Mammoth’s Jack McBain, MacKenzie Weegar Out
The Utah Mammoth announced two changes to the lineup just before Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Center Jack McBain missed the game with a lower-body injury that has him designated out week-to-week. Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar is also out as he nurses a day-to-day, upper-body injury. The pair of injuries prompted a few lineup moves, including Liam O’Brien and Nick DeSimone coming down from the press box.
McBain leaves behind an important hole in Utah’s bottom-six. He leads the Mammoth with 271 hits – 73 more than Lawson Crouse in second place. McBain has also notched 25 points, 84 penalty minutes, and a 51.3 faceoff percentage. He brings a physical presence and two-way impact that will be tough to replace.
The Mammoth promoted Alexander Kerfoot to the third-line in McBain’s absence, a nice reward after Kerfoot scored five points in his last five games. O’Brien will make up for some of McBain’s physical presence. He has racked up 93 hits – fourth-most on the team – in just 32 games, despite averaging only nine minutes of ice time a game. His physical presence, across from Brandon Tanev on the fourth line, could help balance a Mammoth third line that will be more geared towards speed with a tandem of Kerfoot and JJ Peterka.
Weegar has stepped into a top-pair role since joining the Mammoth at the Trade Deadline. He has scored four points and averaged 21 minutes of ice time in 13 games with the Mammoth. That scoring brings Weegar up to 25 points in 73 games on the year, well below the 47 points he put up in 81 games last season. Sean Durzi moved up Mikhail Sergachev‘s flank in Weegar’s absence. Durzi has 25 points in 54 games this season, including three in his last six games. While he looks to spark his scoring in elevated minutes, DeSimone will look to build on seven points in 37 games, both career-highs.
Utah also recalled top prospect Dmitriy Simashev before Saturday’s game. He could be an option should Utah need a spark with Weegar out of the lineup. The AHL rookie ranks second in scoring among Tucson Roadrunners defensemen with 35 points in 40 games. That scoring hasn’t yet translated to the top flight, though, with Simashev only boasting one point in the first 25 games of his NHL career. He will fill the role of extra defenseman on Saturday night and will compete with Ian Cole and DeSimone if he sticks on the roster through Utah’s upcoming three-game homestand.
Mammoth Recall Dmitri Simashev
The Mammoth have added some extra defensive depth heading into their game today against Vancouver. According to the AHL’s transactions log, Utah has recalled blueliner Dmitri Simashev from AHL Tucson.
This will be Simashev’s sixth stint with the Mammoth this season, his first in North America. The 21-year-old was the sixth overall pick back in 2023 and broke camp with Utah, spending the better part of two months with the team and playing in 24 games. In his four subsequent recalls before this one, he suited up just once. On the season, he has just one assist in those 25 outings along with 26 blocked shots in 15:21 of ice time per contest as the team has tried to shelter him somewhat.
That hasn’t been the case in the minors. With the Roadrunners, he has been an all-situations player and has been quite productive, tallying eight goals and 27 assists in just 40 games. Despite missing 25 games there this season, he sits third among all rookie defensemen in points and is tied for 13th overall among all blueliners.
Utah already had seven defenders on the roster so unless there are two players whose availability for today’s game is in question, Simashev’s recall will count against the Mammoth’s post-deadline limit of five. Between that and the fact that the Roadrunners are currently out of a playoff spot in the minors, Simashev’s recall could be for the rest of the season and playoffs. Given the role he has thrived in with Tucson, it will be interesting to see if Simashev gets a chance to play a bigger role in Utah or if he’ll continue to be a depth option for them.
Latest On Nashville’s GM Search
The Predators are no longer the only team currently in the market for a new general manager after Toronto fired Brad Treliving earlier this week. That said, given that current GM Barry Trotz gave notice of his intention to step down just over two months ago, Nashville is much farther along in their search for a replacement.
To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Preds are believed to be nearing the in-person stage of their interviewing process, if they’re not there already. He added that he believes Bill Scott (Oilers), Scott White (Stars), Brett Peterson (Panthers), and former Arizona GM John Chayka will be part of that process. Additionally, the team reached out to Win Hockey Agency’s Matt Keator to assess his possible interest but it doesn’t appear he is in the next round of interviews. Meanwhile, Friedman added that Predators assistant GM Jeff Kealty could still be in the mix as well.
Scott has held various roles in Edmonton dating back to 2010 when he first joined the team as GM of their AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City. Since then, he has also held the title of Director of Hockey Operations (including Director of Salary Cap Management) and has been an assistant GM for the Oilers since the 2022-23 campaign.
As for White, he has been with Dallas even longer, dating back to the 2005-06 season when he joined AHL Iowa as their Director of Hockey Operations. Before that, he had spent the past ten years coaching in either college of the ECHL. Since then, White worked his way up to being assistant GM of their AHL squad (now in Texas) and has been an assistant GM with the Stars since 2016.
Peterson, meanwhile, has held an AGM title with Florida since 2020. He also has some international experience, having worked with USA Hockey for the last two World Championships and will serve as the GM for their entry into next month’s tournament as well.
Chayka is the one candidate on this list who is well-known going back to his time with the Coyotes. After just one season as an assistant GM, he was promoted to the top job for the 2016-17 campaign and executed a data-driven approach. Along the way, he brought in several players of consequence (including Derek Stepan, Taylor Hall, and Nick Schmaltz, among others) while utilizing his cap space to add assets for taking on burdensome LTIR-bound contracts. He abruptly resigned from the team in July 2020, just before the ‘bubble playoffs’ started, and hasn’t worked in the NHL since then.
Kealty is certainly the longest-tenured person in this group; he has worked with the Predators since 2001. He started off as a scout, working his way up to Director of Amateur Scouting, then Director of Scouting (professional and amateur). Kealty added the assistant GM title back in 2018 and has held the dual role ever since.
With Trotz staying in his role until a successor is found and the draft still a little more than two months away, there is still plenty of time for the Predators to pick their next general manager. But it appears they’re a step closer to doing so now that they’ve entered the next phase of their search.
Mammoth Recall Kevin Rooney
The Mammoth recalled center Kevin Rooney from AHL Tucson on Friday, per a team announcement.
His addition to the roster comes after fellow middleman Jack McBain left Thursday night’s 6-2 win over the Kraken in the second period with a lower-body injury. It wasn’t clear what caused the departure, and the team hasn’t issued an update on his status yet. They likely won’t until they hold their morning skate before tomorrow’s clash with the Canucks.
In any event, Utah is guaranteed at least 13 healthy forwards this weekend if McBain has to miss time. Adding Rooney to the mix allows them to insert a natural center into the lineup in his place, rather than shifting anyone from the wing. Enforcer Liam O’Brien was their lone healthy scratch up front last night, and Alexander Kerfoot is their only regular winger with tangible experience down the middle who could shift over.
Utah has recalled Rooney several times this season; this is now his sixth distinct recall. He’s cleared waivers twice during that time but has rarely been needed in the lineup, only dressing once back on Nov. 28 against the Stars, scoring a goal in his Mammoth debut. That may change now with their specific need for centermen – Barrett Hayton has also been sidelined for the last three games with an upper-body injury and is week-to-week.
Rooney, a veteran of 331 NHL games over parts of 10 seasons, landed a two-way deal with Utah at the beginning of the regular season after being released from his professional tryout with the Devils. The 32-year-old has been a shrewd pickup for Tucson, posting 12 goals and 23 points through 43 games. A grinder, he was never that much of an offensive centerpiece in his previous minor-league stints.
Mammoth Reassign Daniil But
The Mammoth reassigned left-winger Daniil But to AHL Tucson on Tuesday, according to a team announcement.
But, 21, was recalled from Tucson just last week. The 6’5″ rookie suited up in Utah’s 7-4 loss to the Capitals last Thursday. However, he only logged 9:08 of ice time with a -1 rating before heading to the press box for their 6-2 win over the Kings two days later.
With the Mammoth not back in action until Thursday against the Kraken amid an unusually lengthy break this time of year, there’s no sense in keeping But up, especially if he wasn’t going to re-enter the lineup later this week. They’re still without center Barrett Hayton, whose upper-body injury spurred But’s recall in the first place, but instead opted to insert Kailer Yamamoto into the lineup against L.A. in the spot But briefly held as their second-line left winger after the trio of But, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther was outshot 4-2 and posted a 32.8 xGF% at 5-on-5 against Washington.
Selected 12th overall in 2023, the Mammoth have given But three separate recalls from Tucson this season and have played him exclusively in top-nine minutes when dressed, usually down on the third line with Michael Carcone and Jack McBain. His advanced numbers are strong, generating 3.24 shot attempts per game with a 55.2% Corsi share, but he’s been relatively stymied offensively with a 3-4–7 scoring line in 29 games. That’s an eight-goal, 20-point pace over 82 games.
They’ll get him a longer runway in Tucson, where he’s lit up the scoresheet for 16 goals and 33 points in 34 games. He’s shown more than enough there to put him squarely in contention for a roster spot next fall, but for now, it doesn’t look like Utah is keen on him as one of their top 12 forwards heading into what should be the franchise’s first trip to the playoffs.
Picking This Year’s Cinderella Run Has Never Been Easier
The Utah Mammoth enter play Saturday with a 37-30-6 record, squarely in position for their first playoff berth via the wild-card spot in the West. They’re 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. In the Eastern Conference, they’d be seven points out of a playoff berth.
If you lump in the Coyotes’ history with the rebirthed Utah franchise, this club hasn’t made the playoffs in a full season since 2012. If you want to go all the way back to their origins as the original Winnipeg Jets, this team has won just four playoff series since entering the NHL in 1979 – once each as the Jets in 1985 and 1987, twice as the Coyotes in their run to the ’12 Western Conference Final.
Yet the Utah Mammoth, in their first season with their new namesake, are a glaringly obvious pick to upset their way through the first two rounds of the playoff bracket and end up as one of the league’s final four teams. Why?
Everyone knows the Pacific Division is bad. Few realize how dire the situation truly is.
There are four regular-season stats that consistently predict postseason haves and have-nots, as Daily Faceoff’s Brock Seguin pointed out earlier this week. Of the last 10 Stanley Cup champions, nine have been in the top 10 in 5-on-5 goals share, eight have been top 12 in 5-on-5 expected goals share, all have been top 12 in 5-on-5 save percentage, and nine have been top 12 in combined power play and penalty kill percentage.
Utah is all but guaranteed to end up in the Pacific bracket as the better wild card. A look at those numbers clearly shows that none of the three teams earning divisional berths stands much of a chance.
The Ducks, on track for their first division title in nine years and first postseason appearance in eight, might be the worst offenders of the bunch. They have a -15 goal differential at 5-on-5 this season for a GF% of 47.6%, 21st in the league. Their expected goals share is right at the 50% waterline, but still ranks 17th. Their goaltending, a boon earlier in the season, has fallen to a 26th-ranked .896 5-on-5 save percentage. Their combined special teams percentage of 96.7% is 24th.
Of course, the Ducks might just be a statistical anomaly. Very little about their profile suggests they should be the 40-win team they already are. They’re not particularly lucky, finishing 0.3% below league average with a 98.9 PDO, and own a -4 goal differential. Who’s to say that can’t continue in the playoffs?
They’ll be matching up against the Mammoth, though. For the second year in a row, Andre Tourigny’s Utah club is much, much better than its record indicates.
Take all the above stats in contrast. They’re eighth in the NHL in 5-on-5 GF% (53.1). Sixth in xGF% (52.7%). 21st in save percentage (.902). 26th in combined special teams (96.4%).
Yes, their struggling power play is a significant reason why their record isn’t any better. In a playoff environment with tighter calls, there are fewer of them to be had, though, and it carries less weight than everything else.
Is Karel Vejmelka a Stanley Cup-caliber starting goaltender? Probably not. It’s clear, though, that Utah’s dominant 5-on-5 play should be more than enough to ensure a wild-card-over-division-champ upset over the Ducks. It should also be enough to get them past a similarly flawed Oilers or Golden Knights roster in the second round, as those clubs are likely ticketed for the #2/#3 matchup.
The only stats in which the Oilers grade out as a potential Cup contender are expected goals share (51.4%) – the least reliable indicator among the four stats outlined – and their combined 107.7% special teams rate. Penalty trouble could sink the Mammoth, sure. But even at the Oilers’ greatest 5-on-5 strength, Utah grades out as a better possession-control team. The Oilers’ horrid 5-on-5 goaltending – 31st in the league at a .887 SV% – could be enough on its own to offset any special teams gains.
If they face Vegas, they’d be coming up against the only team with a worse goaltending situation this year than Edmonton (.885). The Knights’ possession numbers do make them more of a threat, though, with their 5-on-5 GF% ranking 19th (48.5%) and their xGF% (53.1%) all the way up at fifth. That’s miles ahead of Edmonton, and they’ve got the league’s fourth-best special teams efficacy at 106.8%, so they pose a greater challenge. But like Edmonton, Vegas’ lack of a clear-cut #1 option in net – and not for a good reason – will likely be enough to sink them against an above-average finishing squad in Utah.
Of course, the narrative falls apart when pitting the Mammoth against a potential Central Division opponent in the Western Conference Final. Average the league-wide ranks of those four stats among the teams currently in playoff position, and the Avalanche, Stars, and Wild are three of the top four teams.
Still, it’s excessively rare to almost expect a wild-card team to be playing playoff hockey into late May. It would be a great story to see one of the league’s most exciting up-and-coming franchises in Utah, particularly one with such a meager history of success, make a deep run. It would also be one of the least surprising developments of the spring, despite what a traditional wild-card narrative may dictate.
Barrett Hayton Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said Thursday that center Barrett Hayton is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury, per Brogan Houston of the Deseret News.
Hayton’s outing against the Oilers on Tuesday lasted just 17 seconds. He left the game following an awkward collision with teammate Jack McBain, leaving Utah with only 11 forwards for virtually the entire game, which ended up being a 5-2 loss for the Mammoth.
It’s another blip in what has been a disappointing campaign from the former fifth overall pick. The 25-year-old finally looked like he could be a solid, two-way top-six threat last season with 20 goals and 46 points in 82 games, suiting up almost exclusively beside Clayton Keller as the team’s top-line pivot to give Logan Cooley some easier matchups in the #2 slot.
Hayton’s production drove speeding off a cliff to begin 2025-26, though. He had just five points in 23 games through the end of November and was quickly moved out of a top-line job, with Tourigny opting to promote the resurgent Lawson Crouse while shifting Nick Schmaltz from the wing to his natural center position.
Hayton’s role in the lineup has shifted frequently in the several weeks since. His production picked up a bit in January and February but has gone cold again following the trade deadline. All in all, he’s managed a 10-15–25 scoring line in 67 games – 0.37 points per game after reaching a career-high 0.56 mark last year.
While he may not be scoring as much as they’d like, Hayton has remained a valuable defensive presence. The 6’1″, 200-lb pivot isn’t an overly physical threat but has won 52.6% of his faceoffs this year while posting a strong 54.1% Corsi for percentage at even strength. That’s despite Hayton starting 53.9% of his shifts in the defensive zone, the fourth-highest figure among Utah forwards.
2023 first-rounder Danil But, recalled from AHL Tucson yesterday, will be stepping into the lineup tonight alongside Cooley and Dylan Guenther as the club’s second-line left wing, per Houston. He’s amassed seven points through his first 28 NHL games.
Utah Mammoth Recall Danil But
According to a team announcement, the Utah Mammoth have recalled prospect forward Danil But from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. The transaction increases the Mammoth’s active roster to 24 players.
It’s not immediately clear if But will enter Utah’s lineup, or if he’s being kept around as a practice player as the team prepares for the postseason. At the time of writing, the Mammoth aren’t dealing with injuries to their forward corps, so someone will have to be healthy scratched to get But into the lineup.
Still, given the Roadrunners’ position in the standings, an unreported injury is likely. Tucson is only three points back of a postseason spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division, meaning But would be involved with meaningful hockey no matter what team within the organization he’s playing with.
If he does draw in, it’ll be his first NHL appearance since January 31st. He was sent down through the Olympic break and kept on the Roadrunners to ensure his eligibility for the 2026 Calder Cup playoffs.
While he may not break any scoring records this season, he has had a relatively solid rookie campaign overall. In 28 games, But has registered three goals and seven points with a +2 rating, averaging 12:35 of ice time per game. Additionally, his 18 blocked shots, 16 hits, 55.1 CorsiFor% at even strength, and 92.5% on-ice SV% at even strength highlight a maturity to his game that isn’t necessarily common in younger wingers.
Furthermore, there’s good indication that his offensive game will catch up to the rest of the skills he has shown in the NHL this season. In Tucson, But has scored 16 goals and 33 points in 34 games, second on the team in rookie scoring behind fellow 2023 draftee, Dmitriy Simashev.
Mammoth Sign Michael Hrabal To Entry-Level Deal
The Mammoth announced they’ve signed goalie prospect Michael Hrabal to a three-year, entry-level deal that begins next season. He’ll immediately report to AHL Tucson on a tryout basis to finish the current campaign. Per PuckPedia, the contract carries a cap hit of $1.075MM and breaks down as follows:
| Year | NHL salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $922.5K | $102.5K | $500K | $82.5K |
| 2027-28 | $967.5K | $107.5K | $750K | $82.5K |
| 2028-29 | $1.013MM | $112.5K | $1MM | $82.5K |
Hrabal, 21, was a member of the Coyotes’ final draft class in 2023, going quite early in the second round at 38th overall. Now, he’s ticketed as Utah’s likely goalie of the future.
The Czech native towers at 6’7″ and 216 lbs, now slated for his pro debut after three largely standout seasons of college hockey at UMass. He was particularly exceptional as a junior this season, racking up a 1.95 GAA, .937 SV%, and four shutouts for a 19-9-1 record in 29 games. That earned him both First Team All-Star and Player of the Year honors in the Hockey East conference, but it wasn’t enough to get the offensively challenged club to a national tournament berth.
If he wasn’t the clear-cut top goaltending prospect in the organization before this season, he certainly is now. Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis ranked him #6 in the Mammoth’s deep prospect pool last summer, still touting him as having “true star goalie” potential.
While he won’t be eligible to suit up in the NHL this year, he will get an early chance down the stretch to challenge AHL veterans Jaxson Stauber and Matt Villalta for playing time in Tucson. Neither has been particularly inspiring this season with sub-.900 save percentages, so the path is wide open for Hrabal to establish himself as Utah’s clear-cut #3 goalie entering training camp in the fall, potentially even putting forth a challenge to replace pending unrestricted free agent Vítek Vaněček as Karel Vejmelka‘s backup.
Hrabal will be a restricted free agent when his deal is up in 2029, but he won’t be eligible for arbitration. Utah will be on the hook for a $1.114MM qualifying offer.
Mammoth Sign Caleb Desnoyers To Entry-Level Deal
The Mammoth announced they’ve signed top center prospect Caleb Desnoyers to his three-year entry-level deal. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports it starts next season, making him ineligible for NHL action down the stretch. That makes sense considering he wouldn’t be eligible to turn pro until his postseason run with the QMJHL’s league-best Moncton Wildcats, which will get underway on Friday, comes to an end, which will likely stretch past the end of Utah’s regular season barring an early upset.
Desnoyers, who’ll celebrate his 19th birthday next month, entered the year as a consensus top-30 prospect in hockey and has largely held up that reputation with another All-Star season in Moncton. The Quebec native was the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft and, after guiding Moncton to a QMJHL championship while taking home postseason MVP honors, has now put up a 22-56–78 scoring line in just 45 regular-season games this year. He missed the first couple of weeks after undergoing offseason wrist surgery and then sustained a separate injury before finally getting into the lineup consistently in the back half. His 1.73 points per game this season led the QMJHL (min. 25 games), along with a +36 rating from the 6’2″, 179-lb middleman.
He’s Utah’s consensus top prospect but is realistically in step with the Mammoth’s top-10 selection in 2024, Tij Iginla, who also figures to make his NHL debut next year after racking up 41 goals and 90 points in just 48 WHL games for the Kelowna Rockets. While QMJHL point totals are often inflated in a much weaker defensive environment than its WHL and OHL counterparts, he’s still the cream of the crop there and has been as a 17- and 18-year-old, rather than a talent on the edge of aging out of junior hockey.
Desnoyers’ ELC is for the new maximum laid out in last year’s CBA extension, per PuckPedia. That breaks down as follows:
2026-27: $922.5K NHL salary, $102.5K signing bonus, up to $3.15MM in performance bonuses, $85K minors salary
2027-28: $967.5K NHL salary, $107.5K signing bonus, up to $3.15MM in performance bonuses, $85K minors salary
2028-29: $1.013MM NHL salary, $112.5K signing bonus, up to $3.15MM in performance bonuses, $85K minors salary
It’s worth noting that Desnoyers is still young enough to be slide-eligible if he doesn’t play in 10 NHL games next season. The new AHL loan agreement the NHL is drafting with the CHL should also allow him to spend next season in the minors with Tucson if he’s not on the big-league roster, rather than sending him back to Moncton, as the Mammoth would have had to do under the previous agreement.