Jan 2, 2025; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley (92) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

This past NHL season, the St. Louis Blues secured the final Western Conference playoff berth, officially eliminating the Utah Mammoth and sending them into an early offseason.

It was well deserved for St. Louis. A franchise-record 12-game winning streak created a sizable points gap ahead of the Flames, Canucks, and Mammoth and had the team looking like the best among the bunch. The Blues truly played their way into the playoffs

The Blues played incredibly well, and nearly won a thrilling seven-game series against their first-round opponent, the Winnipeg Jets. In fact, it took a miracle from Winnipegs' Cole Perfetti to stop the Blues from upsetting the Jets, a team who had won the Presidents' Trophy.

But now, with a new season upon us, a new team is looking poised to make a playoff jump: the Utah Mammoth.

With an upgraded roster following an 89-point season—one of the franchise’s best since 2013–14, when the team as the Arizona Coyotes also finished with 89 points—the Utah Mammoth remained in the playoff hunt for most of the year. Only seven points behind St. Louis in the standings, Utah entered the season with the fourth-youngest roster in the league and still was very close to making the playoffs.

NHL Rosters (@NHL_Rosters) on X Youngest NHL teams based on the average age of my current projected 20-man game rosters: Buffalo - 25.3 Philadelphia - 26.1 Montreal - 26.4 Utah - 26.5 Ottawa - 26.8 Boston - 27.1 Anaheim - 27.2 Columbus - 27.2 NY Rangers - 27.5 Dallas - 27.8 Calgary - 28.0 New Jersey - 28.1

Now, with the addition of former Sabres forward JJ Peterka, who was immediately given a five-year extension, the team has found a way to stay committed to the timeline of its young core, with Peterka being only 23 years old.

With most of the roster intact and key depth signings to fill any holes, the team is looking to carry over last season’s success, and even improve on it.

Add in the fact that Utah defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino missed a combined 99 games last season, and the team’s blue line should be significantly stronger if both players are healthier.

Aside from Durzi, who played for the Coyotes in 2023–24, none of Utah’s top eight defensemen have been with the team for more than one season. Now, with the group returning fully healthy and five starters coming back, the chemistry on the blue line should be both stronger and more stable.

On paper, the Utah Mammoth is a much-improved team that remains relatively young at its core while adding veteran depth. Although 96 points doesn’t always guarantee a playoff spot, Utah should be able to reach, or even exceed, that total.

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But as Armstrong has pointed out many times, being an offseason winner doesn’t mean anything if you can’t produce on the ice.

What will truly make the Utah Mammoth playoff-ready isn’t just their offseason signings or improved health, but whether the team can finally find consistency.

While the team’s youth and injuries contributed to stretches of inconsistency during the 2024–25 regular season, Utah can't afford to go a month without winning a home game.

The Mammoth will need to be able to have more than just one four game winning streak and avoiding going on stretches where it suddenly loses five games in a row after. Utah can't become a playoff team if it can't make its win streaks matter.

This team will also need to average more than 2.93 goals per game, which was 21st in the league.

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For this team to not only make the playoffs but be playoff-ready, it needs to be just as good—if not better—than St. Louis was, simply to claim the final postseason spot. If Utah wants to take the next step, it’ll need to improve in close games, especially in overtime, where the team went only 8 out of 21 in overtime and shootouts.

Plus, it’s not expected to get any easier in the West. The Western Conference was extremely competitive this past season, with Utah, Calgary, and Vancouver all in the playoff mix late. Yet none of them managed to crack the top eight seeds.

Unless the Mammoth improve on the ice, their offseason signings won’t mean much if it can't play better against playoff caliber teams.

However, the moves made by Armstrong—not just this offseason, but through in-season trades, the draft, and previous offseasons—should put the Utah Mammoth in a position to secure their first-ever playoff berth.

Having a player like JJ Peterka should significantly boost the team’s scoring and power play production, which was a notable issue down the stretch. His presence could even help captain Clayton Keller become not only Utah’s first 100-point player but also the franchise’s first all-star.

Mar 29, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka (77) reacts as he attempts to shoot against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Mammoth also won’t have to worry about adjusting to their new life in Utah and should have an immediate home-ice advantage this year—unlike the extended home losing streaks they endured last season.

That’s not to say the Mammoth’s season will be perfect for all 82 games. There’s a reason no team has ever gone 82–0.

But If Utah can become a consistent team that plays with force on both ends most nights, it will make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Is This The Year Utah Mammoth Secures Its First Ever Playoff Berth?