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Utah NHL team signs forward Julian Lutz to entry-level contract

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Mike Gould | Last updated 5/26/24

The Utah NHL team has signed forward prospect Julian Lutz to a three-year, entry-level contract, CapFriendly reported Sunday evening.

Lutz, 20, collected 24 goals and 68 points in 50 games with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers during the 2023-24 regular season. He added two goals and four points in six playoff contests with the club.

The Arizona Coyotes originally selected Lutz in the second round (No. 43 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. The 6’2″, 187-pound left wing hails from Weingarten, Germany and spent the seasons immediately before and after his draft year playing for EHC Munich in the DEL.

Lutz also suited up for Team Germany at the 2023 and 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships, racking up one goal and four points over 10 games as one of the team’s most experienced players.

Julian Lutz #Utah #Yotes
3 year entry-level
$923k cap hit | $950k AAV

Yr 1: $775k + $95k SB
Yrs 2 & 3: $855k + $95k SBhttps://t.co/UlaqW8koWK
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) May 26, 2024

Lutz is the second player signed by the unnamed Utah team since it officially relocated from Tempe, Arizona last month, following forward Noel Nordh (selected by the Coyotes in the 2023 NHL Draft).

The Coyotes selected 10 players in the 2022 NHL Draft: Logan Cooley, Conor Geekie, Maveric Lamoureux, Artem Duda, Lutz, Miko Matikka, Jeremy Langlois, Matthew Morden, Maksymillian Szuber, and Adam Zlnka. Of that group, Cooley, Geekie, Lamoureux, Szuber, and now Lutz have signed NHL contracts.

Lutz skated in 38 games with Munich over his two seasons of top-level German hockey, collecting two goals and 11 points. He was the first German player selected in the 2022 draft and one of only two in total — the other, Szuber, went in the sixth round and was also selected by the Coyotes.

As a European player born in 2004, Lutz is immediately eligible to play in the American Hockey League with Utah’s affiliate, which is still controlled by the Coyotes ownership group and will play either out of Mullett Arena in Tempe or the Tucson Convention Center next season.

The Coyotes finished their final season in Arizona in seventh place in the Central Division with a 36-41-5 record and 77 points in 82 games. Under the ownership of Ryan Smith, the team will play out of the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah beginning with the 2024-25 season.

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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