions on ‘D’, Utah now has three solid pairings for coach Andre Tourigny to lean on to help them win games. That’s going to help them greatly in their efforts to be a playoff team.
Finally, in net, Utah has two veterans in Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka who can provide above-average netminding at a combined cap hit of $4.675 million – a pay rate that’s significantly less than many playoff-caliber teams are handing out to just one of their goalies. Armstrong isn’t committed long-term to either goalie, and that should make for a highly-competitive situation between the pipes for Utah.
After making their moves this summer, Utah still has $9.92 million in cap space to play with, which is more than enough to go out and trade for a high-impact veteran during the season. Thankfully for Utah fans, Armstrong and the organization are done with being a dumping ground for unwanted contracts. And that shift in philosophy should pay off with a bolstered quality of play.
Indeed, when you look at the Central, there are three distinct groups. The first one is teams we believe are locks to make the playoffs – Dallas, Colorado and Nashville; the second is teams that aren’t guaranteed to play post-season hockey, but will be competitive – Minnesota, St. Louis, and Winnipeg; and the third group is a team that, absent some miracle, likely won’t be in the playoffs – the Chicago Blackhawks.
Having drawn those lines, where would you put Utah? For this writer, they’re now inching closer to that first group than they are to the second. Utah won’t have it easy by any metric, but at long last, they have every right to be expectant when it comes to the post-season.
Of course, staying healthy is going to be key to Utah’s playoff hopes, but you can say the same about every NHL team. But the days of being 'almost there' are over for Utah. Armstrong has made all the right moves to push his team into a new strata, and while there’s likely still going to be some time needed for them to develop into a legitimate Cup contender, the big splash Utah owners Ryan and Ashley Smith are hoping to make in the club's first year is well within their capability.
There’s no doubt the mere presence of the team will be thrilling enough for Utah fans this coming year, but the bar has now been set far higher than that. After too many years of setbacks and letdowns, the time has arrived for this group of players to take the next competitive step and serve notice to the rest of the NHL that things have changed, and changed for the better.
No more excuses. No more what-ifs. Utah’s fate is now completely in its own hands, and nothing short of a playoff appearance will suffice.