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Mammoth Unexpected To Retain Nick Bjugstad, Robert Bortuzzo

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For the next few weeks, there will be plenty of speculation about which teams will add which players. However, most of the noise leading up to July 1st will be about which players’ teams won’t keep, and the Utah Mammoth reportedly has a few. According to Craig Morgan of The Sedona Conference, the Mammoth are likely to let forward Nick Bjugstad and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo pursue other options this summer.

Given the more than $20MM available to the Mammoth this offseason, letting both players walk is more about performance and team-building rather than money. Bjugstad is inarguably the most valuable of the two, coming off an eight-goal, 19-point performance in 66 games for Utah during the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 12:19 of ice time. Still, it’s a far cry from his performance from a year ago, when Bjugstad registered 22 goals and 45 points in 76 games in a second-line role.

Meanwhile, there’s a legitimate chance that Bortuzzo is seriously contemplating retirement after completing the 14th season of his professional career. Limited by injuries this past season, Bortuzzo finished with two assists in 17 games, while mostly playing as the team’s seventh and sometimes eighth defenseman. The Mammoth already has eight defensemen signed through next season, leaving little room for Bortuzzo on the roster.

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Utah Mammoth Interested In Stars' Mason Marchment

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  • After signing center Matt Duchene to a new four-year, $18MM contract earlier today, the Dallas Stars only have a projected $455K in salary cap space entering the offseason. Given this, the Stars are looking to move salary off the roster, and forward Mason Marchment has found his name in the center of the rumor mill. According to David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod, Dallas is receiving interest in Marchment’s services, particularly from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Mammoth. Marchment already has some familiarity with the Maple Leafs, appearing in four games for the Original Six franchise during the 2019-20 season.

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  • After signing center Matt Duchene to a new four-year, $18MM contract earlier today, the Dallas Stars only have a projected $455K in salary cap space entering the offseason. Given this, the Stars are looking to move salary off the roster, and forward Mason Marchment has found his name in the center of the rumor mill. According to David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod, Dallas is receiving interest in Marchment’s services, particularly from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Mammoth. Marchment already has some familiarity with the Maple Leafs, appearing in four games for the Original Six franchise during the 2019-20 season.

Mammoth Tried To Get Hrabal To Turn Pro For Upcoming Season

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  • The Mammoth tried to sign goaltender Michael Hrabal after this season, his college head coach Greg Carvel stated in a recent Sick Podcast appearance (video link). The 20-year-old was the 38th overall pick back in 2023 and has spent the past two seasons at the University of Massachusetts.  Hrabal posted a 2.37 GAA with a .924 SV% in 36 games for the Minutemen which seemingly was enough for Utah to want to turn him pro.  Instead, Hrabal has decided to return for his junior year and seems like a strong candidate to sign after that.

Mammoth, Ben McCartney Agree To Two-Year, Two-Way Deal

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The Mammoth have signed winger Ben McCartney to a two-year, two-way contract, per a team release. He was a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He’ll earn the league minimum $775K salary if in the NHL for both seasons, but his minor-league salary wasn’t disclosed.

McCartney, 24 in July, gets some more runway to climb back up to the NHL after debuting way ahead of schedule for the Coyotes in 2021-22. A 2020 seventh-round pick by Arizona, he made a strong first impression upon arrival in AHL Tucson in 2021 and got his first call-up amid a rash of injuries early in the season. He recorded four shot attempts and seven hits in two games while averaging north of 14 minutes per night, but didn’t get on the scoresheet outside of a few penalty minutes. He’s stuck in the minors ever since, regressing offensively since his initial 18-17–35 showing in 57 games in 2021-22. After posting 0.61 points per game in that rookie season, he’s operated at 0.45 points per game over his last three seasons.

After battling some injuries during that time, McCartney showed more signs of life in 2024-25. The Manitoba native is now an alternate captain with the Roadrunners, where he returned after clearing waivers for the first time in his career back in October and posted a 16-17–33 scoring line in 63 games. He finished seventh on the team in scoring and fourth in PIMs (86) en route to his best offensive campaign since that rookie showing.

That isn’t enough to make him a legitimate candidate for a roster spot in the fall, but he may have at least earned a longer look in training camp to help push himself up Utah’s list of potential call-ups. If he doesn’t log 80 career NHL appearances by the time his deal is up in the summer of 2027, he’ll qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency. The Mammoth now have 40 of 50 possible standard contracts on their books for next season.

Egor Sokolov Linked To CSKA Moscow

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Winger Egor Sokolov is set to be a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer. After spending this season under contract with the Mammoth, it doesn’t appear he’ll return to the organization for 2025-26. Sokolov is expected to sign a contract with CKSA Moscow of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, according to Sport24.ru.

Utah acquired Sokolov’s signing rights in exchange for those of forward Jan Jeník in a trade with the Senators shortly after free agency opened last summer. A restricted free agent at the time, Sokolov put pen to paper on a one-year, two-way deal with the Mammoth days later that paid him a $190K minors salary.

Sokolov had hoped to get another NHL try in Salt Lake City after appearing in 13 games for Ottawa across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns. However, the 6’3″, 222-lb Russian cleared waivers and spent the entire season in the minors for the second straight year.

The 2020 second-round pick by the Sens played in all 72 games for Utah’s AHL affiliate in Tucson, finishing third on the team with a 22-22–44 scoring line but posting a club-worst -20 rating. It marked Sokolov’s second straight year with declining minor-league production after he notched a career-high 38 assists and 59 points in 70 games with the Belleville Senators in 2022-23.

While Sokolov had legitimate top-nine upside a couple of years ago, that’s likely gone with his AHL development stalling out. Instead of continuing in his current role as a top-nine minor-league piece, he’ll return home to play in Russia for the first time since 2016-17. He played junior hockey with QMJHL Cape Breton for three years before turning pro with the Senators in 2020.

Mammoth Could Move Fourth Overall Pick

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Late last week, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period released his list of major talking points heading into the offseason. One of the more interesting reports was that the Utah Mammoth are open to moving the fourth-overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft.

It’s understandable from the Mammoth’s perspective. They’re a team that is planning on contending for a playoff position in the 2025-26 season, and there won’t be a player available at fourth overall to help them achieve that goal. In his report, Pagnotta shares that they’d be looking for a young, top-six, proven forward.

The idea is similar to the nixed trade that would have sent a package including Martin Nečas to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the fourth overall pick in last summer’s draft. The deal didn’t happen, but the Blue Jackets weren’t as interested in trading the draft pick as the Mammoth appear to be.

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Simashev And But's European Assignment Clause Only Kicks In After 18 Months In North America

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  • The European Assignment Clauses that the Mammoth gave to Daniil But and Dmitri Simashev this week are a little different than usual. Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune relays that the two are only able to execute that clause after the first 18 months of the contract, or January 1, 2027.  That ensures that Utah will have full developmental control over the first rounders for the first year and a half in North America but if the two aren’t full-fledged NHL regulars by then, they will then have the opportunity to return home if they desire.

Mammoth Sign Gabe Smith To Entry-Level Contract

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The Mammoth announced they’ve signed center prospect Gabe Smith to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Utah selected Smith, who turns 19 in August, as part of their first draft class in franchise history last year. They took the hulking 6’5″, 207-lb pivot in the fourth round from the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats.

Smith, while drafted for his upside as a bottom-six checking center, has had something of an offensive breakthrough after returning to Moncton this season. After scoring nine goals and 23 points in 54 games last year, he upped those numbers to 20 goals and 39 points in 52 regular-season appearances with a +23 rating. He’s been on another level with the Wildcats in the postseason, though. He ranked second on the team in playoff scoring with a 6-16–22 line in 19 games, along with a team-high +15 rating, as Moncton won its first QMJHL championship in 15 years. He’s also posted two goals and two assists in three games thus far for the Wildcats at the Memorial Cup.

Needless to say, Smith’s stock has grown tremendously in the 11 months since he was drafted. He’s not a candidate for an NHL job in the fall, though, so his entry-level deal will slide to the 2026-27 season before taking effect. The contract will expire following the 2028-29 campaign, after which he’ll be a restricted free agent.

It’s been a busy week for the Mammoth, who also came to terms with 2023 Coyotes first-round picks Daniil But and Dmitri Simashev on entry-level deals to bring them to North America for 2025-26.

Mammoth Sign Nick DeSimone To Extension

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The Mammoth announced they’re retaining depth defenseman Nick DeSimone on a one-year deal worth $800K for next season. It’s a one-way deal, per PuckPedia. He was slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

DeSimone, 30, has 58 games of NHL experience. The right-shot defenseman has appeared in parts of three NHL seasons with three teams. That included six points in 20 games with the Mammoth this year after they selected him off waivers from the Devils in January.

DeSimone has put up above-average numbers when given the chance to play in limited minutes. He boasts a 3-10–13 career scoring line – an 18-point pace over 82 games – with a plus-three rating while seeing 14:03 of ice time per game. He’s put up good offensive numbers in the minors in the past, including 46 points in 65 games while in the Flames’ system two years ago.

While DeSimone was a serviceable depth presence for Utah down the stretch and received a guaranteed salary as part of today’s deal, there’s no guarantee he doesn’t end up on waivers again to start the season. He’s already the eighth Mammoth defenseman signed to a one-way contract for 2025-26, and that doesn’t consider potential opening-night jobs for 2022 first-round pick Maveric Lamoureux or the recently signed top prospect Dmitri Simashev.

Mammoth Sign Daniil But To Entry-Level Contract

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Defenseman Dmitri Simashev isn’t the only top Mammoth prospect to get his entry-level deal today. His teammate with Russia’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, winger Daniil But, also put pen to paper on his three-year entry-level contract, the club announced.

His deal includes a yearly base salary of $855K and a $95K signing bonus for a $950K cap hit, per PuckPedia. He’s eligible for up to $750K in Schedule “A” performance bonuses in 2025-26 and up to $1MM in 2026-27 and 2027-28. Unlike Simashev, it doesn’t appear that But’s contract contains a European Assignment Clause, meaning he could be stashed with AHL Tucson without being loaned back to the Kontinental Hockey League.

But, selected six spots after Simashev at 12th overall in the 2023 draft, lands his first NHL deal after landing a Gagarin Cup championship with Lokomotiv alongside Simashev earlier this month. The heavyweight 6’6″, 216-lb left-winger set career-highs in the regular season with 19 assists, 28 points, and a +13 rating in 54 games, ranking seventh on Yaroslavl in scoring.

His playoff performance was less impressive. He tallied just one assist in 13 games and was demoted to the press box as Lokomotiv’s postseason run extended. That small of a sample size won’t be much of a concern for Utah, though. His frame and his puck-handling skills mean he could be ready to step into the lineup as soon as next season. His more well-rounded skillset means he’s deployable up and down the lineup, although he’ll likely be most effective as a middle-six piece long-term.

But is the No. 4 prospect in the Mammoth’s system behind forward Tij Iginla, Simashev, and defenseman Maveric Lamoureux, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic wrote earlier this year. He comes over after posting a 21-30–51 scoring line in 124 KHL games in the past three seasons.

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