The Utah Hockey Club is ready to rumble as the first season of professional hockey in Salt Lake City approaches. After moving from Arizona earlier this offseason, new owner Ryan Smith gave general manager Bill Armstrong the green light to tweak the roster in the hopes of making a triumphant return to the postseason.
It's been five seasons since the franchise qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, although the point totals have increased every year of the rebuild. It began with a paltry 54 in 2020-21, and improved to 57, 70 and then 77 in 2023-24. Although that was still only good enough for seventh place in the Central Division, the hope in Utah is that this roster has what it takes to break the drought in a new state.
And there are a lot of reasons to believe this club can, if not make the playoffs, at least take a meaningful step forward. The additions of Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino were the big offseason adds, but the goal internally is that a few young, exciting talents take the next step forward. If the D-core can mesh, the forward core can continue improving and goaltender Connor Ingram can find his midseason form right away, this squad could hang around all year.
But that's a lot of ‘ifs,' and quite a bit will need to go right for the Utah Hockey Club to advance to the dance in their first taste of professional hockey. Let's talk about it.
Can Mikhail Sergachev return to form after injury?
Utah and the Tampa Bay Lightning made the shock trade of the NHL offseason, with two-time Stanley Cup champion Mikhail Sergachev heading cross-country. The 26-year-old is a bonafide top pairing D-man, but he broke his leg last season and only suited up for 34 games, his lowest total in a season since breaking into the league in 2017-18.
The Russian made a triumphant return to the lineup in the playoffs, but his Bolts were defeated in five games by the eventual champion Florida Panthers. Utah is banking on Sergachev returning to form, especially with his massive $8.5 million AAV on the books for the next four years.
But that's no guarantee; Sergachev only managed two goals and 19 points in his 34 healthy regular-season games. He is just one season removed from a career year, though, when he exploded for 64 points in 79 contests with the Lightning in 2022-23. Utah will badly need him to play like that kind of defenseman — a star at both ends on the rink — especially as he's the new No. 1. Sergachev was also second fiddle to Victor Hedman in Tampa Bay, and now he'll have the opportunity to run the blue line.
Still, his health is a concern. Utah has a ton of faith in this player, and for them to return to the playoffs, he'll need to play like a true No. 1 defenseman all season. If he can earn a spot on the top powerplay unit — Sean Durzi will also be looking for that PP QB slot — he could be primed for a big year.
A couple key forwards must avoid sophomore slump
Sergachev, Marino and two-time champion Ian Cole should help stabilize a blue line that was chaotic at best last season. Along with Durzi, Juuso Valimaki and Michael Kesselring, this group already looks miles ahead of last year. But the forward core, which is loaded with young talent, is also going to be crucial to success.
We all know about Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, who are fixtures on the top line and seem to get better and better every year. But it's a couple of second-year players who need to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump — most notably, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.
The former was fantastic in his rookie year after being selected No. 3 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old scored 20 goals in his first pro campaign, adding 24 assists for a very respectable 44 points over an 82-game slate. The latter was even better; Guenther broke onto the scene with 18 goals and 35 points in 45 games. Although he's technically a third-year player, having appeared in 33 games in 2022-23 (and scoring 15 points), we'll consider him a sophomore for this exercise. He was picked No. 9 overall in 2021.
The point is, both Cooley and Guenther have the opportunity to keep getting better and run the second line. And both youngsters have the skill to get even better as members of Utah HC. But that is a must-have if the squad hopes to advance in a very difficult Central Division. While there are a few other key players — Josh Doan, Barrett Hayton and Matias Maccelli come to mind — the development of Cooley and Guenther is crucial.
Utah truly has one of the better young forward cores in the league, and they're going to score a lot of goals next year. But for the club to take the next step, it's going to take even more improvements from guys who have barely had a cup of coffee in the NHL.
Can Connor Ingram find the form that once had him in Vezina conversations?
Finally, the goaltending. Karel Vejmelka has proven himself to be a more-than-capable backup, but there was a point last year where people were legitimately considering Connor Ingram a Vezina Trophy contender. How about he plays like that all year?
The 27-year-old Canadian faded down the stretch, although he still put together a very solid 2.91 goals-against average and .907 save percentage when all was said and done. He should have the opportunity to run with the starter's job from the beginning of the year, and he's got a much-improved defensive core in front of him.
In a perfect world, Ingram finds the form that he showed mid-campaign and runs with it all year. If he can do that, and a very unfamiliar blue line can mesh together seamlessly, this is already a much better team. Add another strong season from Keller and Schmaltz, along with a step forward from Cooley, Guenther and a few other young guns, and you have all the ingredients for a triumphant return to the dance.
Again, it's a lot of ifs. But in a new city that is starved for professional hockey in an arena that promises a raucous crowd every game, count Utah HC out of contention at your peril.
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