When the Utah Hockey Club selected Tij Iginla with the sixth pick and took 10 other players in the first draft since the team moved to Salt Lake City, fans were excited, thinking they would be in the NHL right away. General manager Bill Armstrong tried to temper expectations, telling them, “No, it takes some time.” After an unexpected victory off the ice Monday night in the draft lottery, the expectations for the club’s future are Rocky Mountain high once again. Utah won the second random draw of lottery balls to move up from the 14th pick to No. 4, adding to an already momentous summer that could feature a free agent spending spree with tons of salary cap space and an owner not afraid to spend money, the first phase of massive arena renovations taking place and the full-time name getting unveiled before next season. “It’s a game-changer for us,” Armstrong said on a post-lottery video call with reporters. “These are exciting times for Utah. … Just great stuff for the franchise. I can’t express in words on the excitement of when that happened and the opportunity in front of us.” Armstrong has over $22 million in room, and

Will Hardy is being given more time to continue the rebuild of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz announced Monday that Hardy has signed a contract extension, one that could keep him as head coach through the 2030-31 season. He’ll enter his fourth season with the Jazz next fall. “Will’s leadership has been invaluable to our program,” Jazz CEO Danny Ainge said. “He has established a vision for our players and a strong foundation of core values, competitive habits, and growth mindset. He is one of the brightest young coaches in our league, and we are incredibly fortunate to have him.” Hardy has gone 85-161 in his first three seasons with the Jazz, missing the playoffs in each of those three years. Utah won 37 games in his first season, 31 in his second and just 17 this season — by far the worst record in franchise history and the worst record in the NBA this season. The Jazz — who didn’t play anyone over the age of 27 in the final weeks of this season and finished the year with the youngest roster in the NBA — clearly understand why that was the case, and the extension shows they’re happy