SALT LAKE CITY — "We're moving in the right direction, and you don't want to break up that chemistry, you want to let everybody fight," said Utah Hockey Club General Manager Bill Armstrong.
As the trade deadline passed, Utah Hockey Club was conservative this time around. The organization wants to give this group of guys a chance to keep rolling with what's working.
Armstrong added, "our team's been through a lot this year, they deserve to fight together and that's what they've earned the right to do."
Utah HC made moves over the summer, like adding 2-time Stanley Cup Champion and dominant defenseman, Mikhail Sergachev.
"If there was a deal out there that put us over the edge with a dynamic player like a Sergachev or something, we were all in, we've got all the assets, but we want to move very smartly, very planned and very calculated through the process," said Armstrong, "I like where our group is at."
In Arizona, the organization has made trades, but this trade deadline looked different. Extending veterans, like Ian Cole and Alexander Kerfoot, and securing contracts, like goaltender Karel Vejmelka locking in a to a 5-year deal.
"There's different phases that you go through as you're building your team, some teams in the top 10 you can see they're all in, we're not at that point right now," said Armstrong.
The Utah Hockey Club has a lot of budding stars in the league, players that Armstrong said would need patience for their game to develop.
"We're at the point where if you look at Logan Cooley, Josh Doan and Guenther, our young players, we have to wait, until they are becoming the best they can be and that's going to be a few years from now."
With the Utah HC roster intact, Utah can focus on the Wild Card race, with 19 games remaining.
