As Utah Hockey Club’s Bill Armstrong celebrated his biggest offseason acquisition, the general manager peered down the table, saw a smiling head coach, and offered a thank you tinged with apology.
“The man on the far left endured a lot of pain to get to this point,” Armstrong said, looking at André Tourigny. “I signed him as a coach … and then traded all the players. So there’s no one more happy at this press conference than coach because he’s got a chance to move into the future with a good, competitive team that’s young but can take some steps.”
It’s hard to find any fan, pundit or official who thinks the first offseason for Utah’s new NHL franchise has been anything but a smashing success. For Armstrong and Tourigny, that success has been mapped out in their minds for years.
“Before I got hired, the plan was really clear,” Tourigny said.
The first two years would be spent acquiring assets. By the third season, the franchise would start to see some of its young players find roles with the team. Now, in the fourth year of its rebuild, the recently relocated club is beginning to make moves “to start to lift off a little bit,” Tourigny said. A year from now, the coach hopes the team will take yet another step and become a true contender.
“We’re really excited about what happened,” Tourigny said. “We’ve been really transparent about what was the plan, and we are on the right trajectory.”
Here’s a look at Utah HC’s offseason so far.
Key additions: Mikhail Sergachev, Ian Cole, John Marino, Kevin Stenlund
Key departures: J.J. Moser, Travis Dermott, Josh Brown
Current cap space: $9.9 million
Utah adds key defensemen
Last season, the Arizona Coyotes didn’t have trouble scoring goals. The team averaged 3.1 per game.
“Chasing those little bugs out there, it was not fun,” said Mikhail Sergachev, one of the NHL’s premier defenders.
But on the other end, the Coyotes were a sieve. The team scored the 16th most goals but let in the eighth most in the NHL.
Mikhail Sergachev, a defenseman for the Utah Hockey Club, speaks during an NHL news conference Friday, July 5, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Enter Sergachev, who aims to help reshape the team’s identity in its first season in Utah.
“This roster can definitely score goals,” Sergachev said. “But it’s all about defense for me. If we can establish that right away, from the get-go, I think we’re a playoff team. I don’t see a reason why not.”
Sergachev knows a thing or two about that. The 26-year-old has been part of the postseason in each of the last seven seasons with Tampa Bay, winning the Stanley Cup twice.
“We were in a situation where we want a proven player who has done it. … Sergei is exactly that kind of player,” Tourigny said. “He’s been in championship games, been in pressure games. … He is one of those guys who is on the ice for those big moments.”
Joining Sergachev on the blue line will be veterans John Marino (acquired in a trade with New Jersey) and Ian Cole (who signed a one-year deal after spending last season with the Canucks).
“Colesy is a warrior,” Sergachev said. “He puts his body on the line and blocks a ton of shots, plays defense, hits. He’s all in for a team and you could see it in the playoffs. I watched Vancouver. He was great for them. He’s just a tremendous defender; all of us can learn from him a lot.”
Marino was surprised by his trade destination but sees promise in his new home.
“I think they’re sending a message for sure, doing what they did in the offseason,” he said. “They want to be a competitive team. … I think it’s going to be exciting. I think it’s only going to be improvement from here and who knows where it’s going to go.”
Bringing in Sergachev, 26, and Marino, 27, also fits with Utah’s timeline.
“We’re moving in the right direction, I think it’s been very successful because we followed the plan,” Armstrong said in assessing his offseason moves. “... We’ve put in players that are in place that they match our team’s age, and then allow us to move forward. So when our team is good, they’re at a good age to help us get over the top. And it’s not vice versa, where we’re signing guys today that we’re extremely excited about. And then when our team’s really, really good, you know, we’re burdened with the contract and age.”
Other needs
The Coyotes ranked 31st out of 32 teams in face-off win percentage (45.1%). They were 25th in penalty kills (76.3%).
That’s why Utah signed Kevin Stenlund, a 27-year-old forward who just won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers.
Stenlund won 429 of his 835 face-offs last year, good for 51.4%.
He also led the Panthers in shorthanded time on the ice (212:10).
Keeping pieces in place
One of Utah’s top priorities was keeping defenseman Sean Durzi in the locker room.
“There are a lot of reasons, but I will say that one thing that stands out for me is his competitiveness,” Tourigny said. “He’s willing to do the dirty work. He really wants to win. He wants to compete. He wants to get better every day. He’s a really good player, but he has the character that we’re looking for on top of it.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club Head Coach Andre Tourigny, defenseman Sean Durzi and Utah General Manager Bill Armstrong, from left, pose for a portrait during a press event at Hotel Park City to talk about Durzi's four-year contract signing on Monday, July 1, 2024.
Durzi, who was picked up in a midseason trade last year, will get the chance to continue to develop with a roster that is largely staying intact.
Utah was able to resign forward Liam O’Brien to a three-year extension and 24-year-old forward Barrett Hayton to a two-year extension worth $5.3 million.
“What I like about what Bill and his group did is I think we had needs but we had huge belief in the players we had internally,” Tourigny said. “We like our group a lot. We like the chemistry in our group.”
“We’ve got a good young team,” the general manager echoed. “Our guys are extremely tight from what they’ve been through the last year and a bit.
The NHL draft
Utah used its first-ever draft pick on 17-year-old Tij Iginla.
A short while later, Armstrong traded back into the first round to grab Cole Beaudoin.
The two draftees were part of a group of five former first-round picks who put their talents on display at a weeklong development camp.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Teammates congratulate each other following a goal during the scrimmage game following UtahÕs 2024 Development Camp at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, July 5, 2024.
“There’s some really talented kids coming in,” Armstrong said.
Tourigny called the difference in talent at this year’s camp compared to when he started with the franchise “refreshing.”
Iginla received a roaring ovation from the Delta Center crowd when he was introduced at a scrimmage to close the camp.
“It was really cool to hear that big cheer when my name was called,” he said. “I think the fans have been so welcoming to the hockey club and to me as well. It looks like we’re going to have some of the best fans in the league down the road. It should be a lot of fun.
It might be a while before Utah fans see him, though.
“We were pretty transparent about … trying to bring kids in when it’s the right time for them,” Armstrong said. “We’re in a different phase of the organization. Now, we’re moving along, where we want to get to the other side of it. If you can put [young players] in the right process and bring them in when they can help the team, it’s more effective for the player and it’s way better for the organization.”
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