Arizona Coyotes Vs. Utah Hockey Club: A Tale Of Two NHL Teams

If you take a look at the NHL’s team stats page for the 2024 calendar year, you’ll see 33 franchises listed, not 32.

Because the Utah Hockey Club is officially a brand-new organization, its stats are recorded separately from the franchise numbers of the Arizona Coyotes.

The side-by-side data presents an interesting contrast.

Amid all the turmoil and talk of possible relocation in the second half of last season, the Coyotes collected 37 points in their last 47 games to finish 21 points out of a playoff spot.

By Dec 31, 2024, Utah had already passed that, with 38 points in 37 games under its new identity. Now, after adding three of a possible four points to kick off 2025, the first-year franchise is sitting three points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot as of Sunday morning.

The Coyotes' best playoff showing in franchise history, including their time in the NHL as the Winnipeg Jets 1.0, was their run to the Western Conference Final in 2012.

After that, their only playoff appearance came in the fan-free 24-team bubble in Edmonton in 2020, when Rick Tocchet was still behind the bench.

Tocchet's successor, Andre Tourigny, didn’t get his team close to the postseason during his three years in the desert. But, he was able to keep his head down through all the drama, delivering passable results under extremely difficult circumstances.

This year, Touringy is technically in his first season with a brand-new franchise. But he's still guiding many of the same players, and they might just reach new heights in their new rock black, salt white and mountain blue uniforms.

A Better Defense

In terms of on-ice performance, the biggest difference in Utah has been in goals against. Mountain living clearly agrees with Karel Vejmelka, who has helped his team drop from 3.72 goals allowed per game in Arizona during 2024 down to 2.97 so far this year.

Blue-line upgrades have also helped, and there's potential for more improvement when two key defensemen return from long-term injuries.

Two-time Stanley Cup champion Mikhail Sergachev has been a horse since he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning during draft weekend. His 25:51 per game, in all situations, trails only Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets in average ice time (26:27).

New acquisition John Marino was given a timeline of 3-4 months after undergoing back surgery in late October and Sean Durzi was looking at 4-6 months to recover from shoulder surgery.

One or both could get back in the lineup in time to help with a playoff push.

Scoring Has Sagged

Offensively, Utah averaged 2.86 goals per game in 2024. That’s down from the 3.11 goals that Arizona was scoring in its final 47 games.

Clayton Keller continues to be a model of consistency at a team-leading point-per-game pace. But, even though top prospects Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley are progressing nicely, Utah could benefit from more offense from the rest of the lineup.

The fourth and fifth goals of the year from Matias Maccelli against Dallas on Saturday were a good sign after he chipped in 17 last season.

Cap Cushion Available

Could Utah be buyers if they’re still in the playoff hunt leading up to the March 7 trade deadline?

That would be a massive shift from the team's years in the desert, when Bill Armstrong's M.O. was to acquire roster players on short-term contracts, then flip them to build draft capital.

Last summer, Armstrong’s budget shackles came off.

According to PuckPedia, Utah’s cap commitment this season is at about $82.7 million. That's just over $5 million away from the cap ceiling of $88 million and will leave the team with room to maneuver if it does want to add.

Utah is still carrying Shea Weber’s cap hit at $7.8 million through 2025-26. But, the big contracts of Jakub Voracek ($8.25 million) and Bryan Little ($5.29 million), who were on long-term injured reserve, both came off the books last summer.

When Ryan and Ashley Smith committed $1.2 billion to purchase the Coyotes' hockey assets last spring, the principals of the Smith Entertainment Group showed two key things. First, they have the resources to acquit themselves as NHL owners. And second, they won't shy away from making big moves when unique opportunities present themselves.

After adding 11 picks in 2024 to Arizona's 12 in 2023 and 10 in 2022, Utah has a plethora of prospects to dangle in deadline deals, on top of surplus second and third-rounders for the 2026 draft.

For the last few years, the Coyotes made trade-deadline moves as sellers. Don't be surprised if Utah flips the script and turns out to be buyers.

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