The Mammoth are a legitimate playoff team based on the start from their young core. Here's why.
The Utah Mammoth are clearly a young team on the rise. But their start truly exceeded expectations.
Very few pundits believed the Mammoth would do what they’ve done so far, going 8-3-0, recently winning seven straight and rising to the top of the Central Division.
The Mammoth are for real as a legitimate playoff team. Their core of youngsters is at long last living up to their potential. And that’s reflected in their numbers as individuals and as a team.
As a team, the Mammoth are tied for fifth in the NHL with 3.64 goals-for per game. That’s an increase from their 2024-25 average of 2.93, which ranked 20th. Increasing their offense by more than half a goal per game is nothing to sneer at, and though there may be some regression for Utah’s offense later on, you have to respect the Mammoth as one of the NHL’s most dynamic offensive groups.
Veteran center Nick Schmaltz is tied for second in the NHL in points, with 17. He's on a whopping eight-game scoring streak.
Three other Utah players – right winger Clayton Keller, newly extended center Logan Cooley and right winger Dylan Guenther – have 12 points in 11 games. Only Keller averaged at least a point per game last season, and even through the first 11 matches of 2024-25, only he and Schmaltz had at least 11.
Utah Mammoth Sign Logan Cooley To Eight-Year Contract After Hot Start
Logan Cooley and the Mammoth have had a stellar start to the season, sitting near the top of the standings.
Meanwhile, Utah’s defense has also made a good deal of headway between this season and last year. In 2024-25, the Mammoth ranked 17th in goals-against average at 3.01. Now, they're at 2.73 goals against per game, which is tied for the ninth-best in the NHL.
In net, Mammoth starter Karel Vejmelka has a 6-2-0 record, .891 save percentage and 2.75 goals-against average, but he's had four goals saved above expected, according to moneypuck.com. Vejmelka’s win pace reflects him settling into the prime of his career and benefiting from Utah’s deeper, more experienced defense corps.
As you can see, a lot of things have been going the Mammoth’s way. It’s fair to expect there will be some regression for them on some fronts, such as Schmaltz's 126-point pace. But this hot start to the season has given Utah some cushion in the Western Conference standings.
For the first time in many years, dating back to when this core and GM Bill Armstrong were with the Arizona Coyotes, there’s legitimate hope – no, make that legitimate expectations – that this franchise can do serious damage.
In this writer's pre-season NHL predictions, we had the Mammoth finishing fourth in the Central Division and making the playoffs. The Hockey News’ 2025-26 Yearbook also pegged the Mammoth as the No. 4 team in their division but predicted they would miss the playoffs.
BetMGM's odds of the Mammoth making the playoffs are 1.36 (-278), while the odds of missing out are at 3.25 (+225). So a playoff appearance doesn’t feel like a pipe dream for the Mammoth. They’re only in their second season in Salt Lake City, but the dawning of a new era in Utah is at hand. And the Mammoth’s first playoff appearance feels a lot like it’s just around the corner.
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