Five months ago to the day, Utah Hockey Club president Chris Armstrong and team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith gathered in a room in Arizona with the players and staff of what was then the Coyotes.
After years of speculation over the team’s future in Arizona, the group broke the news: the club had been purchased by the Smith Entertainment Group and relocated to Utah.
“The people in that room that day didn’t choose their circumstances, but they certainly chose their attitude,” Armstrong said Wednesday at UHC’s media day at the Delta Center. “In our experience as an organization, it’s been nothing but positivity, enthusiasm and an incredible desire to do whatever it takes to make this a successful first season as a franchise.”
In the time since the April 18 meeting, the Utah Hockey Club has built a temporary practice facility inside the Utah Olympic Oval, designed jerseys, started a multi-year renovation at Delta Center and broken ground at The Shops at South Town for their new team facility that is scheduled to be done in Sept. 2025.
General manager Bill Armstrong recently toured Utah’s locker room at Delta Center and took a pause — “Wow, we’re really an NHL team,” he said.
Chris Armstrong said an official team name will not be released yet, but they’re strongly weighing fan opinion. A team captain has also not been named. It’s an “ongoing conversation” inside the organization.
Now, the fun part. It’s time to play hockey.
Training camp opens Thursday at the Olympic Oval with two on-ice sessions per day ahead of Utah’s opening-night matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 8. Bill Armstrong brought in some veteran pieces in the offseason — namely Mikhail Sergachev, Ian Cole and Kevin Stenlund — while maintaining room for the returning budding, young talent.
Sergachev specifically has the opportunity to be a team’s No. 1 defenseman for the first time in his career. While with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sergachev played behind Norris Trophy-winning Victor Hedman. He also broke his tibia and fibula in February, limiting him to just 34 games played in the 2023-24 season.
Now, with a fresh start, Sergachev can lead a defense corps that has struggled in past years. The two-time Stanley Cup champion adds invaluable stability and experience that can trickle down through the pairs.
Sean Durzi could be a potential partner for Sergachev. The 25-year-old was a cornerstone of the team’s defense last season and signed a four-year, $24 million extension with Utah in June.
“It was pretty easy for me,” Durzi said Wednesday of his decision to re-sign. “Looking at the situation, the city, the people involved – it’s pretty much everything a player could ask for. I was pretty thrilled with how everything went when we came down, the warm welcome we received.”
Durzi said he and a few teammates had dinner with members of the NBA’s Utah Jazz and got to ask questions about their new home and what it’s like playing in the state.
While guys like Sergachev and Durzi are poised to be big parts of Utah’s inaugural season, Head Coach André Tourigny said he is not putting a strict expectation on any player, old or young, coming into training camp.
Utah has a deep prospect pool and a handful of players battling to earn consistent NHL time. Returning forwards Barrett Hayton, Josh Doan, Dylan Guenther and Michael Carcone will all be pushing to prove themselves while prospects like Maveric Lamoureux and 2024 No. 24 pick Cole Beaudoin will look to make good impressions out of rookie camp.
No. 6 overall pick Tij Iginla is considered day-to-day with an injury; Bill Armstrong said he hopes the rookie will make a contribution “towards the end of training camp.”
“As a coach, you need to give the opportunity to your players to show you what they have every year,” Tourigny said Wednesday. “If I arrive here and I already put the lid on what they are, I don’t do my job.”
With the team’s location and foreseeable future settled, the players will be able to focus on one thing: winning hockey games. Last year, the Coyotes finished 27th in the league with a 36-41-5 record.
No one — internally nor externally of the organization — is expecting Utah to go on a miraculous Stanley Cup Finals run. The team is in year four of its planned rebuild.
But that doesn’t mean significant steps won’t be taken this season. Oddsmakers see the Utah Hockey Club as having about a 33% chance of making the playoffs, thanks to the additions to the roster. The front office and players alike have guaranteed a strong level of competitiveness every night.
“Every year is kind of a new challenge… We definitely want to take that next step and be in the playoffs,” star forward Clayton Keller said Wednesday. “I expect big things.”
The players feel an energy and motivation to give Utah fans something to cheer about — to create a new legacy.
“We’re part of something special. Not too many players can say that they’re in the situation that we’re in,” forward Lawson Crouse said Wednesday. “For me, it’s coming in with the right mindset and then being able to adjust on the go. I think it’s so important to be able to learn from the ups and the downs.”
Time will tell if that turns into wins.
