Utah’s first-ever season starts in around 60 days and the team is ready to make some noise to begin their tenure in Salt Lake City. While a lot of the core players have stuck around from last season with the Arizona Coyotes, general manager Bill Armstrong has been busy adding some pieces to make the team more competitive.
Looking forward to a lineup that won’t be put together for another two months isn’t easy. There are a lot of uncertainties like the team potentially signing or trading for a new player. Injuries could also happen between now and opening night. However, where’s the fun in not trying to predict head coach Andre Tourigny’s lines in October? Here’s what the Utah Hockey Club could look like for game one of the 2024-25 season.
Utah’s Forwards
Utah hasn’t picked up a lot of forwards between the final game in Arizona and now. For comparisons, I’ve decided to include the lineup from the last game this team played, which would be back in April against the Edmonton Oilers.
April 17 Lines
- Clayton Keller – Alex Kerfoot – Nick Schmaltz
- Lawson Crouse – Logan Cooley – Dylan Guenther
- Matias Maccelli – Jack McBain – Aku Raty
- Michale Carcone – Josh Doan – Liam O’Brien
None of the forwards who played that game against the Oilers have left, some have even been extended long-term like O’Brien and Hayton who did not play that night. With the addition of Stanley Cup champion Kevin Stenlund, it creates some competition for the depth to fight in training camp for a spot.
It’s safe to say that the Keller-Hayton-Schmaltz line will stick together. It’s a line Tourigny has used a lot in the past couple of years and when Hayton was healthy last season, it did produce as usual. However, I think Hayton’s leash is getting shorter as last season was a disappointing one for him. That top line could be broken up as early as this season with younger players pushing their way into the lineup.
Related: Utah: 3 Questions Entering the 2024-25 Season
It’s also safe to say that Cooley and Guenther will most likely stay together. Although Cooley played decently in his first couple of NHL games, he really exploded onto the scene when Guenther was called up from Tucson. He ended the season with 44 points while Guenther recorded 35 points in 45 games. The two obviously have great chemistry together and it would be almost foolish to not pair them back together.
From there, it’s a guessing game. Crouse in my opinion struggled at points of time throughout the season even when he played on a line with Cooley and Guenther, so the reasonable move would be to flip him and Maccelli. However, Maccelli and McBain played well together throughout last season and when Doan was called up, it became a solid line. I’m going to leave him on that second line while having Maccelli-McBain-Doan as the third line. However, if Crouse struggles early, I wouldn’t be surprised if Maccelli gets promoted to the Cooley-Guenther line.
That leaves the fourth line. Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad will definitely make it onto the team and I even wouldn’t be surprised if Bjugstad starts the season on the third line. That leaves the final spot open for either Stenlund or O’Brien to play opening night. I do believe both players will be rotated in and out of the lineup throughout the season. The two forwards did put up similar point totals last season and both play a physical game. It’s honestly a coin flip to decide between these two so I’ll give O’Brien the final spot to begin the season. He did get the three-year extension and he has become a fan favorite in Utah due to his “spicy tuna” nickname so I’m sure the organization would love to see him play.
Oct. 8 Lines
- Clayton Keller – Barrett Hayton – Nick Schmaltz
- Lawson Crouse – Logan Cooley – Dylan Guenther
- Matias Maccelli – Jack McBain – Josh Doan
- Alex Kerfoot – Nick Bjugstad – Liam O’Brien
Extras: Kevin Stenlund, Milos Keleman
Utah’s Defense
If there’s any part of the lineup that looks radically different from last season, it’s the blue line. Armstrong has been busy rebuilding what was the weakest part of the team in 2023-24.
April 17 Defense Pairings
- J.J. Moser – Sean Durzi
- Juuso Valimaki – Michael Kesselring
- Vladislav Kolyachonok – Josh Brown
Out goes J.J. Moser to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Josh Brown to the Oilers. In comes John Marino, Mikhail Sergachev, and Ian Cole. It’s no secret that Sergachev is now Utah’s top defenseman. It’s been the main discussion point between Armstrong and Tourigny. The team did trade a lot to get him and the two-time Stanley Cup champion is a fantastic player. Most likely, it’ll be him and Durzi on the top pair which could be a fantastic pairing.
Marino is definitely a top-four defenseman and slots in perfectly on the right side. I believe that Valimaki has grown and shown enough to prove he’s a top-four defenseman on this team for now and if he comes out strong during training camp, he will complete that top four. With Sergachev, Durzi, Marino, and Valimaki as Utah’s top four defensemen, this could be the strongest top two defensive pairs that we’ve seen from this group in a while.
Cole slots in as the final left-shot defenseman. He’s a veteran who has won two Cups and has played in the playoffs for most of his career. If Valimaki struggles in the top four and he needs to step in, it’s an easy switch. Then it’s between Kesselring and Kolyachonok for the final spot and there’s no doubt it’ll be the 6-foot-4 defenseman getting the nod. Kesselring has been developing well and between his time with the Coyotes and Roadrunners last season, he’s shown he can be a strong defenseman wherever he plays.
Oct. 8 Defense Pairings
Mikhal Sergachev – Sean Durzi
Juuso Valimaki – John Marino
Ian Cole – Michael Kesselring
Extras: Vladislav Kolyachonok
Utah’s Goaltending
Let’s be honest, there won’t be any changes to the goaltending tandem from last season. Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka will be splitting the net again. The question will be who will be the main starter? Well, if it’s like last season, it will be split time. I think Ingram will start the season, though, coming off his good 2023-24 season. If either goaltender gets injured, it’ll be more than likely it will be Matt Villalta coming up from the Roadrunners.
Between the Pipes
- Connor Ingram
- Karel Vejmelka
Even though Utah didn’t make a lot of changes to their forward group and goaltending, they didn’t need to. The youth is still growing in both of those positions and will keep doing so as players like Aku Raty and eventually Tij Iginla make their way into full-time NHL jobs. However, the complete overhaul of the blue line has made Utah a better team and one that could push for a playoff spot in the West. With full seasons from Doan and Guenther, Cooley and Maccelli only getting better, a healthy Hayton, and some big names being added to the blue line, it could be a fun first season for Utah. At the end of the day, this should be the first season where this group is expected to challenge for a playoff spot and the lineup changes from last season show that is where they are heading.
