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Getting to know U-tah: Forward Lawson Crouse
From now through training camp, ALLCITY Network will publish profiles of players and staff on the Utah Hockey Club’s hockey operations side to help Utah fans get to know their new team before the first puck drop on Oct. 8 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Delta Center.
Lawson Crouse
Position: Left wing
Height/weight: 6-4, 215
Shoots: Left
Age: 27
2023-24 stats: 81 games, 23 goals, 42 points
Career stats: 504 games, 103 goals, 197 points
Contract status: Signed through 2026-27 (AAV: $4.3 million)
Agent: Robert Hooper
Spouse: Claire
Dog: Butter Pig
The Coyotes’ relocation to Utah wasn’t easy on anybody who invested time in the franchise, but it was particularly challenging for Lawson Crouse and his wife, Claire. The home that the couple built in the Valley was completed on April 18, the day that the NHL confirmed the sale of the team to Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith.
That house was the culmination of a dream. Lawson signed a five-year contract extension in August of 2022, and the couple is expecting their first baby around Labor Day. Arizona was where they planned to raise their family, and Claire admitted to feeling “gutted” when the news broke just before the couple was due to be filmed, talking about this new chapter in their lives.
“Arizona is our home,” she wrote at the time. “Law played his first NHL game here. We grew up here. Got engaged. Got married. I thought our first baby would be born here, too. There are just too many layers of disappointment to even begin to fathom. It’s all just gut wrenching to watch unfold.”
That was then, however. This is now.
Nobody who has had the chance to meet the Crouses would be surprised to learn that, a mere three months later, they have embraced the change.
“Claire and I have been in Utah for over a month now so it’s been nice to be able to get settled and get a feel for the state; get a feel for the area,” Lawson said by phone on Friday. “We’ve been enjoying it. The weather is beautiful here; high 80s, low 90s every day. The sun is shining, low humidity and great mountain views so it’s been nice and relaxing.”
The move hasn’t been without its challenges, including the moving realities that many of us have faced.
“I don’t think I’ve broken down so much cardboard in my life,” Lawson said, laughing, “but I’ve tried a couple restaurants. I’ve been on a couple drives. It’s a very beautiful state, especially when you go up and over and through the mountains; it’s gorgeous.
“We actually drove here from AZ. We took a little bit of a longer route. I think it was about 11 and a half hours. We stopped off in Monument Valley for a little bit, had some lunch and really enjoyed the drive. You’re going through mountains the whole time and with the red desert, for a little stretch there, it feels like you’re on Mars so it was pretty cool.”
The Crouses know how much the relocation hurt Arizona fans. Lawson was reluctant to even talk about it because he didn’t want to offend anyone, but as a player with a job to do, he knew he needed to move on. Change is a part of life.
“I know they’re gonna see the article that you’re about to write and they’re just gonna be like, ‘Oh, he’s enjoying it out there,'” Crouse said of Coyotes fans. “I don’t want them to feel like it’s anything against them. I have to turn the page. We’re in a new franchise now with new fans, but I don’t have one bad thing to say about Arizona fans. They were great to me and my family my entire career there.
“I truly hope they keep following us. They’ve been following me for eight years now and it has meant a lot to me. I hope that doesn’t stop. I’m very grateful for them and I don’t want them to be mad that I’m taking this new step and embracing it. That’s what I have to do, and that’s what I want to do.”
The next steps for Crouse include personal and team goals. He still wants to reach 30 goals, a desire that he stated plainly last season. More importantly, he wants to taste the playoffs again.
“Throughout my career in AZ, I got one little taste of it, and it was in that bubble experience which was kind of a little bit messed up and a little bit flawed,” he said. “I’m excited to bring hockey to a new place. I’m excited to be a part of something special here. Not too many players can say they are about to play on a brand new franchise so it’s a huge opportunity, a great privilege, and I’m just looking forward to opening night.”
The goal-scoring side of Crouse’s game has blossomed over the past three seasons, but it’s his complete game that gave him the opportunity to play in situations where his offense could flourish. It started under former coach Rick Tocchet, and it has reached new levels under coach André Tourigny.
“If you can find another guy who’s 6-foot-4, is super fast, super reliable defensively, can play on the PK and the power play, can play against the top line on the other side, can contribute offensively, who is a big leader in your room and can also fight — if teams can find another guy like that at that price, good for them,” said coach André Tourigny, who discussed Crouse’s leadership style in depth in the first edition of Bear Necessities below.
“Not every team I have coached has had the luxury to have a guy like that. When you have one, I think you can consider yourself lucky.”
Crouse still has three seasons remaining on the extension he signed, but at age 27, he also understands how critical it is to take the next step — both for himself and for the team.
“This is a pivotal point in my career, and with a fresh beginning in a new organization we have something to prove,” he said. “We want to be a team like Vegas that comes in and makes a splash in their first year.
“As for my own game, there’s always things that you can do to improve, whether it’s simple things or big things. Thirty goals is still the goal, but I’ve kind of been raised to be a reliable person and player, and I think that’s carried on into my hockey career. I just try to do my best to be a good team player and a good 200-foot player that can be reliable each and every night and as consistent as I can be.”
Related Crouse links
For Lawson Crouse, the summer of 2022 was all about commitment
How Butter Pig became a celebrity (paywall)
How Butter Pig has handled fame
No Crouse story would be complete without a few photos of Butter Pig, who was arguably the most famous dog in Arizona while he called the Valley home.
Top photo of Lawson Crouse via Getty Images
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