SALT LAKE CITY – As the Utah Hockey Club approaches its inaugural season, one can’t help but ask a long list of questions about this initial NHL campaign in Salt Lake City. Perhaps the biggest questions are, can the club be highly competitive in the Central Division, and do they have a shot at making the highly coveted Stanley Cup Playoffs?
The short answer is, yes, the team is capable. However, there are a lot of things that will need to in happen in order for this team to reach hockey’s most competitive tournament.
Over the last 12 seasons, the Arizona Coyotes have only made the playoffs once (2020, lost to Colorado 4-1 in round one). This brought about a major reset and for the last few years, the club has been in rebuild mode, acquiring draft picks and developing young talent.
However, last season the team was showing a lot of promise and was in contention early on until they suffered a 14-game losing streak that buried any playoff hopes. Despite that stretch, the team appeared competitive and was showing good signs before losing so many in a row.
Fast forward to a new era of hockey in the state of Utah and this team has raised their ceiling. They made some big trades to bring in defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino, drafted twice in the first round and have a few young players on their roster that could take a big leap this season.
All things considered; this team could surprise a lot of people in the league this year and making the playoffs is certainly attainable. But there’s a handful of things standing between them and Lord Stanley taking a trip to the beehive state.
Top to bottom, the Central Division may be the toughest in the entire league which includes an onslaught of competition such as the Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks. Last season, the Stars, Jets, Avalanche and Predators all qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Looking ahead to 2024-25, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to secure a spot. Dallas may be ready to go the distance, Colorado is still incredibly talented and may see the return of captain Gabriel Landeskog, Nashville added veteran stars Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei to long-term-contracts and Winnipeg seeks redemption after underperforming.
Related: Get To Know Utah Hockey Club’s Central NHL Division
You can almost guarantee those four teams as playoff squads which means Utah will either have to play well above expectations or be good enough to secure a wildcard spot and be the fifth team from the division to make the playoffs.
The minimum requirement to make the playoffs in the division last year was 47 wins with 99 overall points. That would require 11 more wins than what the Coyotes did a season ago, but likely more as Nashville has only improved.
Not impossible, but certainly very difficult. The good news is that hockey is a crazy sport that’s full of surprises and sometimes the puck just bounces your way enough to make the impossible happen.
Taking another positive step in their rebuild, this team looks a little bit different than it did a season ago.
The addition of Sergachev and Marino were huge and should lift the ceiling for this team. But what does that look like? Is that five more wins? Is it 10? And how quickly do these players fit into the system? Scoring goals hasn’t been an issue for this squad but stopping them has been. Are these two enough to lock down the defensive zone more consistently?
Additionally, how healthy will Sergachev be this season? Last year he only played 34 games due to a fracture in his left tibia and fibula which required surgery. Can he make it through 65+ games?
Again, sometimes you just need the puck to bounce your way which includes remaining healthy and the team working well together. If those two things happen, that’ll give Utah their best shot at a playoff spot.
One of the few bright spots for this team last season was the emergence of so many promising young players.
Logan Cooley looked like a future All-Star, Dylan Guenther may have a much higher ceiling than was anticipated, Matias Maccelli was a maestro in finding his teammates, Barrett Hayton may have finally lived up to expectations and Josh Doan showed glimpses of greatness in a short stint with the team.
If the Utah Hockey Club wants to make the playoffs, each of these players will need to be better than last. Cooley and Guenther will need to work together to each produce more than 50 points, Maccelli will need to prove his 40 assists weren’t a fluke, Hayton will need to continue improving and if Doan makes the squad, he’ll need to prove that those 9 points in 11 games weren’t just situational.
If these young players take a significant leap, Utah will be very competitive on a nightly basis and just might steal one of those last playoff spots.
Fans can absolutely expect Utah to be competitive, but it will take a near-perfect season for them to make the playoffs. Remember, this team hit the reset four years ago and generally, it takes five to seven years to re-enter the playoff conversation and more than seven to be considered a contender.
Related: What To Expect From Utah Hockey Club In Their First Season
Rest assured, this team is headed in the right direction and has the potential to take some folks by surprise. But don’t be disappointed or shocked if they’re just not quite ready yet.
Fans can watch the Utah Hockey Club’s first game on October 8 against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Click here for the full schedule.
