The Utah Hockey Club signed Dylan Guenther to a contract extension. What does it mean for the future of the club? This extension shows what Utah is trying to do with all of their young players, which is to lock them up and bet on potential. Guenther has limited NHL experience but showed a lot of potential last season with 35 points in 45 games played. Considering he is only 21, this deal has elements of risk but also high reward if Guenther turns into the player Utah is banking on him to be.
Here for the long haul. ?
We’ve signed Dylan Guenther to an eight-year contract. pic.twitter.com/7MQxkG8N0s
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) September 20, 2024
Guenther Extension Signals More to Come
Signing Guenther sets a precedent for Utah. They want to get their young players signed to long-term deals as long as possible. Guenther is now in their forward core for the eight years, but this move means that Logan Cooley and Mattias Maccelli are likely to get extensions as well over the next season or two.
Cooley and Maccelli are two players one would think Utah would like to sign as well. They are both in the same age range, and both have the same potential as Guenther. Getting both signed should be a top priority for GM Bill Armstrong in the next two seasons or so.
Utah Has One Less Player to Focus On
In the future, Utah can focus on bringing in free agents to the club instead of having to worry about the potential of losing Guenther when he’s in his prime. With the salary cap projected to rise, having Guenther at seven million a year could look like a steal.
In fact, the salary cap going up will only help Utah. Locking up Cooley and Maccelli should be easy to sign with how much money teams will have to spend in the next two seasons. Utah could have a three-headed monster with these three under contract, and if everything goes right, Bill Armstrong will look like a genius.
The Plan is Working with Guenther Extension
Signing one of your franchise’s bright young stars before playing a single game should earn Ryan Smith some praise. He had many challenges coming into this first season, and he’s knocked it out of the park. With everything the Utah players have been through the last six months or so, it was an extremely tall task to make every player on the team feel at home, and so far, the chemistry and good feelings are high with this team.
There are usually some negative feelings somewhere in a team that just faced relocation, but we’ll have to wait and see for the players to get on the ice.
Building the Culture
Guenther signing this early in his career is a clear sign of his desire to stay in Utah. The culture around this team seems to be off to a great start. If they do it correctly, free agents in years to come will see Utah as a team where players want to stay long-term and might entice them to sign there as well.
This team could become one of the top destinations in the NHL, and signing Guenther is the first step. A championship-caliber team needs a mix of young players and veterans as the foundation of their team.
With how nasty things unfolded in Arizona, the feelings around this team seem extremely positive for the present and future. Ryan Smith has done a great job getting the team in and making them feel comfortable. The players should thrive with a full season without all the noise of relocation around them; clearly Dylan Guenther felt that way.
Main Photo: Brett Holmes-Imagn Images
