3 Burning Questions Entering Utah’s First Offseason

The offseason is when NHL rumors swirl the loudest, and news seems to break daily. Whether it’s a coaching carousel, the NHL Draft, or free agency, there will always be unanswered questions. If the Arizona Coyotes hadn’t relocated, the first question on this list would be what would happen at the June 27 land auction. 

Related: Utah GM Bill Armstrong to Have Busy 2024 Offseason

That date seems less important now that Alex Meruelo’s incompetence was revealed by several media outlets. This piece won’t discuss Meruelo and company, but their lack of seriousness is very concerning if the NHL still wants to return to Arizona in five years, especially considering the miscues and mistakes they’ve made. Why would that change in a few years?

Unfortunately, Arizona and the Valley of the Sun are in the rearview mirror, and several obstacles stand before the newest NHL franchise in Salt Lake City. With the Stanley Cup playoffs underway, there won’t be any postseason talk, but many lingering questions have fans pondering. 

1. Do Any Players Request a Trade?

Arizona is known for its year-round weather, beautiful scenery, and mountains. Playing hockey in December in 50-degree weather is a dream compared to what it’s like in Winnipeg or a team up north, where winters are harsh. Thus, moving from Arizona to somewhere like Salt Lake City could cause issues for players and their families, who might also have to move. That could cause a myriad of problems that some players might not want to deal with.

So, that begs the question, will any roster players request a trade? At least one player might – even if owner Ryan Smith puts 110% of his time into the team, it’s still a matter of preference. Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, and Nick Schmaltz have been with the team for what seems like forever ago, so if anyone requests a trade, it will likely be one of them. Trading Keller would have catastrophic effects on the ongoing rebuild, as he is a player the team should build around. Not so much the other two, but they are still vital.  

Early into the offseason, it’s unknown what players might think a month from now or even three months from now. Whatever happens, though, general manager Bill Armstrong will be on top of things, as he usually is. 

2. What Does the Draft Look Like?

Viva Las Vegas! The 2024 NHL Draft will be one to remember as it will take place in the Las Vegas Sphere rather than T-Mobile Arena, home to the Vegas Golden Knights. The experience will be unlike any other, and it will be surreal for the teams and players who get drafted. The 2024 Draft has plenty of high-end talent, including Macklin Celebrini, Ivan Demidov, and much more. 

Utah has various key needs, as many teams do. The first is their defense, which could use another top-tier prospect. In the pipeline, they have defensemen Dmitri Simashev, Maveric Lamoureux, Artyom Duda, Maksymilian Szuber, and Victor Soderstrom. The organization could use another elite talent, but who would that be? This draft houses several top defensive prospects, such as Artyom Levshunov, Sam Dickinson, Zayne Parekh, and Zeev Buium. 

There’s also plenty of talent up front with forwards like Celebrini, Demidov, Cayden Lindstrom, and Cole Eiserman. While this draft is likely not as strong as it was in 2023, there are plenty of options for Armstrong to add to the ever-growing prospect pool.

3. Will Utah Be Competing for the Playoffs in 2024-25?

Every fanbase wants their team in the playoffs/ With its high intensity, and big hit after a big goal, there’s nothing like playoff hockey. For much of the 2023-24 season, the Coyotes were in a wild-card spot, even defeating the previous five Stanley Cup winners, winning five in a row. All good things come to an end, though, as they lost 14 games in a row shortly after, which derailed their season, ultimately missing the playoffs.  

That could be blamed on several things, including a simple lack of experience. They are a very young team. Logan Cooley was just 19 years old, and this was Dylan Guenther’s second season in the NHL, among other young players like Finnish sensation Matias Maccelli, Sean Durzi, and J.J. Moser. Luckily, Utah will have abundant cap space for Armstrong to make a splash in free agency. They also have multitudes of draft assets this season and in future years, which could be used for trade. 

At the end of the day, Armstrong will have plenty of room to improve the team via trade, the draft, and free agency, but he’ll have to decide how much he wants to move the ladder in 2024-25.

Interesting Offseason at Hand in Utah

There’s no doubt this offseason will be very important for various reasons. First and foremost, Utah is in a very unique situation. Sure, the Seattle Kraken and Knights were established as an expansion team, but this relocation process was unlike any other in recent memory. Needless to say, this will be a situation to keep an eye on and to monitor as the summer days approach.