Utah's NHL franchise on the verge of signing its 1st new player

The team doesn't even have a name yet, but the NHL's new franchise in Salt Lake City, Utah is reportedly ready to sign a player, which would make him the first to sign under the Utah banner. Utah will have some competition, though.

21-year-old Andrei Nikonov is a product of the Moscow Dynamo school of hockey in Russia. According to a report, two teams are in the mix to sign him. They are the Seattle Kraken, and Utah.

Nikonov been back and forth from the KHL to the VHL (which serves as the KHL's farm league, like the AHL to the NHL) over the past couple of seasons, and not really putting up significant offensive numbers in either. That's not what has NHL teams interested, of course. It's the forward's massive frame and the weight that goes along with it.

While there is certainly a lot going on with the Utah team right now, it seems it's business as usual for the front office, which all came over from the Coyotes. That includes GM Bill Armstrong.

Armstrong has already noted the strong reception he and the rest of the former Arizona Coyotes staff and players have been given in Salt Lake CIty. He promised he and everyone in the organization else would pay the city back for their kindness.