Can The Utah Hockey Club Compete In Their Inaugural Season?

More Money, Less Problems?

The Utah Hockey Club joins the NHL this season, but they are essentially the Arizona Coyotes in a new state and uniform, just moving a bit north. I was high on the Coyotes last year with a lot of their young talent, and they showed flashes of it at times, showing a considerable improvement over their 2022-23 season. I still believe in that talent, which I will talk about a bit below, but the new team will benefit in another area that maybe some won't think of: money. Arizona was forced to cut corners and be cheap on a ton of amenities because they just didn't have the financial backing needed to really compete. Now, with far more money being invested in this new team, I would expect improvements across the board, and it seems that morale has never been higher with this franchise that is getting a new start.

Young, Talented Core

The new owners of the franchise said right away that they want to be a contender in their first year at the helm, and from what they have and what they have done, I won't be shocked at all if they are. Now, they aren't going to be Edmonton or Dallas, but they certainly can make a run in the Western Conference. One move they made quickly that got my attention was trading for D Mikhail Sergachev from Tampa Bay, who has the upside to be a No. 1 defenseman. They also brought in D John Marino from New Jersey, who I also think has a really high upside and has shown flashes as well throughout his career, and he is only 27. When you combine those two with two already solid D-men in Sean Durzi and Juuso Valimaki, you have a defense that is one of the better squads in the West.

With the defense improving, that will also help the offense, which already was a solid unit that scored 3.10 goals per game. I love the young core they have with Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, and Matias Maccelli. Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz are also two very good players, and the recipe is there for them to continue to progress this season.

Best Bet

Utah To Make The Playoffs (+175, DraftKings)

With a young and talented roster, I can see Utah making the playoffs in the West in their first season. It could come down to how their goaltending does, and if Connor Ingram can be as good as he was last season for them. While that will be hard, and goaltending itself is very hard to predict on a season-by-season basis, he is still a solid option in the net. Plus, backup Karel Vejmelka was bad in 2023, but he has shown he can play a lot better in the past. I could see him bouncing back.