KEARNS, Utah (ABC4 Sports) - The Utah Hockey Club improved by 12 points over their last year in Arizona in their first season in Salt Lake City. But now, the NHL playoffs are the next step.
"Obviously, playoffs are in sight for us," said Utah HC general manager Bill Armstrong Monday. "That's something that we believe, and now we're ready to go out there and achieve. Obviously we can't control injuries, but on paper and the way that we have built the team, we're gunning for the playoffs and our expectations are to make the playoffs."
"Since we started the rebuild, we've had improvement every year," said head coach Andrè Tourigny. "You look at the progression of the team, every year we follow a path. But if you ask the coaches, it's never never quick enough."
Utah executives are now turning their attention to the NHL Draft on June 27th, while free agency begins on July 1st. Utah is expected to have roughly $22 million of salary cap space, but that doesn't mean they will use it all. They want to be smart when it comes to spending money on players.
"It's really important that we spend the money wisely," Armstrong said. "Because once the money's gone, it's usually locked in for a long term. Then next year we're talking about how do we get rid of some of that money. So it's really a tricky one where you have to be very, very cautiously spend your money."
After one season in the NHL, just how attractive of a place is Utah for big name free agents?
"I think very attractive," said Utah team president Chris Armstrong. "I think our players are the are the best ambassadors and advocates of that, and how much they view it as a destination and a great place to raise a family to to work on their craft."
"We played the Delta Center, and it's a madhouse," Bill Armstrong said. "It's incredible. And SEG just built us a beautiful new one of the top practice facilities in the world. So it's a special place, and I believe we'll be able to attract the top free agents in the NHL because of that."
Then there's the fan support, which Utah executives and coaches cannot stop raving about.
"From the first day we landed, it was a ten out of ten," Tourigny said. "And from the first game of the season, it was a ten out of ten. So it's it's been amazing all year long."
As for the team name, no update on when it will be announced.
"It's been a great thing," Bill Armstrong said. "How many times does a fan base get to pick the name of the team? That's that's a great thing, and whatever it might be, I'm going to support the name."
Let the name game continue.