A few things can be true at once.

Karel Vejmelka was one of the biggest reasons the Utah Mammoth reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. He carried an enormous workload, delivered timely saves, and helped drag Utah into the postseason.

He was also asked to do far too much.

That's the dilemma facing the Mammoth this summer. Vejmelka proved he can be a reliable starting goaltender, but Utah's lack of depth behind him forced the club to lean on him in ways that simply aren't sustainable for a team with long-term playoff aspirations.

If one player in the NHL embodied the definition of an iron man this season, it was Vejmelka.

The 29-year-old led all goaltenders with 3,652 minutes played, nearly 500 more than second-place Logan Thompson. He also paced the league with 63 appearances, serving as the backbone of a Utah team that often had little margin for error.

And when Vejmelka was in net, the Mammoth usually found ways to win.

Utah posted a 38-20-3 record with Vejmelka between the pipes. Without him, the club went just 5-12-3. Those numbers alone illustrate how heavily the Mammoth depended on their starting goaltender throughout the season.

Vejmelka finished second in the NHL in wins, trailing only the Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy. While his .897 save percentage doesn't jump off the page, it was enough to help Utah secure the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

The concern isn't what Vejmelka accomplished. It's what the Mammoth needed him to do in order to accomplish it.

A contending team generally doesn't want its starting goaltender making 60-plus appearances year after year, especially when that workload is being driven by necessity rather than design. Vasilevskiy, for example, posted a .912 save percentage and a 39-15-4 record while benefiting from a stronger support structure around him.

Utah didn't have that luxury.

Backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek struggled throughout the season, posting a 5-13-3 record with an .883 save percentage. Every time Vejmelka sat, the Mammoth's chances of winning dropped dramatically.

That's not a formula built for sustained success.

With Vanecek eligible for unrestricted free agency, Utah appears unlikely to face much resistance if it chooses to move on. More importantly, the Mammoth have the financial flexibility to explore alternatives, entering the offseason with more than $13 million in available cap space.

One intriguing option could be veteran goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Bobrovsky is coming off a difficult regular season that saw him post a 27-23-1 record, a 3.07 goals-against average, and a career-worst .877 save percentage. However, context matters. The Florida Panthers battled injuries throughout much of the season, and one disappointing year doesn't erase the back-to-back Stanley Cups Bobrovsky helped deliver.

Of course, Utah may decide that Bobrovsky's best years are behind him. If that's the organization's assessment, the NHL Draft could provide another avenue for addressing the position.

The Mammoth own five selections in next week's draft at KeyBank Center in Buffalo and would be wise to consider investing one of those picks in a goaltending prospect. Even a mid-round selection could help strengthen the organization's pipeline at a position where depth remains a concern.

There's also an internal option worth monitoring.

21-year-old prospect Michael Hrabal showed flashes of promise with the Tucson Roadrunners, posting a 3-1-1 record, a 2.96 goals-against average, and a .897 save percentage in five appearances last season. While promoting him to the NHL full-time may be premature, he could eventually push for a backup role if his development continues on its current trajectory.

The Mammoth don’t need to replace Karel Vejmelka—they need to stop relying on him to bail them out every night.

Utah has built a solid foundation, with smart drafting and a core that looks capable of contending down the line. They even pushed the Vegas Golden Knights, a Cup finalist this season, to six games in a hard-fought opening-round series. But if the Mammoth want to take the next step, they have to find more balance in net and ease the burden on their starter.

Whether the answer comes through free agency, the draft, or from within the organization, Utah's biggest offseason priority should be finding a second goaltender it can trust. Because while Vejmelka proved he can carry the load, asking him to do it again may be asking too much.