Free Agent Focus: NHL Utah

Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the franchise formerly known as the Coyotes.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Sean Durzi – Arizona took advantage of Los Angeles needing some cap space, flipping a second-round pick to land Durzi.  The move worked out extremely well for the then-Coyotes.  Durzi was thrust into a much bigger role than he had with the Kings and acquitted himself rather well, setting new career highs in assists (32), points (41), blocks (160), and ATOI (22:43).  He’s owed a qualifying offer of $2MM but stands to land considerably more than that, especially with salary arbitration rights.  A one-year deal could push past the $4MM mark but if Utah GM Bill Armstrong wants to try to lock him up to a long-term agreement that buys multiple years of club control, Durzi’s next contract could surpass $6MM per year.

F Barrett Hayton – After a breakout 2022-23 campaign, expectations were high for Hayton coming into this season.  However, things didn’t go as planned.  The 23-year-old missed 49 games due to a pair of injuries (hand and lower body) and when he was in the lineup, he wasn’t producing anywhere near the level that he was the year before, scoring just three goals while adding seven assists in 33 appearances.  His qualifying offer checks in at $2.13MM with arbitration rights which should allow him to get more than that based on his 2022-23 performance.  However, the long-term agreement that seemed likely a year ago probably won’t be coming this summer.

D Michael Kesselring – After getting a taste of NHL action last season, Kesselring played his way into a more prominent role in 2023-24.  He started the year in the minors but was recalled less than a month in and was up with Arizona the rest of the way.  Kesselring recorded a respectable 21 points in 65 games while averaging less than 16 minutes a night of ice time.  Although this is his first trip through restricted free agency, he’s already arbitration-eligible which could push his next contract higher than it might seem at first glance.  Without arbitration, his bridge deal could have been pegged around the $1.3MM mark but it should push past $1.5MM with his eligibility to go to a hearing where his 2023-24 performance would make a big difference in the award.

D J.J. Moser – Moser wasn’t counted on to play quite as many minutes this season but he still logged more ice time than everyone but Durzi.  A rare player to go from being drafted in the second round to being an NHL regular the following season, the 23-year-old is now entrenched as a key part of Utah’s back end for the foreseeable future.  He still has three years of club control remaining so Armstrong could opt for a second bridge contract which could still quadruple his $874K qualifying offer.  If they do look to work out a long-term agreement, it should check in closer to the $4.5MM mark.

D Juuso Valimaki – After being waived out of Calgary back in 2022, Valimaki has settled in as a quality regular on their back end.  However, he wasn’t able to match the 34 points he put up in his first season with the Coyotes who claimed him off the waiver wire, seeing his output cut in half this year.  Still, his qualifying offer checks in at only $1MM and while he has arbitration rights, the award shouldn’t be high enough to have Armstrong thinking about a non-tender.  He should at least double his salary from this season over the summer.

Other RFAs: F Curtis Douglas, F Jan Jenik, F Milos Kelemen, D Vladislav Kolyachonok, F Ben McCartney, D Victor Soderstrom

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Travis Boyd – When healthy, Boyd has been a decent secondary scorer.  Heading into this season, he was coming off two straight years of 34 points but he wound up clearing waivers in training camp although he was never sent down.  This year, he was limited to just 16 games due to a torn pectoral muscle although he still managed eight points despite averaging less than 10 minutes a night.  He also has plenty of experience playing down the middle which should help his value in theory.  That said, coming off a long-term injury, he’s likely heading for a contract around the league minimum.  However, of the many players who will find themselves in that situation in the coming weeks, he’s one with a bit more upside than most.

D Josh Brown – After being in and out of the lineup at times, Brown signed with Arizona in 2022 with the hopes of establishing himself as a full-timer.  While he played more than he sat both years, the 30-year-old was the seventh defender fairly frequently this season.  He’s a capable shot-blocker and plays with some snarl which will get him some interest in the summer but it’s likely to be for a depth role.  Those players will mostly be around the league minimum of $775K but Brown could check in slightly higher than that.

F Liam O’Brien – O’Brien led the NHL in penalty minutes this season while setting a new personal best in points (14) and hits (229).  There is still a role for some fourth line fighters across the league and as someone who can produce a little bit while playing that role, he should be able to garner some interest if Armstrong doesn’t re-sign him.  Having said that, this particular spot in the lineup is one that teams won’t want to spend much on so O’Brien might not be able to command too much more than the $800K salary he received this season.

Other UFAs: F Travis Barron, D Cameron Crotty, D Travis Dermott, D Steven Kampfer, F Justin Kirkland, D Patrik Koch, F John Leonard, F Bryan Little, F Ryan McGregor, F Nathan Smith, G Matt Villalta

Projected Cap Space

No team has more cap space than Utah this summer, checking in at over $43MM, an amount that could jump past $51MM if they were to fully utilized Shea Weber’s LTIR deal.  That doesn’t seem likely to happen but the days of this franchise being at the bottom of spending in terms of salary should be over now.  Their restricted free agents will take up a fair-sized chunk of this cap room but they’ll still have plenty of room to add multiple impact players this summer.  They could be players in free agency and on the trade front as a result.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.