What a wild ride it’s been for the Utah Hockey Club. The Smith Entertainment Group purchased the Arizona Coyotes in late April and announced the club would relocate to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 2024-25 campaign. Owners Ryan and Ashley Smith did a great job building excitement for the team’s inaugural NHL season, and general manager Bill Armstrong did a phenomenal job rebuilding the team’s blue line in the offseason to ensure his team would be competitive.
Related: Utah’s Star Players Carrying Them Into Playoff Contention
Now, just days away from Christmas, Utah finds themselves one point out of a playoff spot after a turbulent start. What three things could Santa leave Utah under the tree to improve their chances of making the postseason?
No. 1: Lawson Crouse’s Confidence Back
Before Utah’s first game, Lawson Crouse was named associate captain, which is a permanent role (versus a rotating alternate captain). This was a well-deserved honor, considering Crouse had scored 20 or more goals in three straight seasons with the Coyotes and put up back-to-back 40-point seasons as a physical power forward.
Through 32 games with Utah HC, Crouse only has four goals and three assists, for a 10.25 goal per 82-game pace and a 17.93 point per 82-game pace. He is on pace for less than half his goal total in the last three seasons and less than half the point total he recorded in the last two campaigns.
What makes this even worse is that three of Crouse’s seven points came in the first two games of 2024-25, meaning he’s only scored two goals and five points in the last 30 games. He carries a $4.3 million per year price tag, so Utah needs a lot more from him. Please, Santa, return Crouse’s confidence in the new year.
No. 2: No Setbacks for Injured Sean Durzi and John Marino
As mentioned, Armstrong did a fantastic job rebuilding the blue line in a single offseason. First, he acquired Mikhail Sergachev to be the number one defenseman Utah needed. Then, he acquired John Marino to bolster the defensive core further and complete the right side of the top four.
Unfortunately, Marino missed training camp and the start of the regular season, and Sean Durzi was injured in the fourth game of the campaign. This decimated Utah’s blue line, and they were forced to call up Maveric Lamoureux, who also ended up on the injured list after an excellent first…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…