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.
