Utah Hockey Club hopes to reward new city by ending long playoff drought
Utah Hockey Club
Last season: 36-41-5, did not make the playoffs.
COACH: André Tourigny (89-131-26 over 3 seasons with the Arizona Coyotes).
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 8 vs. Chicago.
DEPARTURES: F Jason Zucker, D J.J. Moser, D Mathew Dumba.
ADDITIONS: D Mikhail Sergachev, D John Marino, D Robert Bortuzzo.
GOALIES: Connor Ingram (50-23-21-3, 2.91 GAA, 0.907 save percentage) and Karel Vejmelka (38-13-19-2, 3.35 GAA, 0.895).
BETMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 60-1.
What to expect
With new surroundings, Utah hopes for better results than it had before departing for Salt Lake City after 28 years in the Phoenix area, most recently as the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes made the playoffs just once in their final 12 seasons. General manager Bill Armstrong likes to refer to this season as “the fourth year of the rebuild.” All that said, with a core of homegrown talent led by returning leading scorer Clayton Keller, Utah could push for a postseason spot. To help get there, Armstrong made upgrading defense his offseason priority, and landing Sergachev might be the NHL’s free-agency coup. There is a lot of energy with a new fan base, giving Utah a home-ice advantage it had long lacked in Arizona.
Strengths and weaknesses
The good: This has been a slow build and this season could be a significant step forward. Keller led the club with in goals (33), assists (43) and points (76), but it’s not all him. Utah returns its top 11 scorers from and now — thanks to Armstrong’s deals — a much-improved defensive corps. Sergachev not only brings the skill of a player who’s a proven two-way player, he is entering his prime at 26 who already has two Stanley Cup championships on his resume with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In goal, Ingram has shown the ability to give his team a shot to win each game.
The not-so-good: It’s a new city, new look, new ownership, new outlook. But in many ways, they are still the Coyotes. Nearly the entire team made the move north and still must prove the old ways and numerous losses are over. There is a large group of promising players, but there doesn’t appear to be one who can be a dynamic goal scorer and lift Utah to the next level. Ingram could be a quality goaltender, but whether he can be that true difference maker with a late-season or playoff game on the line is an unknown at this point.
Player to watch
Barrett Hayton’s talent is not in question. Can he stay healthy? Hayton, the No. 5 overall draft pick in 2018, has missed 71 games over the past three seasons and played in 33 last season. Utah would love nothing more than to make Hayton the top-line center each game. If he can stay in the lineup, that could be just the boost the team needs to make the playoffs in its first season in Salt Lake City.
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