Bill Armstrong knew he had a good hand in Las Vegas.
The Utah Hockey Club general manager brought in one first-round pick (sixth overall) and 12 next-day picks for the 2024 NHL Draft. He left with one elite defenseman, two first-round picks, one experienced defender and nine picks that will add depth to the defense and center positions.
“We were aggressive in the draft,” Armstrong said Friday after selecting Tizi Iginla sixth overall and trading up a first-round pick to select Cole Beaudoin. “We have assets. If there's a player that you don't like but you love, if you can get close to them, you've got to try.”
The next morning, he acquired two-time Stanley Cup champion Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning in a move to acquire a star player.
Utah knew they were making history when they selected the first draft pick in franchise history, but some negotiation was needed to strengthen the team.
Here, we look back at Utah's first foray into the NHL Draft and look ahead to the looming free agent signing period.
Utah Hockey Club makes a big splash in first draft
Trade alerts rang out at the Sphere in Las Vegas early Saturday morning, eliciting roars of surprise from the crowd as it was announced that Sergachev had been traded to Utah.
“Mikhail Sergachev is a proven winner, a prolific scorer and has long been one of the best shutdown defensemen in the NHL,” Armstrong said. “Mikhail is a top two-way defenseman in the NHL and you can't win in this league without a star, elite defenseman. We're excited to welcome Mikhail to our organization and look forward to many years to come with him leading our blue line.”
Added Utah president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong: “Acquiring one of the premier defensemen in the NHL and a two-time Stanley Cup champion demonstrates our commitment to our fans and team, and we will take the steps necessary to lead this organization to its potential.”
Acquiring Sergachev came at a cost: Utah had to give up two top prospects in 19-year-old Connor Geekie, ranked by The Athletic as the team's No. 4 overall prospect, and defenseman J.J. Moser, who played in 162 games for Arizona over the past two seasons.
The acquisition of John Marino in a trade from the New Jersey Devils, announced shortly after the Sergachev deal, will help fill an immediate need, and associate director of amateur scouting Ryan Jankowski said trading up to acquire Beaudoin (who Bill Armstrong said “has a work ethic that could change the culture of the organization”) softened the blow of losing Geekie.
“I think we filled that need (Friday),” Jankowski said. “We lost Connor, but maybe we'll find a replacement for him going forward.”
Sergachev would give Utah a top-tier defender who is just entering the second year of an eight-year contract extension with Tampa Bay.
“He's still young, so he still has room to grow,” Utah's director of amateur scouting, Darryl Plandowski, said. “Defensemen develop slower than forwards, so they're very valuable. It's going to cost you some assets, but it's worth it. I think he's going to be a big part of our future going forward.”
Tiji Iginla: History and Fame
Before the draft, team owner Ryan Smith reflected on the first draft pick to ever wear a Utah jersey.
“It's a first, it's a first moment, but more than that, you've got a family and a boy who's worked his whole life to get to this moment and he's going to be the first player in the history of the Utah franchise to be drafted,” Smith said.
The family happened to Really He's famous in the hockey world.
Tiji Iginla is a 17-year-old forward from Kelowna in the Western Hockey League.
His father, Jarome Iginla, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020. His career history includes:
- He was selected as an NHL All-Star six times.
- Twice winner of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Award as the NHL's leading goal scorer (2001-02, 2003-04).
- He won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's points leader in 2001-02.
- He has won two gold medals for Canada.
Jarome Iginla scored two goals for Team Canada in the gold medal game at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Armstrong called the younger Iginla a “great kid” with playmaking skills.
“It's not about the name,” Armstrong said, “you fall in love with the player and the level of talent and you forget about the name. … The name can be celebrated on draft day, but he's got to have the talent and the passion and he's got to want to bleed for Utah, and we believe he has that. … He's going to make a name for himself in Utah.”
Armstrong laughed as he recalled telling Iginla, “We have a lot of guys on our team who can score 20 goals. We need a guy who can score 50 goals. There's no pressure.”
The Utah hockey club could do a lot in free agency, but they probably won't.
The NHL free-agent signing period begins Monday. Utah has the most cap space in the league going into the draft, and both Armstrong and Smith were asked about the team's free-agent signing plans at the NHL Draft. Both emphasized patience and balance.
Armstrong has said the team shouldn't block the avenues of young talent by signing too many free agents, and he reiterated that message after Friday's first round, praising the team's depth of prospects.
“You have to be realistic. We have young players,” Armstrong said. “Most of the guys who were superstars (in the Stanley Cup Final) have been playing for 10 years. … You look at the numbers and when guys are at their peak, it's hard to say Logan Cooley is going to lead us to the Stanley Cup next year. We have to adjust our expectations for the team. I think we have some of the most talented prospects in the NHL coming in. So it's an exciting time for the organization, but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves by adding some free agents.”
Sergachev appears to be in it for the long haul. As mentioned above, he's only 26 and has seven more seasons under contract, so he should immediately strengthen the team without sacrificing the development of young players. Much of Utah's organizational strength is at the forward position, and adding Sergachev and Marino in the trade strengthens Utah's defense even before free agency begins.
“I have a very good understanding of where we are from a cap space standpoint and going into the season,” Smith said. “I have a very good understanding of where the market is and what our opportunities are. The message that I've been conveying all along, and our actions have certainly demonstrated that, is that my job is to support our team and the building…
“It's a balance. You're always managing opposing emotions. You want to win now, but you want to win for the long term. You want to create this culture. But we're young. We're young. And the future is really bright.”
