The Utah Hockey Club had some serious work to do this offseason. When the league year started on July 1st, Utah had zero defensive players under contract. Thankfully, the team had no shortage of cap space to work with. They immediately went to work compiling a defensive unit from scratch. General manager Bill Armstrong did a fantastic job bringing in talent, mixing long-term contracts with one- and two-year “prove it” deals.
Armstrong's biggest acquisition was star defender Mikhail Sergachev, who was acquired via a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sergachev is exactly the type of player that Utah needs. He is still relatively young (26) and is under contract for the next seven seasons. Sergachev boasts some impressive postseason experience that will surely come in handy down the road for Utah. He instantly became one of the team's most important leaders.
Utah did not stop there. They also re-signed two RFAs (Sean Durzi and Juuso Valimaki) and signed Ian Cole among other additions.
Improved blue line play could help Utah become a frisky team as soon as this year.
However, there's still work to be done if new owner Ryan Smith wants to turn the Utah Hockey Club into a contender in one offseason.
Below, we highlight two veteran players who could complete Utah's roster and possibly make them a playoff team in 2024.
John Tavares would be an awesome addition — but he would be expensive
John Tavares boasts both the talent and veteran experience needed to transform the Utah Hockey Club overnight. The problem is, nobody knows for sure if Utah has a chance to acquire him.
Toronto could decide to trade Tavares in order to save cap space and get a little something in return for an aging veteran. The Leafs already extended both Auston Matthews and William Nylander, with many considering both Tavares and Mitch Marner to be year-to-year propositions. Still, it is tough to see Toronto parting ways with one of their “Core 4” players.
It doesn't end there. Tavares has an $11 million cap hit in 2024-25, which exceeds Utah's roughly $10 million in cap space. Utah would need to clear cap space somehow to entertain a Tavares trade — which would likely come from throwing a player into the deal.
Tavares also has a no-trade clause, further complicating the matter. Some have speculated that if Utah offered a strong two-year contract offer that Tavares could be persuaded into lifting his no-trade clause for Utah.
If Utah somehow managed to trade for Tavares, they would benefit from his immediate production. He logged 29 goals and 65 points in 2023-24, including six game-winning goals.
Could Utah add even more talent on the blue line with David Savard?
Would the Utah Hockey Club add even more defenders?
If they do decide to acquire another blue line player, David Savard could be a smart target.
Savard is a tempting target for a couple of reasons.
First, it is possible that Montreal could give him away for very little. The Canadiens have a young and deep bench of talented defensive players. While this could lead Montreal to hold onto Savard to provide some veteran leadership, it could also lead to the Canadiens dealing him for a future return.
Second, Savard could make Utah even better on the blue line. Adding Savard to Sergachev, Durzi, and John Marino would give Utah a talented top-four like they haven't seen in several years. Savard only costs $3.5 million against the cap in 2024-25, which makes him a much more realistic target than John Tavares.
If the Utah Hockey Club does not make a move for Savard before the start of the regular season then he will be someone to watch at the trade deadline.
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