Utah Hockey Center Misses Season Opener

Nick Bjugstad is set to miss Utah’s first-ever regular-season game due to an upper-body injury.

The 32-year-old hasn’t joined training camp yet and is considered week-to-week. It’s a tough situation for him, especially since he has managed to stay healthy in the past two seasons, playing over 70 games each year.

Bjugstad spent the last two years with the Coyotes, except for a brief period with the Oilers in 2023 before returning to Arizona as a free agent. He’s now in the second year of his $4.2M contract and moved with other former Coyotes players to Utah this summer. Last season was a comeback for Bjugstad, scoring 22 goals and 23 assists for 45 points, his best since his career-high in Florida during the 2017-18 season. He also played more minutes per game than ever before at an average of 17:27 .

Fans might think this news is disappointing because they were excited to see him play.

Injury Updates:

Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 209 pounds, Bjugstad was expected to be a key player for Utah this season once healthy. With him out, Josh Doan, who had five goals and nine points in just 11 games after being called up from AHL Tucson last season, will likely make it into the lineup for their home opener against the Blackhawks on October 8th.

On a brighter note, defenseman John Marino’s condition has improved from week-to-week to day-to-day with his upper-body injury. Acquired from New Jersey Devils through a trade on June 29th, Marino hasn’t skated yet during training camp either. Last year he scored four goals and made twenty-one assists over seventy-five games while averaging more than twenty minutes per game—something he’s done every season since starting his NHL career five years ago.

Marino is expected to be part of Utah’s top four defenders when he returns.

What do you think about these updates?