With the 2024-25 NHL season lower than two months away, the Utah Hockey Membership are about to play its inaugural season. There can be many thrilling video games on Utah’s schedule and the franchise is hoping to make the playoffs in its first season. With that being mentioned, ahead Alex Kerfoot and his veteran management can be key to Utah’s quest for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 30-year-old has performed for 3 groups main as much as this season. Kerfoot began his NHL profession with the Colorado Avalanche, enjoying two seasons and recording 40-plus factors in each. On July 1, 2019, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Kerfoot and defenseman Tyson Barrie, sending ahead Nazem Kadri to Colorado. The 2 groups additionally swapped picks within the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The left-handed shot spent the following 4 seasons in Toronto and set his career-high in factors with 51 within the 2021-22 season. Extra importantly, within the first six seasons of his profession, he skilled playoff hockey.
Trying to strengthen their ahead depth in the course of the 2023 offseason, Arizona Coyotes’ normal supervisor Invoice Armstrong signed Kerfoot to a two-year deal value $3.5 million yearly.
First and Remaining Season within the Desert
Kerfoot has been praised prior to now for being “Mr. Versatility” and continued to play that function with the Coyotes, enjoying on the wing or and up the center for head coach André Tourigny’s lineup. When forwards Barrett Hayton and Nick Bjugstad had been out of the lineup because of damage, he centered forwards Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz on Arizona’s high line. The 5-foot-11, 186-pounder was slotted in a bottom-six function and obtained time on the Coyotes’ power-play and penalty-killing items.
What appeared like fixed change all through the season for Kerfoot impacted his level manufacturing. A lot of his offensive manufacturing got here sporadically in bunches. For instance, amidst the Coyotes’ consecutive wins towards former Stanley Cup-winning groups, he scored one objective and added eight assists for 9 factors in 4 video games.
His time on the ice was additionally impacted, as he performed a special variety of minutes every recreation. Kerfoot performed wherever from 11:41 to 25:05 a recreation. Regardless of all of the variations Coyotes followers noticed of him, the Canadian had the second-best offensive season of his profession, recording 45 factors (fourth finest on the Coyotes final season.) He additionally set career-highs in blocked photographs (76) and face-off wins (412.) The 2012 fifth-round decide by the New Jersey Devils gained 47.8% of his face-offs (second-best season within the face-off circle) and was arguably the Coyotes’ second-best faceoff man behind Bjugstad (who gained 617 face-offs final season.)
As you’ll be able to inform, Kerfoot was Arizona’s Swiss Military knife final season. Tourigny praised him for his defensive skills.
“I believe in all of the defensive features of the sport, he’s a genius on the market,” Tourigny mentioned. “He reads the play. He has a really feel, he has an urgency, he has satisfaction to do all of that, defensively. I imply, he’s doing a whole lot of good things offensively and he has ability and may make performs, however if you ask me what’s actually particular, that’s his performs and reads defensively.”
Present Veterans on Utah’s Roster
Aside from forwards Liam O’Brien and Kerfoot (each 30 years outdated), Bjugstad (32 years outdated), and defenseman Ian Cole (35 years outdated), Utah general is a youthful workforce.
O’Brien, also called the “Huge Tuna,” gives a bodily (led the Coyotes in hits with 229) and aggressive play model (led the NHL in penalty minutes with 153) that’s helpful towards extra physically-structured groups. He not too long ago signed a three-year deal that pays him $1 million yearly. He can be a pleasant plug-and-play possibility for the following three seasons for Tourigny.
Bjugstad is coming into yr 13 of his NHL profession in Utah. The 6-foot-6, 209-pounder has been an ideal two-way middle in Arizona. He has performed with 4 completely different groups within the Stanley Cup playoffs (the Florida Panthers in 2015-16, the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018-19, the Minnesota Wild in 2020-21, and the Edmonton Oilers in 2022-23.)
Cole is becoming a member of his ninth NHL franchise in Utah. He has probably the most playoff expertise out of any skater on the roster with 11 postseasons underneath his belt. The Notre Dame product will more than likely function a bottom-pair defenseman who can be utilized in penalty-killing conditions.
Aside from all of the wide-ranging skills talked about above, Kerfoot is the right veteran presence for Utah’s wants. Whereas he’s not like veteran forwards Steven Stamkos or Sidney Crosby, he doesn’t should be. Younger gun forwards Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther want time on the top-six ahead traces to develop, and the road of Keller, Hayton, and Schmaltz appears to be like to stay collectively this upcoming season. He can be a strong bottom-six participant who can fill in sure roles when wanted all through the season.
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Moreover, final season was Kerfoot’s first time not making the Stanley Cup playoffs in his seven-season profession. His drive and expertise can be necessary to cross all the way down to the youthful skaters when it comes time for his or her playoff push within the later half of the common season.
If Utah decides to advertise one in every of its three alternate captains (Crouse, Keller, and Schmaltz) to captain, search for Kerfoot to select up one of many remaining alternate captain As. Throughout his school hockey profession with the Harvard Crimson, he was co-captain throughout his senior yr in 2016-17. With a mixture of veterans, promising children, and free-agent additions, pleasure continues to construct for Utah followers for his or her inaugural NHL season.
