Utah Quietly Pushing for a Wildcard Spot, Can They Stay in the Hunt?

45 comments

1. I think Colorado figures it out and pulls away more so than Utah falling apart

2. My feeling being an Utah fan, Sergachev might not light up the stat boards but he and maatta on the back end allowing the forwards to be forwards is nice insurance. Hayton is not my favorite. Watching him he is out of his area quite often.

3. Love this. Thanks for the coverage!

4. Utah is probably more likely to make the playoffs than the stupid terrible Rangers who always let me down and screw the pooch against bad teams. Cool jersey!

5. Just curious what do Utah fans think of Serg & Moser / Geekie trade. As a Bolt fan I miss Serg but I’m happier where we are

6. If we make it our first year, I’d be absolutely thrilled. They’ve honestly been super fun to watch, and made my life better, along with tons of other new hockey fans that I’ve met. Such a great story so far. LFG UTAH 🤘🏻🏒

7. If they make it and he doesn't get traded or injured, Ian Cole would be the first player in NHL history to play in a playoff game with 9 different teams, beating Mike Sillinger

8. 12:02 The Utah Unicycles! (PS When am I going to be your favorite band, Hockey Guy? The Entertainment Guy loves me but maybe he just relates to the struggle.)

9. It would be a great story if they make the playoffs. The issue is who in the West do they knock out? I doubt Minnesota, Winnipeg, Dallas, Vegas, Vancouver, and Edmonton are going to finish below the line. That leaves two spots open among LA, Colorado, Calgary, Utah, Seattle and St Louis. It would be surprising if Colorado doesn't eventually get over the playoff line and we could argue that Calgary is playing over their head. So that leaves LA having to fall back and Utah arising from the scrum among LA, Calgary, Seattle and St Louis. It could be quite a shoot out the last few weeks of the season.

10. Weird to see all these projections picking Utah to make the playoffs with higher percentages than Vancouver and LA, like moneypuck or the recent ESPN+ article. The underlying stats mentioned here really help shine some light on what those models might be seeing with this team, great video as always.

11. I think it's pretty hilarious how Arizona owned the Leafs in Toronto for the past 20 years or so and the Leafs finally beat them now that they're a "different team."

12. I'm thinkin' Shannon is quickly becoming a fan of The Utah Hockey Club!😊

13. If the jackets can just get there defence in gear they could actually make a run. There Defence is just abysmal.

14. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the one and only hockey guy wearing a UHC jersey. Going to the game tomorrow for my 5th UHC game. If we can start playing like we do on the road in our home arena, then the canucks will get smoked.

15. Really loved this breakdown from you on my team! Also I appreciate the positive words and the sweater looks good on you!

    Hoping we make it to a playoff spot!

16. Would ABSOLUTELY love it if Utah displaces Colorado!!! Everyone cutting that team so much slack in every way. One of the dirtiest teams in the league that always gets a pass for this or that. McKinnon literally ended Nolan Patricks career. And you can see DirtyMac loading up to hit him in the head. Of course no call…

17. I thought they could have gotten there last year, but with mullet arena didn't make sense for the playoffs

18. Alex Meruelo may not know how to build an arena, but you might have to credit him with launching a successful rebuild.

19. No

20. I'm calling fade on this one. They have a lot of similar players and I don't think they mesh together that well.

21. Been really enjoying rooting for Utah this season. Been my 2nd team to watch after the Canucks. The game today between the two teams will be interesting

22. THG about to jinx Utah Coyotes again 😅

23. IMO, the biggest issue early in the season was a high number of penalties. With Maveric Lamoureux out, they take much fewer penalties and can actually get some offensive time.

24. UTAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

25. Waiting for this team to fall off an absolute cliff again

26. Yeah, they can compete for a playoff spot. They're somewhat in the thick of it now.

27. The UHC making the playoffs would be huge for them in their first season even if they lose in the first round. The Jazz are one of the worst teams in the NBA right now so the UHC would have all eyes on them in the state if they can make it.

28. Utah playing really strong 5on5 all season. Been a tough go on special teams until lately, last few games sp teams been very good. Tough getting offense first 20 games but better last 8-10 games. All is In order to stay in the fight to be in a position to challenge for playoff spot late in season. I'd be surprised if they get in, but the team is a real, and very good up and coming team.

29. Veggie and the original lines coming back together and having success has really boosted the team these last 10 games. Big game tonight against your Canucks tonight!

30. That’d be crazy

31. I said this on the panic index video too but my goal for Utah this year is just to be playing games in March that still matter. I think that would be good improvement in the right direction given the past couple of years. That being said, I would love to see them make the playoffs though!

32. Avs or Utah for the wild card?

33. Maccelli should ask for a trade, he's a solid 60-70 point producer in a right environment, as his two previous seasons show.

34. Same team as the coyotes, they'll fall
    off eventually

35. completely hypothetical, but if Utah won the Stanley Cup this year, do you keep the name Utah Hockey Club or do you still change the name even though they won as the Utah Hockey Club?

36. As a huge Utah HC fan, I'd be happy for them to still be playing meaningful games in March and April. Year three in Utah is when I'll have playoff expectations. Our best players are so young, in 2026-2027 season, they should really be ready…

37. Thanks for covering my team, it’s exciting to be a part of this and never in my lifetime did I think we would get a hometown team

38. Utah half-season ticket holder here – Matias Maccelli has been our biggest offensive liability. Too often it feels like he's trying to force the extra pass or be too cute with the puck. 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points, but the 3 for +/ effectively cancels out those 3 goals in my mind. If he wants to become a scorer again, he absolutely has to go back to playing simple hockey.

    Given that Lawson Crouse is on that same line, it's no wonder we all feel that he is due. 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points, -1 +/-. Either Maccelli starts figuring it out or his seat is gonna start getting really hot.

    Barrett Hayton has some markedly better stats in his favor – 5 goals & 8 assists for 13 points, +5 +/-. He's basically lived on lines with Keller and Guenther through the season, so he'll start to pick it up as well.

    Great stuff, as always!! Love your content, and ABSOLUTELY LOVE that Utah has a franchise now. Can't wait to see you in Salt Lake!

39. Utah continuing to impress

40. I picked UHC to get 94 points at the beginning of the season and I’m sticking with it. I saw them play in Vegas (the one VGK won!) and they’re a fun team to watch. They’ve got good grit. I see them being a year or so ahead of San Jose. They know how to win, and now are starting to to figure out how to string wins together. San Jose hasn’t quite figured it out yet, but they’re gritty, and quickly becoming a team you’re not going to want to play.

41. Its a BIG YES for me. Go UHC 🔥 🔥 🔥

42. Yes

43. It would be pretty sweet.

    Makes me wonder if Buffalo was sold to Houston how quickly they’d make the playoffs in the Wild West.

44. Going to my first Hockey game tonight, Go Utah!

45. They're a relocated team, I don't understand how people refer to them as an "expansion team"; they also stole my suggestion on the goal song which I should be able to prove later haha.