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SALT LAKE CITY — If the Utah Hockey Club doesn't make any moves on Monday at the start of free agency, fans shouldn't fret. Heck, that might actually be good news.
"I was smart as a GM, I'd take my phone and throw it against the wall and pick it up on the 2nd not the 1st — where the prices are right," general manager Bill Armstrong said. "If I just step on my phone, I'm going to be way smarter."
For weeks leading up to free agency, Armstrong has preached patience.
Utah inherited a team from Arizona still in the early stages of a major rebuild. Sure, there are fun pieces — Clayton Keller is a young star, while Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther look like foundational forwards — but, Armstrong insisted, they need time.
The young talent isn't ready to compete for a Stanley Cup; that wouldn't change with a flashy free-agent signing, no matter how big of a name. In fact, Armstrong said such a move might limit the team's ability to compete in the future.
But did things change on Saturday when Utah acquired budding defensive star Mikhail Sergachev from Tampa Bay and veteran defenseman John Marino from New Jersey?
The moves raised eyebrows around the NHL. The day after team owner Ryan Smith declared he was "not a patient man," his team made two big deals.
Armstrong, though, sees those moves as parts of his long-term plan.
"We have to provide complement players that will help our guys grow and allow us to be competitive," Armstrong said.
Utah's blue line greatly improved over the weekend. Along with the two trades, Utah extended defenseman Sean Durzi (four years, $24 million) and defenseman Juuso Valimaki (two years, $4 million), shoring up its defense for years to come.
The team might not be done, either. Some reports indicate Utah will be in on Florida defenseman Brandon Montour if he hits the open market.
Whether or not that comes to fruition, Utah has a bonafide top-line pairing. The hope is that will allow the team to remain competitive into the spring.
"I don't think we're going to beat the top-end teams every night, but we want to play meaningful games, and we want to win some of those meaningful games," he said. "We want to be in the (postseason) hunt down the stretch. That's what we're trying to get accomplished."
That will allow the team to take the next step "organically."
"You're accumulating years on the young players and they're slowly getting better. That's the way teams are built for championships," Armstrong said.
He didn't make the moves to try and be an overnight Cup contender, he made them to help the team take the next step in the rebuild.
After seeing his team fall out of playoff contention due to a 14-game losing streak last season — a streak that not-so-coincidentally came following the first rumblings of a move to Utah — Armstrong expects to see more consistency from his young squad.
Sergachev and Marino should help in that regard.
"I think you're going to be surprised with some avenues of our team," Armstrong said. "But there is a reality here where Logan Cooley (20) is the age he is. So is Dylan Guenther (21), so is (Mattias) Macceli (23), so is Josh Doan (22). I think we had the youngest forward group at the end of the year.
"You have to temper expectations and not get too ahead of yourself because you've added two good players that make you a little better," Armstrong said.
Still, there is something he wants to accomplish in free agency. Armstrong said he'd like to add one or two players to improve last season's 25th-ranked penalty kill. He called it a "small little tweak" that could have a huge impact.
As for other moves … that might depend on whether or not he gets a hold of his phone on Monday.
