Utah Hockey Club 24-25 Season Preview

Utah Hockey Club
Central Division

2023-24 Recap
Record (W-L-OTL): 36-41-5
Over/Under: 44-33-5
Home Favorite: 7-2
Home Dog: 13-17
Road Favorite: 3-3
Road Dog: 10-24
Win Score 4 or more: 23 of 36
Lose Give Up 4 or more: 37 of 46
Puck Line Wins: 20 of 36
Puck Line Losses: 30 of 46
Front End Back-to-Back: 1-8
Back End Back-to-Back: 5-4
Goals Scored Per Game/Rank: 3.10 (16th)
Goals Against Per Game/Rank: 3.34 (25th)

Additions: Ian Cole, Liam O'Brien, John Marino, Mikhail Sergachev, Kevin Stenlund, Kailer Yamamoto (PTO)
Subtractions: Travis Dermott

There is excitement in the air as the NHL comes to Utah for the 2024-25 season. Formerly the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes, the Utah Hockey Club has stable ownership with deep pockets and willingness to spend as evidenced of their trade with Tampa bringing in two-time Stanley Cup Champion Mikhail Sergachev. He has 6 years remaining on his contract that pays him $8.5 million a season, making him the team’s highest paid player.

Offense
The Coyotes were middle of the pack last season in offense. There 256 goals put them 16 th in goals scored. Clayton Keller continues to power the offense coming off back-to-back seasons with 30+ goals. Utah’s core group of forwards are all 28 and younger and that includes Dylan Guenther entering his third season at 21 years of age and Logan Cooley who is coming off 20 goals in his rookie season. Veterans Nick Bjugstad, Alex Kerfoot and Kevin Stenlund and depth and stability to the bottom six group of forwards. Utah could very much use a game breaker up front to push them to the next level.

Defense
The Utah Hockey Club overhauled their blueline trading for Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino and signing free agent, Ian Cole. They join Sean Durzi who reupped with a 4 year, 24-million-dollar deal, Jusso Valimaki and Michael Kesselring. Sergachev instantly elevates the quality of this blueline group and will anchor the top pair in Utah. He can play in all situations and averaged around 23 minutes a night in Tampa. Wouldn’t surprise me if those minutes increase in Utah with an even more prominent role. One can make the case that only Colorado and Nashville have a better blueline group in the Central Division.

Goaltending
Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka may be one of the better tandems that no one knows about. Ingram’s 6 shutouts last season was tied for a league best and he finished with a career best 2.91 GAA and 23 victories. Despite a career goals against average of over three and a save percentage hovering around 900, Vejmelka has had his share of games where he has stolen victories for his team.

Player to Watch – Logan Cooley
The 3rd overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft had few problems if any stepping right into the NHL scoring 20 goals and adding 24 assists in his rookie season. He was fourth on the team in goals and sixth in points. Despite being just 5’10, Cooley scored 16 of his 20 goals at even strength as he was able to take advantage of his speed and edge work to beat the opposition in the offensive zone. Look for Cooley to improve on his production from last season. DraftKings Sportsbook has his Over/Under goal total at 24.5 (-115) and his point total at 54.5 (-120) for the upcoming season.

Outlook
With an improved blueline and the expected continued growth of the forward group I don’t see the Utah Hockey Club replicating the 14-game losing streak of last season’s Coyotes. I like this group to be playing meaningful games into late March and challenge for a Wild Card spot. If that happens, Utah with close to 10 million in cap space will be active at the trade deadline.

I am not ready to declare them playoff bound, but I am interested in playing their point total over 87.5 (DraftKings Sportsbook). The former Coyotes have seen their point total increase in each of the past 3 seasons.

Regular Season Point Total: 87.5
Toi Make the Playoffs: +175
To Miss the Playoffs: -215
To Win the Central Division: +2200
To Win the Western Conference: +2800
To Win the Stanley Cup: +5500