It was apparent the Utah Hockey Club had to address their blueline going into this past offseason. Last year, as the Arizona Coyotes, this team allowed the sixth most expected goals against, eighth most goals against, ninth most shots, eighth most scoring, and high-danger chances.
The Utah Hockey Club needed to strengthen its defensive core to be competitive in its first season. However, the real question was whether General Manager Bill Armstrong had enough faith in the young core to take the next step. Could they become a playoff contender?
As it turned out, Bill Armstrong had a lot of faith in this team, so he went all out to bolster this blueline by bringing Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino, and Ian Cole to go with the two staples of this blueline Sean Durzi and Jusso Valimaki.
The Utah Hockey Club now have a playoff caliber blueline with this group!