It is now five days until the NHL’s trade deadline, which takes place this Friday, March 7th and the Utah Hockey Club must soon decide if they will acquire players to bolster the roster for a playoff push, or trade away any pending free agents that may not re-sign with the team. That is if management feels Utah is out of the race, which is not the case. Other teams are in the same situation as Utah, just outside a wild card spot and indecisive about trading away prospects or draft picks for rentals. As of now, it is unclear what Utah will decide to do, but the next few days will be important.
Utah’s Roster Situation
Utah still is on the outside looking in on the Western Conference wild card discussion. Utah had their three-game win streak snapped in Saturday night’s 3-1 defeat to the New Jersey Devils. Prior to the loss, Utah was in great form and outscored opponents 10-3 during the win streak.
According to PuckPedia, Utah has a little more than $25 million in current cap space and is projected to have over $28 million at the trade deadline. Therefore, they could very well be spenders if they wanted.
Utah’s pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) are Nick Bjugstad, Alexander Kerfoot, Michael Carcone, Ian Cole, Olli Maatta, Karel Vejmelka and Nick DeSimone. Forward Jack McBain is Utah’s only restricted free agent (RFA).
Utah would most likely want to re-sign players that have been impactful this season. Maatta, Cole, and Vejmelka are each having impressive years. Maatta and Cole solidified Utah’s defence, which was plagued by injuries all season. Meanwhile, Vejmelka has been the team’s backbone all year.
The 28-year-old goaltender has won four of his last five starts. While Maatta and Cole each have over 100 blocked shots, with both players averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. Over the coming days, if players are not held out of the lineup for trade related reasons, expect them to be with Utah beyond the deadline.
Could Utah Acquire Star Forward
There were some rumours of Utah being named as a potential destination for a top pending UFA this season, forward Mikko Rantanen. A report from The Athletic named Utah as a possibility in the offseason, once he is available to all teams on July 1st.
However, that could change if Rantanen does not sign an extension with the Carolina Hurricanes prior to the deadline. Carolina acquired the star winger from a division foe, the Colorado Avalanche in a blockbuster trade on January 24th.
Although Utah has the pieces and plenty of cap space to make such a move, nothing is confirmed. Getting a franchise player is every general manager’s dream, which is why this could be something Utah considers.
Should the Utah Hockey club be pitching Carolina for Rantanen? Perfect splash for this team to make
they have picks and young assets ? @NHLNetwork
— jason demers (@jasondemers5) February 26, 2025
Retired defenceman and current NHL Network analyst Jason Demers recently mentioned about acquiring Rantanen. As a move that helps Utah now and the foreseeable future, keep an eye on this leading up to March 7th.
Current Standings
With the Avalanche well clear of the other competition, they currently have the first wild card spot locked down. Utah has 21 games remaining in the season and the recent win streak certainly increased the team’s chances of clinching.
Despite losing the streak, Utah got help from other teams with the Calgary Flames and Canucks also losing recently. Right now, Calgary holds down the final playoff spot but this race will go down to the wire. Utah is only two points back, with Vancouver and St. Louis sandwiched in between. Furthermore, Utah Insider of KSL Sports Cole Bagley says the team needs to win 16 of the remaining 21 to really give them a chance. It will be difficult, so Utah needs to continue playing strong hockey.
Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers – Imagn Images
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