The Utah Mammoth held their season-opening media day on Wednesday. Here are the most important (and in some cases, most entertaining) details that arose.
The practice facility is awesome
The Mammoth’s new practice facility is basically a private rec center.
It’s got two ice sheets, an 8,000-square-foot gym, a pool, hot tub, cold tub, sauna, steam room and a top-of-the-line recovery/therapy room. Oh, and a private restaurant, complete with a mobile ordering system.
What more could you possibly want?
Connor Ingram isn’t coming back
On a more sullen note, Connor Ingram’s time with the Utah Mammoth is coming to an end.
“We’re so excited for him and his path to recovery,” Armstrong said. “That’s the biggest thing. We always look at the player and the person. As far as the person, it’s incredible to know that he’s back, ready to play.”
“We both had a mutual agreement where we said, ‘Hey, listen, we have our goaltenders. It’s probably best for him not to come to camp and put himself in a (difficult) situation. We’ll, at some point in time, put him through waivers. Through that process, he’ll either get a chance to play for another NHL team, or he’ll go to the American Hockey League.”
The 28-year-old goaltender spent a large portion of the last season on leave: first to spend time with his mother when her health declined before she ultimately died, and then to participate in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, which is where he concluded the season.
When the Mammoth signed Vítek Vaněček to back up Karel Vejmelka this summer, it caused speculation that Ingram might have to find somewhere else to play. Now, it’s official.
O’Brien, others out with injuries
Liam “Spicy Tuna” O’Brien will not be available to the team at the start of training camp, as a lower-body injury is keeping him out on a week-to-week basis.
The 31-year-old enforcer played 28 games last season as he battled both injury and frequent healthy scratches.
That opens a spot for an extra player to make the team out of camp. Barring any last-minute changes, the front-runners should be Kailer Yamamoto and Daniil But, though it’s possible that the likes of Cole Beaudoin and Tij Iginla also get consideration. It also all but guarantees that Michael Carcone will make the cut.
According to head coach André Tourigny, the only other injuries are as follows:
- Juuso Välimäki (torn ACL, anticipated to return in November or December)
- Caleb Desnoyers (wrist surgery, anticipated to return in November)
- Terrell Goldsmith (brain injury, return date not specified)
- Anson Thornton (unspecified)
Logan Cooley’s contract negotiation
Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of Dylan Guenther’s eight-year contract extension. Logan Cooley is now eligible to do the same, but it doesn’t sound like anything has been agreed upon yet.
“Nobody’s really moved,” said GM Bill Armstrong. “I think there’s been a patient level on the agents’ side. ... Just waiting to see the numbers, where they’re at. And I think, because of the growth in the cap, they’re a little bit scared to move first.”
The salary cap is rising at an unprecedented rate: a $7.5 million jump this year, and another $8.5 million in each of the next two seasons. That will naturally result in players making more money, but compared to the contracts of the past, the initial deals might seem a bit steep.
Things could get a little clearer once Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov and some of the other top guys sign.
“There’s no rush,” Armstrong said. “It’s one of those things that will happen. It’s just (that) at our time right now, there’s nobody that’s made that step — and I think there’s more data points to come in that will, I think, make the whole league feel better about the contracts that they’re offering.”
Cooley, like many players in his situation, is leaving the negotiation to his agents, Brian and Scott Bartlett.
“For me, it’s all about just this season — helping this team get to the playoffs and gearing up for a season that I want to dominate," he said. “I want to be the best player I can possibly be, so (I’m) kind of leaving (the negotiation) to the agents.”
By the way, Cooley looks significantly bigger than he did last season. That should make him harder to play against.
Utah Mammoth retail jerseys will be available at the home opener — or sooner
Chris Armstrong, president of hockey operations, said that they’ll have retail jerseys available soon. They’ll certainly be ready by the Oct. 15 home opener, but likely ahead of either the Oct. 2 or Oct. 4 preseason home games.
The goal is to make the playoffs
Last year, the team’s goal was to be in the playoff hunt near the end of the year. Now that they’ve accomplished that, the next step is to actually make the playoffs.
Everyone that spoke on Wednesday seemed to agree. How can they accomplish that? Tourigny has an idea.
“The difference will be in our consistency,” he said. “The difference will be in our mental toughness and being able to stay in the moment in big games — in big situations, being able to stay composed. Those are the two words (that) are important to us: the consistency and the mental toughness."
Utah fell seven points short of the playoffs last year, meaning four more wins would have gotten them in. A disproportionate amount of their losses were by just one goal (including 13 in overtime/shootouts). If they can figure out how to gear down in the last few minutes of the game, they’ll walk away with far more wins, which could easily land them a playoff spot.
Guenther/McBain ‘divorce’
The content factory that was the Guenther/McBain household has come to an end. Guenther announced that he found a condo for himself.
“It feels like a divorce, a little bit,” he said.
That being said, the friendship between Guenther and Jack McBain is still as strong as ever.
“We still hang out,” he said. “He’s been, kind of, texting me weird things lately. Like, showing me pictures of his new shoes. It’s like, ‘I don’t want to see your new shoes,’ you know? So, I think he’s getting a little bored. But we still hang out, go to his house, play pingpong.”
Mikhail Sergachev, Dmitri Simashev and 16 chickens
Russian prospect Dmitri Simashev is staying with Russian star Mikhail Sergachev. It makes the transition easier when you have someone there to help you through it — which is what Sergachev had when he was young, with long-time Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov there to help him out.
Simashev mentioned at rookie camp that he was feeding the chickens every day, but he didn’t mention how much they feed him.
“We eat about, maybe, six to 10 a day, (myself), my kid, (my) wife. Simashev eats 20,” Sergachev joked.
Sergachev also mentioned that the 16 chickens give him about 10-12 eggs a day, but they used to give him more. He’s tried feeding them more, but it hasn’t yielded anything extra. If any chicken farmers out there have advice for him, he’ll probably take it.
Apart from the eggs, everything seems to be going well for the veteran and the rookie.
“Hopefully he’s going to be one of the greats — and he’s just a good friend," Sergachev said of Simashev. “Having friends is always good.”
