Per NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Utah Hockey Club has signed Dylan Guenther to an eight-year extension worth $7 million per season. Guenther, who was called up from the Tucson Roadrunners last season amid injuries on what was going to be a short stint, turned into an exceptional season for the youngster. The 21-year-old notched 18 goals and 35 points in 45 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season and showcased why he was taken ninth overall back in 2021.
Many fans will be confused by this signing with such a small sample size, given that he’s only played 78 NHL games in his career. That said, many people criticized the Coyotes for signing Clayton Keller long-term, and look where that’s gotten them. So, let’s dive deeper and see what this means for Utah and Guenther.
What This Means for Utah & Guenther
Former Coyotes general manager John Chayka didn’t do many things well for the Coyotes when he was at the helm. However, he did well by signing Keller to an eight-year extension worth $7.15 million, roughly identical to the deal Guenther just signed. It was questionable at the time of the signing, as Keller hadn’t proven himself in the NHL yet, and the same applies to Guenther.
With that example out of the way, when Guenther was called up in January last season, he was a completely different player than he was in his rookie season. He drove to the net, he was more physical and had instant chemistry with fellow linemate Logan Cooley.
While Guenther deservingly gets his payday, GM Bill Armstrong and Utah also lock up a core player of the future. He could be a 40- or even 50-goal scorer down the road; signing him now, while the cap is projected to go up in the future, makes tons of sense for both parties.
Thank You, Vancouver Canucks
If you remember, back in the summer of 2021, when the Coyotes kick-started their massive teardown of a rebuild, they dealt captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson and fan favorite Conor Garland to the Vancouver Canucks. In return, they received the Canucks 2021 first-round pick, which so happens to be Guenther, who was Armstrong’s first pick as GM of the Coyotes.
As we look back on this blockbuster trade, Ekman-Larsson is no longer on the team and was bought out by the Canucks, and Garland is still there, who found his groove last season, scoring 20 goals. Nearly four years later, this trade was a complete success for Armstrong and company as they now lock up the core piece of this trade in Guenther to a massive extension. Assuming the sharp-shooter reaches his full potential as an elite goalscorer in this league, this contract could be considered one of the best in the NHL, but that’s a story for another day.
Armstrong Continues to Make Steady Decisions as GM
When Armstrong took over, to put it in simplest terms, the Coyotes were a disaster. They had little direction and lost their first-round pick due to violating the NHL’s Combine testing policy. Throughout the rebuild, he’s had plenty of massive decisions to make. Many fans will recall the 2023 NHL Draft when he took Russians Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But. While it’s still too early to tell, those are massive gambles.
Even with the smaller signings in Jack McBain and Matias Maccelli, he’s constantly thinking of the future, and to succeed in this league, thinking of the future and not the present is vital. It’s also worth mentioning the splash he made at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas, trading for Mikhail Sergachev, who already has two Stanley Cups under his belt.
Armstrong continues to make the right moves at the right times, and locking up Guenther to an eight-year extension further proves that.
Bright Future for Guenther in Utah
When looking at the current core of players in Utah, you see Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Cooley, newly acquired defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, Maccelli, Lawson Crouse, the list goes on. Anyone who watched the Coyotes last season would know Guenther is 100 percent in that category, and this extension proves it. The sharp-shooter built instant chemistry with Cooley towards the latter half of the 2023-24 season, and if those two share the same line this season, watch out. Nonetheless, this is a good signing for Utah and Guenther, and his potential has only scratched the surface.
