The Utah Mammoth had an excellent offseason and are now set to ice the most competitive roster they have had dating back to the start of this organization’s rebuild, which started in 2021 as the Arizona Coyotes. Since then, the Coyotes/Mammoth have done a phenomenal job drafting and developing young talent, and now have legitimate Stanley Cup Playoff aspirations.
Despite this being the most complete team this franchise has iced in the past few seasons, several questions remain. Let’s discuss these concerns and evaluate how the Mammoth can improve in the 2025-26 season.
Can the Mammoth Be More Disciplined?
Last season, the Mammoth had solid special-teams numbers, finishing the season converting on 24.2% of their power plays, the 10th-highest rate in the NHL, and killing off 79.3% of the penalties they took, which ranked right around the league average at 15th.
While the percentages are respectable, the number of penalties the Mammoth took last season must change going into this season if they want to have more success. They finished the season with the second-most time spent killing penalties in the NHL, a trend that has been ongoing for far too long. The team has finished in the top 10 for most time spent killing penalties in all of the past four seasons.
Related: Utah’s Poor Special Teams Play Derailing Season
Despite having a solid penalty-killing unit, the sheer number of opportunities the Mammoth gave teams on the power play last season nearly negated the advantage of having one of the top power-play units in the NHL. Last season, the Mammoth spent 414 minutes on the penalty kill, compared to 380 minutes on the power play. This differential led the Mammoth to only come out plus-three in special teams goal differential despite having the 10th-most efficient power play.
Going into the 2025-26 season, the Mammoth need to focus on playing disciplined hockey. They significantly improved at five-on-five last season, having the fifth-best expected goal differential and 13th-best goal differential. If they stop playing at a disadvantage, the Mammoth will be in a much better position to make a push for the playoffs.
What Will Happen With Goaltending?
The Mammoth’s goaltending situation is not necessarily a problem. However, there are numerous questions. It is expected that after signing a contract extension late last season, Karel Vejmelka will start the season as their starting goalie. He is coming off his best season in the NHL, where he posted a .904 save percentage (SV%) and plus-5.90 goals saved above expected.
These numbers were much improved over Vejmelka’s previous three seasons, where he had a sub-.900 SV% and allowed 31.6 goals above expected. The question now is, was his 2024-25 season an anomaly or is it Vejmelka’s new standard? But that is not where the Mammoth’s goaltending questions end.
The next question is who will the Mammoth’s backup goaltender be? Connor Ingram is still under contract. However, he remains in the NHL’s Player Assistance program, and there has been no update on whether he will return for this season. Getting him back in the rotation would be huge, considering he finished tied for the league lead in shutouts for the 2023-24 season.
With Ingram’s status up in the air, the Mammoth will likely have to turn to Vitek Vanecek, whom they signed in free agency, or Jaxson Stauber, who was with Utah last season. Stauber has had a strong start to his NHL career, posting a 7-2-1 record in the 10 games he has started between Utah and the Chicago Blackhawks.
While impressive, it is too small a sample size to trust as a backup goalie in the NHL, especially because he had a .892 SV% in 21 American Hockey League games last season. However, he may still be the better option, given that Vanecek has allowed 23.2 goals above expected over the previous two seasons.
Mammoth’s 2025-26 Outlook
There is no doubt that the Mammoth got better this offseason with the additions of J.J. Peterka and Brandon Tanev. However, the Western Conference did not get worse, which means the race for the two wild-card spots will be just as competitive, if not more, this season.
The Mammoth improved in so many areas last season and will likely do so again this season, with their young core continuing to develop. Now that they have started to learn how to compete, the Mammoth need to shift their focus to improving the little things that will help them produce more consistent results, such as staying out of the penalty box. If they can do these things, expect the Mammoth to be in playoff contention right down to the end.
