Mammoth Recall Kevin Rooney, Assign Maveric Lamoureux To AHL
This evening the Utah Mammoth shared that veteran Kevin Rooney has been recalled, while defenseman Maveric Lamoureux is headed to AHL Tucson. Today’s transaction is an exact reversal of one which was made on December 3, involving both players.
Rooney, 32, has been back-and-forth between Utah and Tucson several times already this season. When in the AHL, the center is a top player, as he has six goals in 11 games. He also managed to find the back of the net during his Mammoth debut in late November. With a career high of 14 points, set with the Rangers in 2020-21, he is not the most exciting call up. Yet any player capable of filling in seamlessly without disrupting developing pieces, and not being a waiver claim threat, is valuable.
With star Logan Cooley set to miss eight weeks, and the team dropping seven of their last 10, eyes may be on GM Bill Armstrong to make a move. Just one point out of the Wild Card, the franchise’s first-ever playoff appearance could be in danger of slipping out of reach; and they certainly have stock in the cupboard to acquire another star. In the meantime, Rooney is an extra forward on the exciting young team, not expected to play, barring additional injuries.
Lamoureux, a first rounder in 2022, does not jump off the page statistically, but standing at 6’6”, he offers strong shutdown play even at just 21, and is a coveted right-handed shot. With such imposing size, the Quebec native could pan out as a reliable second-pair blueliner, but has a high floor regardless.
As is the case most times a top prospect is sent down in favor of an older depth piece, Lamoureux’s role with Utah is a point of emphasis. He played 12:46 last night, with nine fewer shifts than anyone else on the back end. The defenseman will be a welcome addition back to Tucson for the time being, as the team currently ranks toward the bottom in the AHL. Lamoureux has nine points in 19 games for the Roadrunners, and could be back sometime soon, as he seems to be the undisputed top defensive call up option for Utah, much like Rooney for the forward group.
Mammoth Recall Maveric Lamoureux, Reassign Kevin Rooney
According to a team announcement, the Utah Mammoth have recalled defenseman Maveric Lamoureux from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, and have reassigned forward Kevin Rooney in a corresponding roster move. The transaction indirectly confirms that Rooney cleared waivers and will remain ineligible for them until he spends another 30 days on the NHL roster or plays in 10 games.
It’s the first call-up of the year for the former 29th overall pick. Despite retaining his status as a rookie, Lamoureux skated in 15 games with Utah last season, scoring one goal and three points while averaging 16:07 of ice time.
Standing 6’6″, Lamoureux made his presence known in his brief time in the NHL last season. He racked up 18 hits and a whopping 42 PIMs, averaging out to 2.8 PIMs a game. Additionally, he showed a lot of promise on the defensive side of the puck, managing a 57.1% CorsiFor% at even strength and 92.0% on-ice save percentage at even strength.
He wasn’t drafted due to his offensive prowess, and that remains true today, although he’s shown signs of improvement. He finished last year with two goals and 13 points in 42 games at the AHL level, and has nearly matched that total this season, tallying nine assists through his first 19 contests.
Given that the Mammoth were willing to give him a roster spot, he’ll likely enter the lineup rather than become a seventh defenseman. It would make sense for Utah to replace Nick DeSimone with Lamoureux next to Ian Cole on the bottom pair.
Meanwhile, Rooney was a likely consequence of Lamoureux’s recall, given that most of his games this season have been played in the AHL. He’s scored one goal in one game with the Mammoth, and five goals and six points in eight games for the Roadrunners.
Sean Durzi, John Marino Undergo Surgery; Maveric Lamoureux Recalled
Utah defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino have both undergone surgeries that will see them sit out most of the season, the team announced. Durzi will be out four to six months after having his right shoulder surgically repaired, while Marino will miss three to four months after undergoing surgery to address a lower back issue. The team later said that they’ve recalled 2022 first-rounder Maveric Lamoureux from AHL Tucson, but with a full 23-man roster, there’s still a corresponding move coming.
The team didn’t disclose when each player underwent surgery. However, if Durzi underwent it within the last few days, a six-month timeline would mean his regular season is over after just four appearances. Meanwhile, Marino should return in the lead-up to or after the league’s schedule pauses for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. Both players are already on injured reserve, and with over $8MM in cap space, a transfer to LTIR is unlikely for either.
It’s a regrettable development for both players and the team, although it’s not unexpected. Reports from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff indicated earlier this month that an absence of at least four months awaited Durzi. Utah head coach André Tourigny said last Friday that Marino would still be unavailable for “months.”
Durzi, who turned 26 on Monday, is in the first year of the four-year, $24MM extension he signed in June to keep him off this summer’s RFA market. Acquired by the Coyotes from the Kings in the 2023 offseason, he excelled in a top-pairing role in the desert, controlling 54.8% of shot attempts at even strength and posting 41 points (9 G, 32 A) in 76 games. Unfortunately, he’ll now miss most of his first season under that contract.
The 2018 second-round pick of the Maple Leafs has been traded twice – first from Toronto to Los Angeles in 2019’s Jake Muzzin trade and again from L.A. to Arizona in 2023. He’s now averaged 20:48 per game across 216 NHL appearances, recording 108 points with a -20 rating but a strong 51.8 CF%. Through four games this year before sustaining the injury on a hit from Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler over a week ago, he had two assists and a +2 rating.
Durzi is a left-shot but played the right side throughout much of last season in Arizona. He did so again to begin 2024-25, suiting up on the right side on Utah’s first pairing alongside offseason trade acquisition Mikhail Sergachev. With Marino also out long-term, Utah will be without its top two right defensemen for most of its inaugural season.
Marino, also a trade pickup by general manager Bill Armstrong over the summer, has yet to play a game for Utah. He sustained the back injury during offseason training and never practiced with the team during training camp. He was initially listed as week-to-week and was later upgraded to day-to-day, signaling a potential return was near, but an evident setback landed him on IR to start the regular season.
Despite their recent aggressiveness in the trade market, don’t expect Utah to swing a deal for a right-shot defenseman in the coming days. Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports they “intend to lean on internal solutions,” at least for now. One of those internal solutions is the 20-year-old Lamoureux, a hulking 6’7″ right-shot defender who’s off to a hot start with Tucson in his first professional season. The former QMJHL champion and All-Star has two goals and an assist through his first four AHL games.
Utah’s injured players were already on IR before today’s news, so they’re likely sending someone down to accommodate Lamoureux’s addition to the roster. That will be depth defender Patrik Koch, Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Utah recalled the 27-year-old last week after Durzi’s injury, but he was a healthy scratch in three straight contests. Koch, a mainstay in pro leagues in Czechia and Slovakia, jumped to North America with the Coyotes organization last season. He spent most of the year in Tucson but made his NHL debut in March, posting a shot on goal and receiving a 10-minute misconduct penalty in a game against the Wild.
Lamoureux joins Robert Bortuzzo and Michael Kesselring as the right-shot defensemen on Utah’s active roster. However, both Ian Cole and Juuso Välimäki can and have played on their off side in recent days. He could make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Avalanche.
NHL-Affiliated Prospects Playing In 2024 Memorial Cup
The field for the 2024 Memorial Cup, the top club tournament in junior hockey, is set. The QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, the OHL’s London Knights and the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors all swept their respective league championship series within the last two days to advance to the CHL championship tournament, joining the host Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.
This year marks the first Memorial Cup held in the United States since 1998, which was hosted by the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The Spirit will attempt to become the first U.S.-based team to win since the Chiefs in 2008, and they have a strong chance. They’re stronger than a typical host team, finishing second in the league in the regular season with a 50-16-2 record and trailing London by just two points. They were eliminated by London in six games in the Western Conference Final.
The Knights lead the way with 10 NHL-affiliated prospects on their roster, including two first-round picks in Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk and Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan. The latter was named the OHL playoffs MVP after leading the Knights in scoring with 10 goals, 24 assists and 34 points in just 18 games. He had 15 points in four games in their championship sweep over the Oshawa Generals.
If you’re looking for some non-Stanley Cup Playoff hockey to watch, check to see if your favorite NHL team has prospects suiting up in the tournament, which begins May 24:
Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL champion)
D Mikaël Diotte (Devils, free agent signing)
RW Ethan Gauthier (Lightning, 2023, 37th overall)
RW Alexis Gendron (Flyers, 2022, 220th overall)
D Vsevolod Komarov (Sabres, 2022, 134th overall)
NHL Utah 2022 first-round pick D Maveric Lamoureux is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in March.
London Knights (OHL champion)
C Denver Barkey (Flyers, 2023, 95th overall)
D Oliver Bonk (Flyers, 2023, 22nd overall)
C Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs, 2023, 28th overall)
D Jackson Edward (Bruins, 2022, 200th overall)
D Isaiah George (Islanders, 2022, 98th overall)
RW Kasper Halttunen (Sharks, 2023, 36th overall)
C Jacob Julien (Jets, 2023, 146th overall)
C Kaleb Lawrence (Kings, 2022, 215th overall)
C Max McCue (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Landon Sim (Blues, 2022, 184th overall)
Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL champion)
RW Jagger Firkus (Kraken, 2022, 35th overall)
D Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets, 2022, 12th overall)
D Kalem Parker (Wild, 2023, 181st overall)
D Vojtech Port (Ducks, 2023, 161st overall)
LW Martin Rysavy (Blue Jackets, 2021, 197th overall)
C Matthew Savoie (Sabres, 2022, 9th overall)
C Brayden Yager (Penguins, 2023, 14th overall)
Saginaw Spirit (host)
C Owen Beck (Canadiens, 2022, 33rd overall)
LW Josh Bloom (Canucks, acquired from Sabres in 2023 trade for Riley Stillman)
D Rodwin Dionicio (Ducks, 2023, 129th overall)
D Jorian Donovan (Senators, 2022, 136th overall)
C Hunter Haight (Wild, 2022, 47th overall)
C Ethan Hay (Lightning, 2023, 211th overall)
G Nolan Lalonde (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Matyas Sapovaliv (Golden Knights, 2022, 48th overall)
C Joseph Willis (Predators, 2023, 111th overall)
Minor Transactions: 09/23/22
We’re just one day away from the official start of the NHL’s preseason calendar, with a unique slate of games scheduled for tomorrow. In addition to the Boston Bruins paying a visit to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Arizona Coyotes and St. Louis Blues will face-off against one another from Wichita, Kansas in a neutral-site contest. Perhaps most interesting are the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, who seem to have pulled a page right out of the baseball playbook with the team’s playing a split-squad, day-night doubleheader including a 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm puck drop in Toronto. With all that action, there are several notes from around the league worth mentioning, primarily related to the opening of camp and the beginning of games, which we will keep track of here:
- It appears the Arizona Coyotes have sent 2022 first-round pick Maveric Lamoureux back to juniors ahead of training camp (link). Given the defenseman’s age and raw skillset, as well as Arizona’s position in their rebuild, it wasn’t likely Lamoureux was going to make a major impact in camp and the team likely felt he was best served by heading back to the Drummondville Voltigeurs now rather than later.
- Also sent back to juniors was Boston Bruins prospect Brett Harrison (link). A third-round pick in 2021, Harrison may have had the opportunity to raise eyes in training camp with Boston, however the forward projects to be a standout with the Oshawa Generals this season after tallying 61 points in 65 games last season. Oshawa kicks off its 2022-23 regular season in Barrie this Thursday.
- A number of players have been officially activated off of injured-reserve today. Though many of these are not a surprise, some did come with question marks and in the wake of the recent injury updates around the league, particularly Sean Couturier of the Flyers, not everything can always be taken as a given. The Pittsburgh Penguins activated recently-signed forward Drake Caggiula (link). Moving out west, the Vancouver Canucks have activated forward Nils Hoglander and defenseman Tucker Poolman off of IR (link). In the desert, the Vegas Golden Knights activated forwards Brett Howden and Reilly Smith (link).
Arizona Coyotes Sign Maveric Lamoureux
The Arizona Coyotes have inked prospect Maveric Lamoureux to a three-year, entry-level contract, getting the first-round pick into the system right away. The young defenseman was selected 29th overall in this offseason’s draft.
General manager Bill Armstrong released the following statement:
We are very pleased to sign Maveric to an entry-level contract. He is a big, strong, physical defenseman who is a very good skater and has a good shot. We look forward to watching his development this season.
When Armstrong says that Lamoureux is big, he is underselling it a bit. The 18-year-old already stands 6’7″ and towers over most of his competition in the QMJHL, where he had 24 points in 54 games for the Drummondville Voltigeurs this season.
While he’s still very much a work-in-progress, the upside for a player like this is immense because of the way he skates. Lamoureux can move around the ice with ease, allowing him to use his huge reach advantage effectively and angle offensive players away from the front of the net.
Lamoureux was the third first-round pick the Coyotes had this year, following Logan Cooley (3rd overall) and Conor Geekie (11th). The former will be going to the University of Minnesota, while the latter has already signed his entry-level deal.