by Alma Bean
The day has come where NHL fans in Utah can rejoice as they now have a team, they can call their own.
Though there may not be an official name in place, one thing that is for certain is that Utah will have their own NHL team in the Delta Center this season. With this move, a lot of fans will be watching their first ever NHL game, but there is a strong demand for the game in Salt Lake City.
Coming from Arizona, the Coyotes franchise seemed like there was a bit of uncertainty in the relocation. Whether players wanted to play for the organization with the move or if the front office and staff would be retained. New owner Ryan Smith went ahead and calmed the storm with his introductory event on Wednesday, April 24. With 29,000 deposits for season tickets and a packed full Delta Center chanting “Spicy Tuna”, you need to know who will be leading the charge on the ice come this fall.
Below are the players that you will need to know for the upcoming season:
Nick Bjugstad (B’YOOG-stad) #17
Position: Center
Shoots: Right
Height/Weight: 6’6, 209 lbs.
DOB: July 17, 1992, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Drafted: 1st Round (19th pick) Florida, 2010
Cap Hit: $2.1 million
In his first full season in Arizona, Bjugstad had a lot to be proud of. Playing 76 of 82 games, Bjugstad had a career-high in shooting percentage (13.3%), time on ice (1,326 minutes), average time on ice (17:27), faceoff wins (617) and blocks (48). Though there’s no mention of his actual scoring or contributions to goals, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved in the offense. Bjugstad was fourth on the team in goals (22), seventh in assists (23) and fifth in points (45) while being second on the time in plus/minus (+11). Even at 31-years-old, Bjugsatd showed that even when he’s not scoring, he’s crucial to the success of the team as he also his a career-high in oiGF (Goals For While On Ice in All Situations) with 75 goals. That’s the most for Bjugstad since the 2017-18 season when he had 71.
Going into his final year of his contract, being arguably the third best player on your team for your position and taking up over two million dollars in cap space might be too much to ask. If Bjugstad doesn’t play like his life depends on it, Utah may have to say goodbye to the “Rotisserie Chicken” sooner than later.
Travis Boyd #72
Position: Center
Shoots: Right
Height/Weight: 6’0, 190 lbs.
DOB: September 14, 1993, Hopkins, Minnesota
Drafted: 6th Round (177th pick) Washington, 2011
Cap Hit: $1.75 million
Going into the 2022-23 season, Boyd signed a two-year, $3.5 million extension where he spent a majority of this past season out due to a torn pectoral muscle in mid-December. Thought he was injured; Arizona has been able to get the best of Boyd over the last three seasons. Playing in 172 games, Boyd has racked up 34 goals, 43 assists but the eyesore of his stats is the plus/minus rating which is -39. At 30-years-old, it might be a difficult ask to try and command a high price tag on a young, growing roster. Boyd’s saving grace may be that the Utah NHL team is roughly $15 million under the salary cap floor that was set last season ($61.7 million) and will need to valuable players to get them to that financial mark.
Josh Brown #3
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Height/Weight: 6’5, 220 lbs.
DOB: January 21, 1994, London, Ontario
Drafted: 6th Round (152nd pick) Florida, 2013
Cap Hit: N/A
As a defenseman, it’s not all about the glitz and glamor of scoring goals but making sure that they can retain any lead that their offense can produce. Brown will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and will be a crucial missing piece if the organization lets him walk. He was fourth on the team in blocks (85) and first amongst defenseman on the team in hits1 (112)
Michael Carcone (kahr-KOH-nee) #53
Position: Forward
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 5’9, 170 lbs.
DOB: May 19, 1996, Ajax, Ontario
Drafted: Undrafted 2016 (Signed with Vancouver)
Cap Hit: $775,000
This season was the awakening for the three-year pro. Carcone had career-highs in games played (74), goals (21), assists (8), points (29), shots on goal (111), shooting percentage (18.9%), blocks (22) and hits (56) all while having his lowest average time on the ice of his career (11:16). With Carcone being fifth on the team in goals, having the 27-year-old helping lead the Calvery is not only a nod to Arizona’s scouting after Carcone failed to see any playing while he was signed with the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators.
With Carcone’s contract being under a million dollars, it may be worthwhile to the organization to retain him as long as the price is right. Playing in nearly every game this past season, Carcone might be a steal in the renegotiation stage if he can continue to show improvement as he had this past season.
Logan Cooley #92
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 5’10, 174 lbs.
DOB: May 4, 2004, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Drafted: 1st Round (3rd pick) Arizona, 2022
Cap Hit: $950,000
The second-year player got a taste of the NHL this season playing an impressive 82 games. Totaling 20 goals, 24 assists and 284 shots on goal this season, the 19-year-old is turning heads sooner rather than later. With him having to compete with Keller at the center position, it shouldn’t be too absurd to have Cooley to have leading the charge in the second or third line with two more years left on his rookie contract. With his early production, expect to see fans cling to him and make him a household name in Utah.
Lawson Crouse (KROWS) #67
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 6’4, 215 lbs.
DOB: June 23, 1997, Mt. Brydges, Ontario
Drafted: 1st Round (11th pick) Florida, 2015
Cap Hit: $4.3 million
The seasoned veteran of Arizona still managed to hold things down in his eighth season with the organization. Crouse still has till the end of the 2026-27 season to win the Utah fans over and that shouldn’t be hard with his production. Last season he was one goal of his career-high of 24 goals but became more aggressive on the offensive end reaching a career-high with his shots on goal reaching 171 shots this campaign.
What should be intriguing for new NHL fans with Crouse is his ability to get takeaways. Crouse hit a career-high in takeaways with 35 and has been gradually getting that number up throughout his career. The only players who have had more takeaways than Crouse this season are Clayton Keller, Alexander Kerfoot and Nick Schmaltz.
Sean Durzi (DUHR-zee) #50
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Height/Weight: 6’0, 195lbs.
DOB: October 21, 1998, Mississauga, Ontario
Drafted: 2nd Round (52nd pick) Toronto, 2018
Cap Hit: $1.7 million
Durzi will have himself a pretty large market going into free agency this offseason. Setting career-highs in assists (32), points (41), plus/minus rating (-1), shots on goal (142), blocks (160) and average time on ice (22:43), Durzi may have shown the organization that he is worth retaining. Even at nearly $2 million a year, Durzi has shown that when he’s on the ice he’s a major contributor to the puck movement and finding the open man for a clear shot. Having such a young roster going into the season, it may be beneficial to keep Durzi around to teach the new faces of the franchise how to play winning hockey.
Connor Ingram #39
Position: Goalie
Catches: Left
Height/Weight: 6’2, 196 lbs.
DOB: March 31, 1997, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Drafted: 3rd Round (88th pick) Tampa Bay, 2016
Cap Hit: $1.95 million
For those of you who love defense, Ingram is your guy. Ingram has progressively shown that he will have you on the edge of your seat with the immaculate saves can manages to capture. This season Ingram not only set a career-high in saves (1325) but also led the league in shutouts with six. Though Ingram’s record of 23-21-3 may not look that impressive but those six shutouts make his role as the starting goalie a little easier to assign. Especially with Ingram’s save percentage just shy of 91, he has shown progression that he can make strides to be a top-10 goalie next season.
Clayton Keller #9
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 5’10, 178 lbs.
DOB: July 29, 1998, Chesterfield, Missouri
Drafted: 1st Round (7th pick) Arizona, 2016
Cap Hit: $7.15 million
Being the only Arizona on ESPN’s Top 100 list, there is plenty of pressure on Keller’s shoulders and he’s willing to take on the challenge. With his talent, Keller will be a name that you will see on the backs of fans throughout Salt Lake City by the first puck drop. He led the team in goals (34), assists (43), points (77), power play assists (21), shots on goal (228) and offensive points shares (6.5) all while being under contract till the 2028-29 season. For the 25-year-old the trajectory of stardom looks to be right around the corner.
Alexander Kerfoot (KUHR-fuht) #15
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 5’11, 186 lbs.
DOB: August 11, 1994, Vancouver, British Columbia
Drafted: 5th Round (150th pick) New Jersey, 2012
Cap Hit: $3.5 million
Going into his final year of his contract, Kerfoot will be fighting for his roster spot with young talent on the rise. Kerfoot’s status with the team after this season will depend on him turning 30-years-old, having Logan Cooley on Kerfoot’s heels and Jack McBain being 25 years old with his contract expiring the same year. The organization will have a tough decision on their hands needing to decide if they want to lean more into the youth movement or veteran leadership.
With the uncertainty, Kerfoot does have statistics on his side. Kerfoot was fourth on the team in points (45), second on the team in faceoff wins (412) and led the team in shorthanded goals (2). His full stat line might not excite most NHL fans but will his value for faceoffs be enough to keep Kerfoot past his current contract.
Matias Maccelli (ma-TEE-uhs mah-CHEHL-ee) #63
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 5’11, 176 lbs.
DOB: October 14, 2000, Turku, Finland
Drafted: 4th Round (98th pick) Arizona, 2019
Cap Hit: $3.425 million
Being second on the team in assists (40) and third in points (57), Maccelli has a lot to offer Utah if he can keep his production up. With $7.25 million being owed to Maccelli over the next two years, he has high expectations in his young career. The fourth-round pick in 2019 played all 82 games this season and managed to play a completely clean season having just eight penalty minutes. Maccelli coming off an All-Rookie season, if the “Finnish Fettuccini” and continue to be top-three in points for Utah, he will be able to have a successful career that will put the league on watch.
Jack McBain #22
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 6’3, 201 lbs.
DOB: January 6, 2000, Toronto, Ontario
Drafted: 3rd Round (63rd pick) Minnesota, 2018
Cap Hit: $1,599,999
Utah may know McBain as the man who started the “Spicy Tuna” chants last week, but the NHL community knows him as an enforcer. Being second on the team in hits (204), McBain’s value also serves on faceoffs. Third on the team in faceoff wins (294), his 45 percent success rate is crucial to Utah’s ability to convert those wins into goals.
McBain is going into his final year of his contract and his current monetary value is just 1.89 percent of the team’s cap space. Having McBain being a part of the second line, there will be talks of potentially moving Logan Cooley into that spot. Even with the speculation, McBain should be retained as long as he can continue his production of last season.
J.J. Moser #90
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 6’1, 173 lbs.
DOB: June 6, 2000, Biel, Switzerland
Drafted: 2nd Round (60th pick) Arizona, 2021
Cap Hit: $886,667
With the one-two tandem of Durzi and Moser, the chemistry between them is something to see. Moser is second just to Durzi in blocks with 112 but even with their one-two punch, this offseason will be telling for the defensive duo. Moser outside of blocks and his chemistry with Durzi, his stat line doesn’t impress the masses. With current NHL draft prospect Zeev Buium most likely within reach for Utah in the upcoming draft, it may be worthwhile to let Moser walk and get a potential top-four defender in the league on a rookie contract might seem like a move you can’t miss.
Liam O’Brien #38
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 6’1, 213 lbs.
DOB: July 29, 1994, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Drafted: Undrafted
Cap Hit: $775,000
Liam “Big Tuna” O’Brien is already a fan favorite in Utah without a single game played in Salt Lake City. Though he may have won over the fans, they may want to take a look at the stat sheet before his free agency starts on July 1. O’Brien leads the team in two categories: hits (229) and penalty minutes (153). As a center, you would expect O’Brien to be influential in the offensive scheme but in the 75 games he played, he totaled five goals, nine assists and 14 points. Every team needs a true enforcer but as a player going into free agency when he was in your fourth line, how much are you willing to spend for the tail end of your roster.
Nick Schmaltz #8
Position: Center
Shoots: Right
Height/Weight: 6’0, 181 lbs.
DOB: February 23, 1996, Madison, Wisconsin
Drafted: 1st Round (20th pick) Chicago, 2014
Cap Hit: $5.85 million
Third in goals (22) and assists (39) but second in points (61), Schmaltz is a great complementary piece for Clayton Keller. With two more years left on his contract and a $11.5 million cap hit, Schmaltz not only can create for himself, but his ability to get the puck moving smoothly for the open goal is something that doesn’t come naturally. Goalies when they see the duo of Keller and Schmaltz, they should tremble as they have a combined 386 shots on goal and a shooting percentage of 28.4 percent. Though goalies will know who will be taking the shot, their dominance will make its way through the cracks for the goal.
Expectations?
With more questions than answers going into the season, Utah will have their hands full of talent and optimism before the first puck drop. Now with the NHL in Utah, fans will be able to rejoice as they can finally claim a new professional team in their town.
- Matthew Dumba led Arizona defenseman in hits with 150 before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. ↩︎
The Hive Sports 
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