3 Utah HC Players Who Will Regress In 2024-25

In the first season in Utah, the team is expected to be more competitive. There are some new faces in town that will take playing time and push others down the lineup. Just because the team may be better, doesn't mean every player will. Let's dive into three who will regress in 2024-25.

Nick Bjugstad

Nick Bjugstad has been playing above where he should be in the lineup for too long in Arizona (now Utah). He has served as the first line center, but now Barrett Hayton and Logan Cooley should be able to take some of the burden off the veteran and push him down the lineup where Bjugstad can be most effective. It is projected that he will be the third line center. This means less offensive players flanking him and less playing time, inevitably leading to a regression at 32 years old after scoring 22 goals and 45 points.

Alex Kerfoot

Alex Kerfoot is another player who will be pushed down the lineup a bit and end up producing less. He is projected to be playing on the fourth line left wing behind Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse, and Matias Maccelli. After scoring 13 goals and recording 45 points while averaging 17.5 minutes per game, those will all decrease by a fair amount unless the young players really struggle and he is given an opportunity higher in the lineup.

Michael Carcone

It's not very often that a fourth line player scores 21 goals in a season. This is what Michael Carcone did and it won't happen again. His shooting percentage was 18.9%, which is very high. He also recorded just eight assists in 74 games. He will not score as many goals, even if he gets a similar amount of playing time. Having a shooting percentage that high is extremely difficult to repeat.