Year in Review: March

In the final full month of the regular season, Utah was in the hunt for a postseason berth while securing its future with key players. Read more about March 2025 below!

On the Ice

At this part of the season, every point matters. With Utah just points out of a playoff spot, the team fought hard to keep up with the pace. With 14 games in 30 days, March was a sprint, but Utah stepped up to the challenge.

Utah flexed its resilience on Mar. 6 with a 4-2 road win over the Detroit Red Wings. After the home team took a 2-1 lead in the first period, Utah pushed back with three unanswered goals to secure two points. Dylan Guenther, Nick Schmaltz, Kevin Stenlund, and Lawson Crouse all scored in the win. In addition to Utah’s offense stepping up, Karel Vejmelka made 38 saves on 40 shots to keep Detroit from pushing back.

Another big win was on Mar. 22 when Utah beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-4, at Delta Center. The victory was extra sweet as it was Mikhail Sergachev’s first game against his former team. Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot each had two goals while Josh Doan and Nick Schmaltz scored once.

To wrap up the month, Utah’s offensive production fueled a 5-2 win over a Central Division opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks. Two defensemen got on the board with Nick DeSimone and Mikhail Sergachev scoring one goal apiece while Alexander Kerfoot, Kailer Yamamoto, and Logan Cooley all contributed a goal. Utah won six games and picked up points in nine of 14 contests. This kept the playoff hopes alive for the organization into the final month of the season.

Staying Put

General Manager Bill Armstrong spent the trade deadline optimizing his team for the future. That included extending several key veteran players.

Defenseman Olli Määttä signed a three-year contract extension while fellow blueliner Ian Cole signed on for one more season. Forward Alexander Kerfoot also extended his time in Utah with a one year contract. During a strong season where he became the starting goaltender, Karel Vejmelka signed a five-year extension to stay with the organization.

These moves allowed Utah to keep some strong veterans from the inaugural season while securing depth for the team next season.

Returning to the Sunshine State

For defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and forward Kevin Stenlund, the Florida road trip in late March was a chance to go face their former teams in their former homes. Sergachev spent seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning before he was acquired by Utah last offseason. The blueliner won two Stanley Cups with Tampa and played 471 regular season games with the Lightning. A late March game against his former club was Sergachev’s first game back in Tampa since he was traded.

Stenlund spent the 2023-24 season with the Florida Panthers and won the 2024 Stanley Cup with his former team. The trip was also his first game back in Florida following this significant milestone. Stenlund played 81 regular season games and 24 postseason contests with the Panthers last year.

Smile!

Every season, typically in the final few weeks, NHL teams gather together executives, management, coaches, players, and staff to take the annual team photo. This year’s photo was extra special as it was the first in franchise history for Utah.

“It’s an honor to be a part of that,” Josh Doan said about the experience. “A lot of guys were laughing; you better look good for this photo since it’s going to be around for a while. It’s cool, you’re going to get to look back at this, and look back on the years at that photo and be a part of history, and be a part of a first. It’s an honor and it’s really cool.”

For the Kids

On Mar. 22, it was the next generation of Utah fans that took over. For the organization’s NextGen game, kids took over different roles throughout the day. Pregame, hockey operations and marketing were assisted by some young fans while during the game, broadcast and game presentation had special guests. The game was a great opportunity to help grow lifelong Utah fans.

Significant Milestones

On Mar. 6, Captain Clayton Keller recorded his 300th career NHL assist against the Detroit Red Wings.

Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev collected his 300th career NHL point on Mar. 12 with the primary assist on Guenther’s power play goal.

On Mar. 24, forward Dylan Guenther recorded his 100th career NHL point with a power play goal against the Detroit Red Wings.

Defenseman Ian Cole played his 900th NHL game on Mar. 30 against the Chicago Blackhawks. He reflected on his career ahead of reaching this milestone.

Forward Lawson Crouse and defenseman John Marino each recorded their 100th career NHL assists on Mar. 30.

Social Spotlight

This month’s Social Spotlight has to be when Utah’s TikTok channel hit a new milestone:

We'll take a look back at April 2025 on Sunday.