When the Utah hockey club Tij Iginla selected With the sixth selection and took another 10 players in the first draft from The team moved For Salt Lake City, fans were excited, thinking they would be in the NHL immediately.
General manager Bill Armstrong tried to moderate expectations, saying: “No, it takes some time.” After an unexpected ice victory on Monday night in the draft lottery, the expectations for the future of the club are once again Rocky Mountain High.
Utaah won the second random lottery ball raffle to move from the 14th selection to No. 4, which adds to a Summer already transcendental That could present a free agent expenses with tons of salary space and an owner who is not afraid to spend money, the First phase of massive renovations of the sand taking place and Full -time name before next season.
“It’s a game change for us,” Armstrong said in a video call after the lottery with journalists. “These are exciting times for Utah … simply great things for the franchise. I can’t express with words about the emotion of when that happened and the opportunity in front of us.”
Armstrong has more than $ 22 million in the room, and with the Ryan Smith’s property group, there is an indication that Utah can spend on the annually increasing the lid. That was never the case under a procession of Centa owners During the last decade as the Arizona coyotes.
Utah committed more than $ 80 million in players’ salaries last season, and Smith Entertainment Group along with the city is investing a lot to improve the center of the Delta center and increase the capacity of complete ice views to more than 16,000 for hockey in an initially designed and constructed sand mainly for basketball for NBA jazz.
“We are excited about the challenge when we started this renewal project never sunk,” said Ryan and his wife Ashley Smith last week. “This transformation will create the most convincing, welcoming and exciting experience for hockey fans, while allowing us to maintain the steep vertical seats for basketball that has turned Delta Center into such a dynamic place.”
And, possibly soon, a place for playoff hockey. Utah was in the race until the last weeks of the season before finishing seven points in the second and last place at the Western Conference.
“We were a pretty good team that chased him in the section playing significant games and chasing a place in the playoffs,” Armstrong said. “We are reaching that point where we are becoming a very good team that will have the opportunity to enter the playoffs.”
Not counting the playoffs of pandemic expanded in 2020, this organization has not described since 2012. The basic components to finish that decade plus drought are there, from Captain Clayton Keller and 2022 No. 3 picks and the loan star Cooley to twice winning defender of the Stanley Mikhail Sergachev- Cup acquired in the draft last year and Main goalkeeper Karel Vajelka.
And after writing 42 players in the league in the last four years, there could be a temptation to use the fourth selection for immediate aid, as someone who is established but still young and entering or at their best.
“That is something we will always talk about,” said Armstrong. “We will never close that door. That has always been a way for us to get players, and we are in the position at this time as a team where we are trying to take the next step, so we will always see that. That is part of the process.”
The final step in the name process is also happening. He The finalists have reduced For Mammoth, Outlaws and Utah Hockey Club, complete with a permanent logo and new shirts.
If the brand process goes as well as the first year with the Smith group in charge, the results on the commercial side could even exceed the progress of the hockey.
“They made many promises and exceeded what they achieved in a short period of time,” said Commissioner Gary Bettman last week at a meeting of Associated Press sports editors in New York. “What they achieved is a testimony of Ryan and everyone out there. They dreamed of great and achieved everything they had to do, and we are delighted to have them in the League. It has been an incredibly positive experience and the players also love it.”
More high quality players will arrive next year and in the future, although Armstrong warned that the lottery does not accelerate the construction process and “a choice will not change our franchise.” But that does not cover internal emotion.
“You have the opportunity to make a real game change,” said Armstrong. “We are going to have the opportunity to choose a really good player in the draft and give a great swing here.”
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The sports writer Ap Jake Seiner in New York contributed to this report.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/nhl
