The 4 Nations Face-Off wrapped up on Thursday night. Canada beat the United States in overtime on a goal by Connor McDavid, which will live on in hockey history. The tournament has dominated the news over the past week, as it should have. The event was everything it was advertised to be. However, the NHL regular season resumes today (Feb. 22), so let’s catch up with all the news from the Utah Hockey Club locker room with the team returning to practice over the last few days.
Sean Durzi Returning From Injury
Sean Durzi is expected to return to the lineup in Utah’s first game out of the 4 Nations Face-Off against the Los Angeles Kings. Durzi was injured in Utah’s fourth game against the New Jersey Devils. After some speculation, it was revealed to be a shoulder injury that required surgery.
Durzi will be a massive asset to this Utah team. With John Marino back in the lineup, the right side of Utah’s blue line is finally healthy, as general manager Bill Armstrong envisioned before the season with Durzi, Marino, and Michael Kesselring. Before his injury, Durzi averaged 21:27 minutes on the ice per game. In his minutes, Utah dominated at five-on-five, having a 54.06 expected goal percentage and a 67.74 high-danger chance percentage with Durzi on the ice.
It will take Durzi some time to get back to game speed after missing 52 games, and it may also take him some time to regain his feel and instincts for the game. However, once he gets comfortable, Durzi is an excellent puck-mover capable of defending other teams’ top players. He will be a considerable addition, quarterbacking Utah’s second power-play unit, and is a guy who can provide an offensive spark from the back end. While it may take him a few games to get comfortable, one thing is for sure: Durzi will bring a ton of energy.
Playoffs Start Now for Utah
Utah has 26 games left in its regular-season schedule, and it is six points out of the second wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. Utah’s chance of making the playoffs is 15.8% (via MoneyPuck). Despite the math saying their chances are slim, Utah has shown it can get as hot as any team in the NHL. They could significantly increase their chances of making the playoffs if they have another stretch of games where they win six of seven, as they did in the middle of December.
Utah’s players seem ready to make one final push, with Josh Doan saying, “Our next game is a big one no matter what for us right now…26 playoff games.” Doan added, “It’s going to be a dogfight, but it’s going to be a blast, and I think the whole group is looking forward to them.” Kesselring said, “It’s do or die. The playoffs start now for us,” (via Cole Bagley).
Whether Utah makes it into the playoff bracket or not, this team is on track to meet general manager Armstrong’s preseason expectation of playing “meaningful games” down the stretch. This is an impressive feat, considering this team has dealt with injuries to key players all season. With Utah finally getting some key pieces back, this final push for the playoffs will be intriguing.
Bill Armstrong’s Trade Deadline Approach
Utah is in a unique position heading into this season’s March 7 trade deadline. Utah has been highly competitive despite battling injuries all season and being the fourth-youngest roster in the NHL. However, this team is in no rush to become buyers to go all-in on a playoff run, and Armstrong has maintained his vision of building for the future.
When asked about his approach ahead of the deadline, Armstrong said, “We’re sitting in between being buyers and sellers. Some of that is because a lot of our buying was already done with [Nick] DeSimone, [Olli] Maatta, Marino, [Mikhail] Sergachev, and signing [Kevin] Stenlund.” He added, “I’m happy with the group and the way it’s built. If we can add something that’s a dynamic piece and it becomes available, we’ll always look at that every single day…We have to be smart about where we are in the rebuild and smart with our money,” (via KSL Sports).
Related: Previewing Utah HC’s Trade Deadline
Armstrong could go out and find a couple of rental players to help improve this team’s chances of making a playoff push, but I don’t see what purpose that serves, as Utah is still quite a ways away from being a threat to the Stanley Cup contenders in a seven-game series. Armstrong would also likely have to overpay for any player at the deadline. When so many teams are searching for guys to fill holes in their lineup, almost every player’s stock is inflated, and general managers have to pay a premium to bring players in.
With Utah’s chances for the playoffs being slim, it would be a waste of assets if Armstrong brought in rental players to try to improve this team for the remainder of the season. If Armstrong makes any moves leading up to the deadline, it will be for players he sees being a part of this team in the future, whether that be guys already signed to deals with multiple years left or someone on an expiring deal who wants an extension in Utah.
With Utah in an awkward situation, caught between being a buyer and a seller, I expect minimal movement at the deadline. I think this team uses their remaining 26 games to assess how good they can be when at full strength, which we have not seen yet this season. Utah has a ton of draft capital and one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, so I would expect most of their movement to come in the offseason, when more teams are willing to make dynamic moves rather than trading rental players.
