As promised, here’s the second part of last week’s mailbag. Thanks again to everyone who submitted questions.
Expectations for 2026
We’ll start with a question from the Clean Hits crew: What are the Utah Hockey Club’s expectations for next season?
The team has (more or less) lived up to the expectations set by GMBA before the season (despite injuries). How do you anticipate his expectations will change this offseason? Will the message be that the postseason is a requirement for success?
— Clean Hits (@CleanHitsHockey) April 1, 2025
I’ve asked a few players this question over the last week or two. From their perspective, it’s playoffs or bust in 2026.
The goal this season, of course, was to play meaningful games in March and April; Bill Armstrong said that on a number of occasions. Now that they’ve accomplished that, the playoffs are a natural next step.
“We played a lot of meaningful games,” said Michael Kesselring. “You could feel the weight of the games a little bit more — they felt like playoff games."
“We have to make the playoffs next year — that’s kind of our mindset, for sure,” said Kesselring. “I think guys are already thinking about that, and we’re excited for the challenge. I think we’re more prepared for it as a team. I think we’re more mature now than we were at the start of the year.”
Kesselring also added that every player under the age of 28 should still be getting better.
Maximum number of contracts
“Braden Green” noticed that Utah HC is getting close to the limit on the number of contracts in the system. He asks what the team might do to solve that.
Per PuckPedia, Utah currently has 46 players on NHL contracts. The maximum is 50. That includes one-ways, two-ways and players on long-term injured reserve. It does not include AHL-only contracts, nor does it include players with less than 11 NHL games played who are currently in the CHL.
It seems like 46 is a high number, but it’s actually pretty typical. The Winnipeg Jets have the fewest with 43 and the Columbus Blue Jackets have the most with 50. Everyone else is between those two numbers.
Additionally, many of those contracts are set to expire over the summer, giving UHC management the chance to reevaluate and see which guys they’d like to bring back.
Sometimes, when teams get too close to the maximum, they’ll make an AHL trade to free up a spot. Utah isn’t in a position right now where they’d have to do that.
Tucson Roadrunners/Utah Hockey Club deal
“Linkshero 99″ wants to know how Utah HC’s agreement with the Tucson Roadrunners will affect the players in the system if the two sides ever decide to ...
