Park City • Bill Armstrong’s first pass through free agency as Utah’s general manager has felt oddly ... comfortable.
It’s not because he’s familiar with the state. He won’t even move to Utah until August.
But it has to do with team owner Ryan Smith.
When Armstrong went to ownership and explained that he needed to approach free agency like a rebuilding franchise this summer, he said, Smith completely understood. The new owner didn’t have any hockey experience. But his NBA franchise, the Utah Jazz, was going through the same process.
A rebuild, Smith could understand that. It put Armstrong at ease.
“He has been really good because we mirror the Jazz a little bit,” Armstrong told The Salt Lake Tribune. “It would be one thing if he hadn’t gone through the rebuild. He would be like, ‘What are we doing here?’ But we are just coming out of it, coming into our fourth year [of a rebuild]. So it is one of those things where we are mirroring them. I think he has a good understanding.”
With the green light from his owner to proceed, Armstrong has prioritized defense and youth in free agency thus far.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Sean Durzi, Utah General Manager Bill Armstrong and Head Coach Andre Tourigny, from left, hold a press event at Hotel Park City to talk about Durzi's four-year contract signing on Monday, July 1, 2024.
He didn’t want to sign any players to long-term contracts that would mess up his flexibility. He also didn’t want to sign an older player who might be phasing out by the time the Utah Hockey Club is ready to truly contend.
The GM made a big trade with Tampa Bay for Mikhail Sergachev, a 26-year-old defenseman. Armstrong then made a deal for New Jersey’s John Marino, a 27-year-old defenseman.
“Our biggest need was on defense,” Armstrong said. “By acquiring Marino and Sergachev, we got two building blocks.”
To round out the defense, Armstrong signed Juuso Valimaki and Michael Kesselring and re-signed Sean Durzi to a four-year deal.
“We addressed a lot of our needs,” Armstrong said. “But it wasn’t by going out and signing any free agent for seven years. We were about to do it by sticking to our timeline. You know Durzi is 26. Sergachev is 26. Morino is 27. That felt like we were about to get good contract planning, which allows us to be flexible in the future.”
He also thought some of those players could add to key areas last year’s team was missing. That included defending power plays more effectively. The Arizona Coyotes gave up 63 power-play goals last year. The league average was 52.
“There is a synergy to our group that we kind of needed to add a few tweaks to,” Armstrong said. “Face-offs, some penalty kills [defending the power play] — add some players where that was their identity.”
Armstrong knows next year will be up and down with a team this young. Last year, the Coyotes were the youngest team in the league. Even Durzi, who just signed for a four-year deal, understands that.
“Everybody wants to have 10 Stanley Cup rings, do it all,” Durzi said. “But it is more than that. It starts with development camp,” which the team is holding this week in Park City and Salt Lake.
“These kids are going to set the tone,” Durzi continued. “We want to win. We want to get there for a state is that hungry to win. It is a process.”
But with the ownership behind him, Armstrong feels this is the best way forward. In a weird way, despite all of the change, he seems at home.
“There are going to be nights where we look like world beaters with the young guys running wild,” he said. “There are going to be nights where we take it on the chin a little bit. But if we can be a little more consistent, it is going to be a fun year.”
