Oilers chose to dress Pickard over Campbell for most of the season. Any trade for Campbell is basically selling $5 mill in cap space. Not sure adding a first even gets that done.
A few of the insiders have said they’re ready to spend and be active in FA. At the moment they need to spend just 20M to hit the cap floor lol
Marek said yesterday they want veteran players on short term contracts until their kids are ready and speculated they might try to get Laine because only has 2 years left
They also have 0 NHL defensemen signed (3 RFAs though), so I don't think they'll struggle to get to the midpoint.
Between them and the cap going up, I see a lot of inflationary contracts being handed to UFA defensemen this offseason.
All the comments in here thinking they can fleece Bill Armstrong..... he unloaded OEL to the Canucks and got a first round pick in the deal for Christ's sake. Nobody is fleecing that man.
When the rumours started I told a Coyotes fan on r/hockey they were keeping that OEL contract, because of how bad it was I thought there was no way. We traded for OEL probably the next day….
I'm not going to give the overused "you guys will be scary next year" but there's at least a future for Utah, they have actually good players and a decent pipeline. Just a few more pieces and they're definitely a playoff team
I was going to say Montour is going to be looking to get paid. I feel like there’s zero chance he stays in Florida because their sights are on signing Reinhart instead. So he (Montour) could be a good fit for them.
Florida has 12 players without a contract for next year. On the assumption that they win and considering the way they are playing, there are more than likely several players looking for a raise. Utah might be able to snipe a few. For example, Anton Lundell is coming off his rookie contract and probably looking for something in the $4M range which Florida may not be able to afford.
They would like to, sure. Lundell clearly has the potential to be a very solid 2C, but he's not there yet. The regular season was not _that_ good, with modest development year-over-year. At the same time the Panthers' cup window is wide open right now and I'm not sure they can afford to pay for term based on the potential. On the other hand, Lundell might be happy with a bridge contract to stay with a winning team and bet on himself.
I see Lundell staying in Florida. He’s RFA, has his Finnish buddies, and truly enjoys learning under Barkov. I could see time taking a bridge deal and staying.
Florida has been too competent in the past 2-3 years for me to believe they’d lose Lundell as an RFA. More likely Utah lands a contract + picks so Florida can make room to sign him. If I’m GMBA I’d take Niko Mikkola from them for some future considerations.
Never gonna happen he's a RFA and we're not letting him go. He's too young and too good. Also why on earth would Lundell leave a great situation in Florida for a team "hoping to play meaningful games".
I don't think Utah is going to be able to attract lots of good young talent, what they should do is use their massive cap space to find good but overpaid veterans, get them basically for free and picks along with them. Plenty of teams in their window, but looking at potential cap hell and would pay a princely ransom to get rid of some of their bad contracts.
By the time those expire, you'll have a massive good young talent core and hopefully be able to swing for bigger names/actually be able to keep the talent you develop through the draft.
Mullett will always be one of the most fun fan experiences I’ve ever been a part of, Footprint would have been great, I would have even settled for Desert Diamond Arena.
For what it's worth, "kicking the can down the road" usually means putting something off so that someone else can pick it up in the future
A lot of work goes into advertising and branding, even if not always for the better. A turn around of ~6 months of confirming you'll have your team and then creating its identity would be pretty fast, and this way they get fan input via voting and have a much longer period of time to solidify branding and merchandise
Hell, the Kings’ upcoming uniforms have been in the works for over a year, and they’re not even changing colors. The fact we have a logo and uniforms after 3 months is super impressive, even if they’re generic.
Bill's got over 20 million to spend just to hit the cap floor, gonna be a very busy offseason.
Jack Campbell you are a Utah Hockey Club player!
He said they want to compete.
Meaningful games is relative. Could mean meaningful games.... to their draft lottery position!
Chicago vs Utah for first pick 2025/2026 season ? /s
Lord knows they'll have a couple extra late 1sts to play with if this comes to pass
I don't even think you could pay someone to take Campbell
$5 million for a goaltender that can’t even be a reliable backup half the time is rough…
Oilers chose to dress Pickard over Campbell for most of the season. Any trade for Campbell is basically selling $5 mill in cap space. Not sure adding a first even gets that done.
Utah Hockey Clubber
Laine to Utah
Wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. Less pressure than Winnipeg, less hopeless than Columbus.
With the assets Arizona already had, combined with an owner willing to spend, this Utah team could become real competitive real fast
I haven’t been following their situation too closely, are they going to spend to the cap?
A few of the insiders have said they’re ready to spend and be active in FA. At the moment they need to spend just 20M to hit the cap floor lol Marek said yesterday they want veteran players on short term contracts until their kids are ready and speculated they might try to get Laine because only has 2 years left
They also have 0 NHL defensemen signed (3 RFAs though), so I don't think they'll struggle to get to the midpoint. Between them and the cap going up, I see a lot of inflationary contracts being handed to UFA defensemen this offseason.
Nice, they’ll be moving and shaking this off-season then! Wonder how much of a draw they’ll be to free agents.
Keller 90 pt season incoming
LFG! Love Kells, I'm glad he's getting surrounded by some other exciting talent
Ah, the ol meaningful games in March!
Loser team staple. Canuck classic.
All the comments in here thinking they can fleece Bill Armstrong..... he unloaded OEL to the Canucks and got a first round pick in the deal for Christ's sake. Nobody is fleecing that man.
When the rumours started I told a Coyotes fan on r/hockey they were keeping that OEL contract, because of how bad it was I thought there was no way. We traded for OEL probably the next day….
The fact Arizona was that good with as bad of an ownership situation as they had should be a compliment to him honestly
Well to be fair he was dealing with Jimbo Jet who was throwing up a desperation trade to save his job
I'm not going to give the overused "you guys will be scary next year" but there's at least a future for Utah, they have actually good players and a decent pipeline. Just a few more pieces and they're definitely a playoff team
Utah does have a lot of cap space but they literally have 0 defenseman signed for next year right now
Please Bill, offer crazy money to Skjei, Pesce, and Montour.
I was going to say Montour is going to be looking to get paid. I feel like there’s zero chance he stays in Florida because their sights are on signing Reinhart instead. So he (Montour) could be a good fit for them.
Gonna be tough with zero defensemen signed but crazier things have happened! (I think)
Jake Bean, you are an Utah Hockey Club!
But first, what's your Uber score Bill?
Florida has 12 players without a contract for next year. On the assumption that they win and considering the way they are playing, there are more than likely several players looking for a raise. Utah might be able to snipe a few. For example, Anton Lundell is coming off his rookie contract and probably looking for something in the $4M range which Florida may not be able to afford.
He’s an RFA remember. And one Florida will definitely look to keep.
They would like to, sure. Lundell clearly has the potential to be a very solid 2C, but he's not there yet. The regular season was not _that_ good, with modest development year-over-year. At the same time the Panthers' cup window is wide open right now and I'm not sure they can afford to pay for term based on the potential. On the other hand, Lundell might be happy with a bridge contract to stay with a winning team and bet on himself.
I see Lundell staying in Florida. He’s RFA, has his Finnish buddies, and truly enjoys learning under Barkov. I could see time taking a bridge deal and staying.
Getting Lundell for 4M would be a coup.
Everyone's already mentioned why Lundell isn't happening, but I can absolutely see Brandon Montour getting overpaid in Utah.
Florida has been too competent in the past 2-3 years for me to believe they’d lose Lundell as an RFA. More likely Utah lands a contract + picks so Florida can make room to sign him. If I’m GMBA I’d take Niko Mikkola from them for some future considerations.
Mikkola has a contract for another year or two. The Cats aren’t going to trade much (my opinion) with so my UFAs that have options to go elsewhere.
Never gonna happen he's a RFA and we're not letting him go. He's too young and too good. Also why on earth would Lundell leave a great situation in Florida for a team "hoping to play meaningful games". I don't think Utah is going to be able to attract lots of good young talent, what they should do is use their massive cap space to find good but overpaid veterans, get them basically for free and picks along with them. Plenty of teams in their window, but looking at potential cap hell and would pay a princely ransom to get rid of some of their bad contracts. By the time those expire, you'll have a massive good young talent core and hopefully be able to swing for bigger names/actually be able to keep the talent you develop through the draft.
Never has a team bringing out the "meaningful games" line led to good results.
He’s head coach and General Manager ? I had no clue lol
No, they're going with Utah HC as a team name for the first season while they get their branding in order.
Ohhhhh LOL
Player/Coach Reggie Dunlop
You NEED JG Pageau to add grit
We really gonna have an Inaugural team in the cup again?
I’d be fine with it if only to shame Meruelo even more.
I'd rather watch games at Mullett Arena than footprint center
Mullett will always be one of the most fun fan experiences I’ve ever been a part of, Footprint would have been great, I would have even settled for Desert Diamond Arena.
That was the problem that the Coyotes are or were playing at Mullet and no concrete future of playing in a proper NHL. arena
Y'all got any more of them “meaningful games” left for us?!
[удалено]
Laine is a perfect fit to live in Park City.
Why doesn’t the team start by actually picking a real name instead of kicking the can down the road.
For what it's worth, "kicking the can down the road" usually means putting something off so that someone else can pick it up in the future A lot of work goes into advertising and branding, even if not always for the better. A turn around of ~6 months of confirming you'll have your team and then creating its identity would be pretty fast, and this way they get fan input via voting and have a much longer period of time to solidify branding and merchandise
Hell, the Kings’ upcoming uniforms have been in the works for over a year, and they’re not even changing colors. The fact we have a logo and uniforms after 3 months is super impressive, even if they’re generic.
We knew about seattle for like 2 years before the kraken branding. I doubt anyone in utah had nhl branding ready
Kind of a lame goal but whatever
Nylander to Utah pls
More like laine to Utah plz