Between the NHL draft and the opening of the free agency period, the Utah Mammoth have changed significantly over the last week.
Here’s where things stand now in terms of who’s in and who’s out.
In
Vincent Trocheck
The Mammoth’s biggest splash of the offseason, and one of the biggest to this point in franchise history, was trading for Vincent Trocheck, previously of the New York Rangers.
Think of Trocheck as another Nick Schmaltz — offensively potent and defensively capable. He should boost both the power play and the penalty kill, and he brings more than 900 games of NHL experience to the table between the regular season and the playoffs.
Utah paid a hefty price to get him, but his $5.625 million-AAV contract is extremely team-friendly. If the Mammoth intend to win in the next few years, he’s a good guy to have around.
There was a lot of pushback when Trocheck was named to Team USA at both the 4 Nations Face-Off last year and the Olympics this year, but he proved his critics wrong by winning a gold medal at the latter event.
He also trains with fellow Pittsburgh native and new teammate Logan Cooley in the summers.
Sebastian Cossa
Sebastian Cossa has long been regarded as one of the best goalie prospects in hockey. His NHL experience is limited to a little less than a game so he still has much to prove, but he’ll get every opportunity to succeed.
Mammoth management expressed its confidence in Cossa two days after acquiring him, giving him a two-year contract worth $2 million annually. If he turns into the goalie most people expect him to become, that will leave him in a great place to get paid boatloads.
For now, Cossa is slated to serve as Karel Vejmelka’s backup, allowing him to ease into the NHL.
Anders Lee
For the last eight seasons, Anders Lee has served as the captain of the New York Islanders. He’s a former 40-goal scorer and has twice led a team to the Eastern Conference Final.
Now, he’ll take a secondary role with the Mammoth — in terms of both leadership and the lineup.
The 36-year-old posted 19 goals and 42 points in 82 games last season, so he’s still capable of contributing at a decent level, and with the departures of Alexander Kerfoot and Ian Cole, he’ll have a big voice in the room, whether he wears a letter on his chest or not.
Like Trocheck, Lee should also bolster Utah’s second power play unit, which has struggled since the franchise’s inception.
Andrew Peeke
Andrew Peeke will serve a depth role for the Mammoth, coming in on a one-year, $1 million deal.
He’s a big right-shot defenseman who has averaged between 19 and 21 minutes of playing time the bulk of his NHL career. With Utah’s top four defensemen pretty well set, Peeke should fit nicely on the third pairing, perhaps splitting his ice time with Nick DeSimone.
Peeke was on the American national team that brought the country its first World Championship gold medal in 92 years, alongside Mammoth forwards Clayton Keller and Cooley.
Zac Jones
Like Scott Perunovich last year, it’s entirely possible that Zac Jones spends the entire 2026-27 season with the Tucson Roadrunners. In the event of multiple injuries, though, he’s fully capable of filling in at the NHL level.
Joshua Roy
When Joshua Roy came close to scoring two points per game in the QMJHL the season after his draft year, Montreal Canadiens fans thought they’d gotten first-round talent out of a fifth-round pick.
While there’s still no doubt that Roy is talented, the question of his ceiling remains. He’s been slightly below a point per game in the AHL the last three seasons, and he has been good but not great in his 38 games of NHL experience.
There’s a chance that this move pays off greatly for Utah, but it’s also possible that Roy stays in the AHL most of his career.
Out
JJ Peterka: Boston Bruins
Things didn’t pan out the way JJ Peterka or the Mammoth had hoped when the team traded for him a year ago. They sold high on him though, getting two first-round picks from the Boston Bruins, and they used one of those to acquire Cossa.
There’s a high likelihood that Peterka turns back into a 70-plus-point scorer in Boston, but he probably was not going to be that player under André Tourigny in Utah.
Sean Durzi: New York Rangers
Nobody plays with more heart than Sean Durzi, and his offensive upside is probably higher than what his two injury-riddled seasons in Utah allowed him to prove.
On the other hand, he can get in his own way from time to time with bad pinches and unnecessary turnovers.
The New York Rangers aren’t nearly as deep defensively as the Mammoth, so as long as he stays healthy, Durzi should be able to play a big role in the Big Apple.
Ian Cole: Chicago Blackhawks
Even at age 37, Ian Cole is nothing but steady.
The Chicago Blackhawks offered him the potential to earn more money than he has ever made in a season, and while that’s far from the only factor that goes into the decision of where to sign, it certainly makes a difference.
Cole has played more NHL games than the rest of the Blackhawks’ defensemen combined, and he’s 12 years older than the next-oldest defenseman. As such, he’ll have the chance to help shape the careers of some of those kids.
Alexander Kerfoot: Nashville Predators
Last season was the first time Alexander Kerfoot dealt with long-term injuries. It affected his ability to contribute, and it seemed to cause a certain level of frustration.
A fresh start with the Nashville Predators was probably best for him — plus, he got a $500,000 raise on a two-year deal.
Vítek Vaněček: New York Islanders
Vítek Vaněček made it clear at exit interviews that this season didn’t go as he’d expected. It’s likely that Mammoth management felt the same.
He didn’t play much, and when he did, it was a roll of the dice as to which version of the veteran the team would get.
Vaněček joins the New York Islanders, where, depending on the health of Semyon Varlamov, he could be their second- or third-string goalie.
Cole Beaudoin: New York Rangers
Of all the players the Mammoth saw out this week, Cole Beaudoin probably stings the most.
It was only two years ago that general manager Bill Armstrong traded up in the draft to ensure that he got the two-way center, whom Utah’s scouts were adamant they couldn’t pass up on.
Beaudoin is still poised to become a good NHL player, but as the Mammoth switch from rebuild mode to win-now mode, they concluded they’d be better off with Trocheck.
Maksymilian Szuber: Montreal Canadiens
Going the other way in the Roy deal was defenseman Maksymilian Szuber, who showed plenty of promise with the Roadrunners over the last two seasons but never had the runway to earn a full-time spot in the NHL.
Like Roy, he heads to his new team with hope for more opportunity.
Matt Villalta: Buffalo Sabres
With Michael Hrabal joining the Roadrunners on a full-time basis this season, one of the existing goalies had to go. Jaxson Stauber still has a year remaining on his deal, so Matt Villalta signed with the Buffalo Sabres.
Villalta only saw the ice in a Utah jersey once, but he periodically sat on the bench as Vejmelka’s backup when injuries or other circumstances created a spot for him.
Potentially out
Barrett Hayton: New Jersey Devils
Perhaps the most dramatic thing that can happen in an NHL offseason is the signing of an offer sheet by a restricted free agent. They’re typically few and far between, but three days into free agency, there have already been two.
Barrett Hayton signed with the New Jersey Devils as a restricted free agent, meaning the Mammoth have the ability to match the contract if they so choose. They have a week to make their decision.
It’s anything but an easy choice.
It’s only a one-year deal, after which Hayton becomes an unrestricted free agent. This particular circumstance comes with a provision that the player can’t be traded for a year.
The Trocheck deal gives the Mammoth immense depth at center, but they won’t have the option to move Hayton to fill other needs.
Hayton has played an important defensive role for both Utah and the Arizona Coyotes, but his offensive production varies from year to year.
Dating back to 2021-22, he has alternated every year between a season of 20 points or less and a season of 40-something points.
On that note, he is due for a good season, having recorded 25 points last year.
If Armstrong and his staff choose not to match, the compensation is a second-round pick. Given that Hayton was a fifth overall pick, they’d hate to sell that low.
The decision is due Wednesday.
