Don’t look now, but NHL free agency opens in less than two weeks — and the Utah Mammoth have not extended any of their pending UFAs since the season ended.
Deadlines have a way of spurring action. Every year, a number of players sign extensions with mere hours to go before free agency.
One particular thing for the Mammoth to consider is that they have very few contracts expiring next summer. That makes it of utmost importance to be responsible with their cap space and term this year, because they won’t have much room to make adjustments in 2027.
Here are the Mammoth’s pending unrestricted free agents, and the pros and cons for extending each one.
Kailer Yamamoto
The biggest thing going against Kailer Yamamoto is his size: 5-foot-9, 178 pounds on paper. But the way he plays the game, you’d think he’s 6-foot-2.
Yamamoto was in and out of the lineup until mid-January, but once he found a consistent role alongside Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, he began contributing at a consistent clip.
He was one of the Mammoth’s most important players in the playoffs, tying five of his teammates for the team lead with five points — and again, he leads his team into puck battles with the fearlessness of a pitbull.
The argument against bringing back number 56 is that with Tij Iginla turning pro and Caleb Desnoyers and Cole Beaudoin likely doing the same, you have to keep enough forward spots open to give those guys lanes to succeed. That said, Yamamoto is an excellent extra forward in the sense that he can play anywhere in the lineup and he won’t complain when it’s his turn to watch from the press box.
But if Yamamoto can leverage his last four and a half months of play into a more guaranteed role with another team, it would make sense if he chose to move on come July 1.
Kevin Stenlund
If you’ve ever heard head coach André Tourigny talk about Kevin Stenlund, you’ve probably heard about how he played more penalty killing minutes in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final than renowned defensive forward Alex Barkov.
It’s true. Stenlund doesn’t fill the net enough to play top-six minutes, but teams don’t win without a guy with his skill set holding down the fort.
He’s also a wizard in the face-off circle, to the point that he typically starts overtime, simply to give his team a better chance at starting with possession.
Take this for what it’s worth, but the NHL Follow Tracker account on X recently flagged that Stenlund has unfollowed the Mammoth on Instagram. Again, that’s not a sure indication that he’s leaving, but it’s probably not a sign that negotiations are going well.
When asked at exit interviews about his plans for next season, he kept his answer low-key.
“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I really like it here. I like the guys, I like the staff, like everything around it. We’ll see what I can come up with.”
For the umpteenth time, Mammoth management’s only mistake in signing Stenlund was giving him a two-year deal, rather than five, six or seven.
Ian Cole
Veteran leadership is an important part of any young hockey team, and that’s exactly what Ian Cole has provided the Mammoth the last two seasons.
When others are frustrated, Cole is down to Earth. When others are overly excited, Cole is down to Earth. He’s won the Stanley Cup twice and he’s skated in more playoff games than most people can dream of. No moment is too big for him.
Father Time eventually catches up to everyone, but at age 37, Cole is still playing steady hockey. He’s 10 games shy of the 1,000 mark in his career, and whether he accomplishes it in a Mammoth sweater or that of another team, he should absolutely still be in the NHL next season.
The tricky aspect for the Mammoth is, again, balancing veterans with rookies. Dmitri Simashev is likely a full-time NHLer next season, and Maveric Lamoureux is approaching the point in his career where he needs to take a leap to the next level. And then with players like Maksymilian Szuber and Artem Duda playing steady hockey in Tucson, the six defenseman roster spots will fill up quickly.
Nick DeSimone
His situation isn’t the same as Cole’s, but Nick DeSimone could be a casualty of that same log jam. Utah has a lot of defensemen, and there’s simply not room for everyone.
That said, DeSimone is the absolute perfect seventh defenseman.
He can go months without playing, and he won’t complain. When he finally gets back into the lineup, he’ll play a near-perfect defensive game. That’s all you can ask of a player in his situation, and he does the job as well as anyone.
Whether it’s with the Mammoth or another team in the league, DeSimone deserves to be in the NHL — not the minors.
“I take pride in being just a piece of that puzzle,” he said in his exit interview. “I value being a part of it and doing what I can every day, whether I’m playing or not playing and just provide value, morale.”
Vítek Vaněček
It seems like the feeling between the Mammoth and Vítek Vaněček was mutual: This season didn’t go how they had hoped with him in net.
At no point in his five prior NHL seasons had he played as few games as he did this year, and this was the lowest save percentage he’s ever managed.
The Mammoth will undoubtedly need to bring in a backup goalie for next season, but it seems more likely than not that Vaněček won’t be the guy.
Alexander Kerfoot
For the first time in his NHL career, Alexander Kerfoot suffered major injuries this season.
As can be expected when missing more than half the season, his impact on the team was less than it normally is. But he ended the season on a high note.
“You miss such an extended period of time, I do think it took me a little bit to get up to speed,” Kerfoot said during his exit interview. “Towards the end of the regular season, (I) was really happy with the way that my game was trending.”
As is the case with some of the other veterans, the decision on whether to re-sign Kerfoot likely depends on how many rookies the Mammoth plan on using at the NHL level. Kerfoot is a versatile player, though, so he’s a good guy to have around.
Kevin Rooney
Kevin Rooney is the only goal-per-game player in Mammoth franchise history: one game played, one goal scored.
But his biggest impact this season had nothing to do with goals.
Rooney filled a mentorship role for the rookies — especially Daniil But, his regular line mate with the Tucson Roadrunners. Everything from playing hockey to buying groceries is more difficult for a young kid from the other side of the world, so it’s important to have people who can help him out.
If the Mammoth decide to bring Rooney back, it’s likely that he plays a similar role again, perhaps this time for players like Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers and Cole Beaudoin, who could all turn pro next year. They don’t have the same language and cultural barriers as But, but everyone could use a mentor.