NHL welcomes The Utah Hockey Club - Chris Gardner/Getty Images
Welcome to professional Hockey in Utah, where the team moved from Arizona. There are new visions where more money will be made and careers that will go to live on instead of fade away.
The team will look to build upon its young core of players, leaving the desert state behind and roll with the colder winters of Utah.
They will depart off camel’s backs onto the salty ice of frozen rivers.
This may give the team the change of scenery needed to bring them to a hockey-like atmosphere.
Long Term Deal
Dylan Guenther has signed an eight-year deal with the Utah Hockey Club. The deal will cost around $7.1 million off the salary cap and be worth $57.1 million long-term.
The talented winger earned this extension based on his play last year.
Additionally, he is thought to be a backbone player for this franchise’s next few years. Guenther still needs an entire NHL season after playing some in 2022-23.
With a new city and a new desire to pan out as a first-round draft pick, Guenther will be hitting offseason lifting and conditioning hard to get grittier and skate faster on the ice.
Guenther is a tall winger at 6’2″ with speed and physicality. He fits the mold of a Dylan Cozens of the Buffalo Sabres.
How Guenther Will Live on in Utah
Not only does the move to Utah help Guenther’s career, but it will also help him thrive in helping the team that could finally lead them to the playoffs, unlike in Arizona.
The 21-year-old will likely be on the opening night roster as the team’s second-line right winger behind Clayton Keller, another key component.
If Guenther happens to start collecting 70 points or more per season, the long-term deal will be a Wal-Mart “rollback” deal for the organization.
At least they can be happy he’s here to build something new and exciting in Utah.
What Deal Could Mean for Squad?
Signing the rookie for eight years means he won’t need to renegotiate his contract until the summer of 2033, when he turns 30. By then, the hockey club could be years into a dynasty.
There is a caveat, though.
If any trade protection is included in the extension, it can’t be enforced until the 2030-31 season, when he would, in other respects, have been permitted to first test the UFA marketplace.
Expensive Contract Already in Utah
Utah has just been reincarnated from its first life in Arizona and is already making history in its next.
The deal made for Guenther is now the most expensive extension since Keller was extended back in their first life.
Nevertheless, Keller still has the highest salary cap hit at $7.15 million, while Guenther’s is $7.14 million.
Are they about to crack open Labatt and Miller Lite in the locker room because “Good things” could be happening around Utah?
Within time, the state might become host to a dynasty and the next great pond hockey championship.
Whatever that may be, results overtake good vibes, but they can also coincide. As the song goes, “Life is better in harmony.”
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Fantastic! It’ll be interesting to see how they pan out. Although their first life was in Winnipeg as the original Jets.