As promised, here’s the second part of last week’s mailbag. Thanks again to everyone who submitted questions.
Expectations for 2026
We’ll start with a question from the Clean Hits crew: What are the Utah Hockey Club’s expectations for next season?
I’ve asked a few players this question over the last week or two. From their perspective, it’s playoffs or bust in 2026.
The goal this season, of course, was to play meaningful games in March and April; Bill Armstrong said that on a number of occasions. Now that they’ve accomplished that, the playoffs are a natural next step.
“We played a lot of meaningful games,” said Michael Kesselring. “You could feel the weight of the games a little bit more — they felt like playoff games."
“We have to make the playoffs next year — that’s kind of our mindset, for sure,” said Kesselring. “I think guys are already thinking about that, and we’re excited for the challenge. I think we’re more prepared for it as a team. I think we’re more mature now than we were at the start of the year.”
Kesselring also added that every player under the age of 28 should still be getting better.
Maximum number of contracts
“Braden Green” noticed that Utah HC is getting close to the limit on the number of contracts in the system. He asks what the team might do to solve that.
Per PuckPedia, Utah currently has 46 players on NHL contracts. The maximum is 50. That includes one-ways, two-ways and players on long-term injured reserve. It does not include AHL-only contracts, nor does it include players with less than 11 NHL games played who are currently in the CHL.
It seems like 46 is a high number, but it’s actually pretty typical. The Winnipeg Jets have the fewest with 43 and the Columbus Blue Jackets have the most with 50. Everyone else is between those two numbers.
Additionally, many of those contracts are set to expire over the summer, giving UHC management the chance to reevaluate and see which guys they’d like to bring back.
Sometimes, when teams get too close to the maximum, they’ll make an AHL trade to free up a spot. Utah isn’t in a position right now where they’d have to do that.
Tucson Roadrunners/Utah Hockey Club deal
“Linkshero 99″ wants to know how Utah HC’s agreement with the Tucson Roadrunners will affect the players in the system if the two sides ever decide to part ways.
Every so often, NHL/AHL affiliations change. When that happens, the players go to the NHL team’s new AHL affiliate.
A recent example of this is the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. After spending a decade as the Carolina Hurricanes’ farm team, they switched to a joint deal with the Seattle Kraken and the Florida Panthers. In 2022, the Coachella Valley Firebirds joined the AHL as an expansion team, so the Kraken joined forces with them and moved their players from the Checkers to the Firebirds.
The terms of NHL/AHL affiliation agreements aren’t always made public, so there’s no record of how much time, if any, is left on Utah HC’s deal with the Roadrunners. When Alex Meruelo owned both the Coyotes and the Roadrunners, negotiations were simple. That might not be the case anymore.
If, at some point in time, Utah HC picks up a different minor league affiliate, its players will relocate there, just like the Kraken’s Checkers players did in 2022.
Offseason priorities
“KG” asks, “If you were in GMBA’s shoes, what would be your No. 1 priority going into the offseason?”
Here are my two cents: Utah needs another top-six forward and a solid plan in net. If management feels that they can solve these problems internally, I have no problem with that. But if not, the offseason is the time to add some big pieces.
Let’s start with the forwards. All season long, the top two lines have included Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton. They’ve all been solid, bona fide top-six players, but the last spot has been a revolving door — nearly every forward on the team has played there at one point or another.
Names like Mitch Marner, Brock Boeser and Nikolaj Ehlers come to mind as potential fits, though it doesn’t necessarily have to be an all-star type of player. Guys like Andrei Kuzmenko or Mikael Granlund might be able to fill that gap without committing to seven-year deals.
In terms of goaltending, Utah just needs to be sure they have two NHL-caliber guys at their disposal.
By no fault of his own, Connor Ingram wasn’t able to be one of those players this season. If he’s ready to go next year, there’s no need to bring someone else in. But if he still needs time to focus on his health, it would be wise to acquire another option.
There’s a wide range of “1B” goaltenders on the pending UFA list this year: Alex Lyon, Eric Comrie, Jake Allen, Anton Forsberg, Ilya Samsonov, David Rittich, Vitek Vanecek, Alexandar Georgiev, the list goes on.
Any of these guys would be viable options to support Karel Vejmelka if Ingram isn’t ready to play.