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The Utah Mammoth have had a busy offseason. Not only have they made some major free agent signings, but they have been active in the NHL trade market as well. The Mammoth missed the playoffs by just seven points last year and have upgraded their roster to make sure they make it to the playoffs this season.
The team formerly known as the Utah Hockey Club had interest in free agents such as Sam Bennett and Mitch Marner, but could not sign either of them. Still, they made a major trade to open their summer, as the Mammoth traded with the Buffalo Sabres to land JJ Peterka. They would then send Matias Maccelli to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had requested a trade from Utah. They would then improve their defense, adding Nate Schmidt to the blue line and a solid two-way forward with Brandon Tanev. Utah would also add Vitek Vanceck in goal, while re-signing Jack McBain. The franchise also still has just under $7 million in cap space to work with this offseason.
Utah needs to improve its roster more if they want to make a run at the playoffs. They were 21st in the NHL in goal scoring last season, while sitting 17th in goals against per game. Further, they were tenth in the NHL on the power play last year, while sitting 15th on the penalty kill. Utah still has cap space, plus young players who could be moved. Further, they have plenty of draft capital in the upcoming years, which could help make a major move.
A Mammoth move with the Devils
Utah has already addressed the need for scoring by bringing in Peterka. They also started to address the need for defense with Schmidt and Vanecek, but still, more can be done on that side of the ice. Karel Vejmelka was solid when he was in the goal. He went 26-22-8 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Meanwhile, Connor Ingram struggled and will most likely be out this year after Ingram entered the Players' Assistance Program. Vanecek is now the backup. He is on a one-year deal and was dreadful last season. Last year, between time with the Sharks and Panthers, he would play in 25 games. The goaltender had a 3.62 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage.
Further, the defense for the Mammoth often struggled. The leader on the defense for the team in terms of plus/minus was Olli Maatta, who had a plus-seven rating. Next best was Michael Kesselring, who was moved to Buffalo as part of the Peterka trade. Further, Mikael Sergachev led the blue line in points, having 53, while also adding 23 power-play points. Second was once again Kesselring, who had just 29 points, with only three on the power play. The blue line needs to contribute more on offense beyond just Sergachev.
A trade with the Devils could fix many of their problems. The Devils just re-signed Jake Allen, making one of their other two goalies now expendable. Jacob Markstrom was the starting goaltender for the Devils this past year and was solid. He had a 2.50 goals-against average while also having a .900 save percentage. Still, it is unlikely the Devils move on from their top goaltender. Further, his cap hit of $4.125 million will be a little high for Utah to handle and make other moves. They could go after Nico Daws.
Daws will work for a few reasons. To begin with, his cap hit is just $812,500. Assuming Ingram stays in the NHL assistance program, his salary will not count towards the cap, which opens up nearly $2 million. Only a portion of that would be taken by Daws. Further, Daws is on a two-way contract. He can be in the AHL, and if things do not work out with Vanecek, he could move to the NHL level. The German netminder was great at the NHL level last year with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. He has shown promise at the NHL level and would be a perfect solution for Utah, while also being expendable for the Devils.
The big move for Utah would be to get Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton is rumored to be available, and the Mammoth have shown interest. The Canadian would be on the right side of the defense and could be opposite Sergachev. They could also split those two defenders up, and he could run on the second rotation. While Utah has four guys on the roster who primarily played on the right side last year, all four of them also spent time on the left side.
Still, Hamilton is a top-quality defender, which will solve a major need for Utah. Further, he has been great in his career on the power play. Last year, he had 15 powerplay points, and he averages over 16 powerplay points per 82 games in his NHL career. Hamilton would be a major boost to the powerplay, and be able to help the offense from the blue line.
The biggest issue with Hamilton is that he is due $9 million this year. This would require GM Bill Armstrong to find some money, but for a player of his quality, it would be well worth it.
