After claiming defenseman Nick DeSimone off waivers from the New Jersey Devils earlier today, the Utah Hockey Club had one too many players on their active roster. According to Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune, the team has reassigned defenseman Kevin Connauton to their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.
Despite being recalled by Utah on two separate occasions during the 2024-25 NHL season, Connauton has yet to debut with the team in the NHL. In his second stint with AHL Tucson for the first time since the 2016-17 season, Connauton has recorded five goals and nine points in 24 contests.
Connauton joined the new Utah organization this past summer for their inaugural season, signing a two-year, $1.55 million contract. Although the team clamored to add more defensive depth to the entire organization in the offseason, Connauton had a legitimate chance to play in his first NHL game since the 2021-22 season after injuries to Sean Durzi, John Marino, Maveric Lamoureux, and Robert Bortuzzo earlier in the year.
Instead, Connauton has been passed by other candidates and pushed further down the depth chart with the acquisition of DeSimone. The former 83rd overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft is in the twilight years of his career and has likely seen any future opportunity in the NHL pass him by.
Still, the veteran journeyman has put together a relatively lengthy NHL career with six different organizations. Connauton has scored 28 goals and 80 points in 360 NHL contests split between the Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers beginning in the 2013-14 season.