We are now less than two weeks out from the final couple of NHL games before the three-week Olympic break, and the Utah Mammoth are on a roll, winning four straight games and getting points in their past eight. Things are heating up, and as the Mammoth get set to play their final 30ish games of the 2025-26 season, they’ll seek to lock down the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, which they currently hold.
While there hasn’t been much news surrounding the team thanks to the recent consistent winning, trade deadline rumors are picking up as that inches closer as well. Here is the latest news and rumors surrounding the Mammoth.
Cameron Hebig Finally Called Up
He arguably deserved it last season, but Cameron Hebig’s dream of being in the NHL finally came true this week. The Mammoth called him up on Wednesday from the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners.
Hebig has been one of the best players on the Roadrunners for the past couple of seasons, including last season’s career high of 26 goals (a category he led the team in) and 47 points. Hebig also broke the franchise record for most games played and was the team’s all-star representative. After inking his first NHL contract towards the end of last season, he re-upped with the Mammoth this summer for the next two seasons.
This season, Hebig is nearly a point per game player with 33 points in 35 games. His 15 goals tie him with Ben McCartney for the lead on the team. Hebig also secured first place in franchise history in goals.
It’s great that Hebig was called up to the NHL for the first time in his career. He’s a player that most find rooting for because of his journey from the AHL to the ECHL, then back to the AHL. He’s well beloved by his teammates and coaches everywhere he goes because of his willingness to get better and help others improve around him.
Related: Winter Classic Comes to Utah: Mammoth Set to Host Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium
Now, the question becomes, will Hebig appear in an NHL game? It’s hard to say. With the recent winning streak, the Mammoth’s lineup has remained pretty much the same. Even if a player goes down with an injury, Kailer Yamamoto will likely be the next man up. Not to mention, Alex Kerfoot will eventually come back.
It’s more than likely that Hebig’s call-up is a reward for his recent play and will be a similar situation to a majority of Kevin Rooney’s recalls, where he comes up and doesn’t play a game. However, it does show the Mammoth are aware of Hebig’s great production and play in the AHL. While this call-up might not provide an NHL game for him, it eventually will.
Karel Vejmelka Named Third Star of the Week
With three wins in three games in a single week, it wasn’t surprising when news broke that Karel Vejmelka was named the NHL’s third star of the week on Monday. From Jan. 12 to Jan. 18, Vejmelka won three straight games, posted a .935 save percentage, and a 1.66 goals against average.
The impressive stats don’t stop there. Vejmelka leads the entire league in wins with 24 and is second in the league in games started. He’s also tied for second in points produced by a goaltender (two). On top of that, Vejmelka has seven straight wins in his past seven starts.
Vejmelka is the fourth Mammoth player to be named to the NHL’s three stars of the week, joining Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, and Barrett Hayton. It is the first time the goaltender has received the honors in his career. He joins Tage Thompson and Roman Josi as the three stars of the week.
Trade Targets for the Mammoth
It might still seem far away, but the trade deadline is rapidly approaching. With the Olympic roster freeze also coming up, it wouldn’t be surprising if teams get deals done sooner rather than later so they can be ready to roll after the three-week break. It’s already started with Rasmus Andersson getting dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights and Kiefer Sherwood going to the San Jose Sharks.
The Mammoth have been brought up in multiple rumors throughout the past couple of weeks, with reports saying they’re aiming to make a big swing. With an owner like Ryan Smith, a lot of cap space available, and the team in the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, a trade to bring in a player who can help right away seems like the logical choice.
So, who could and should the Mammoth trade for? Well, the question becomes, what do they need? A second-line center is the biggest thing as the team awaits Caleb Desnoyers and his junior career to be over. More forward and defensive depth is always needed, especially as injuries pile up, which has happened to the Mammoth before. Perhaps even a backup goaltender, as Vítek Vaněček has been inconsistent at times.
The big two names that could fit the Mammoth well are Nazem Kadri and Vincent Trocheck, both of whom are top-six centers in the NHL. It’s been a struggle for Kadri this season as he only has nine goals and 35 points; granted, he’s on a Calgary Flames team that hasn’t been great at all.
Despite that, there are reasons why so many teams are interested in him. Kadri is a physical two-way center who has shown he can be a big part of the offense. In three of his past four seasons with the Flames and the Colorado Avalanche, Kadri has been a point-per-game player. The cherry on top is that he is signed for three more seasons.
If you’re looking for more reasons outside of those that were listed, take a look at his 2021-22 season. As a top-two center on a stacked Avalanche team, Kadri had 87 points. He produced another 18 points in the playoffs, scoring five game-winning goals, including one in Game 4 in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Because of the past high rate of production and the three seasons still left on his deal, Kadri will more than likely be pricey, which could keep the Mammoth at bay despite having decent assets. Someone who is similar to Kadri and could come in at a lower price is Trocheck.
Trocheck has been with the New York Rangers for the past four seasons, including during the 2023-24 season, where he produced a career high of 77 points. The 32-year-old has also done well in the playoffs in two of his past three playoff appearances, including in 2023-24, where he had 20 points in 16 games and 10 points in 14 games with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021-22.
The center also has experience in big games like the 4-Nations tournament and soon, the 2026 Winter Olympics with Mammoth captain Clayton Keller, which could be a great way to potentially entice Trocheck into accepting a trade (he has a modified no-trade clause on his contract).
Trocheck’s situation is very different from Kadri’s. He is on a team that just sent out a letter saying they will be retooling. While it sounds like the preference for the Rangers is to keep Trocheck, if an offer is right, they’ll pounce on it.
Acquiring either Kadri or Trocheck could provide a good boost for the Mammoth. Both are great two-way centermen who have a lot of experience in the postseason. Both have shown they produce very well with elite players on their wings. Both could be great players for the Mammoth.
There are plenty of depth options that could also be great acquisitions for the Mammoth. Players like Andrew Mangiapane and Emil Andrae are suffering from not working out with their respective teams. Players like Teddy Blueger and Oskar Sundqvist could be sneaky good pickups that provide physicality and two-way play that the Mammoth need for a playoff run.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the latter option of a low cost is the route the Mammoth go instead of big game hunting. However, you never know with Smith and the Mammoth do have the assets to make that happen.
Trade Assets for the Mammoth
There are a couple of things the Mammoth could offer up if they find themselves going after some players during the trade deadline. They have their first round pick this summer, along with three second round picks and two third round picks. That’s more than enough picks that could persuade a team to give up a player without the Mammoth giving up a player of their own.
However, if their trade partner demands a player back, the Mammoth have a couple of skaters they could think about giving up. I look at three defensemen on the Roadrunners being players that could attract eyes: Maveric Lamoureux, Maksymilian Szuber, and Artem Duda.
The Mammoth have a surplus of defensemen. Most of their NHL defensemen are locked up for the foreseeable future, with the only exceptions being Ian Cole and Nick DeSimone. Even if one or both of those guys aren’t resigned by the summertime, Dmitri Simashev will be the next man up if the Mammoth need someone on the blueline.
It creates a logjam on defense, and, arguably, Lamoureux, Duda, and Szuber are all ready to play in the NHL. Szuber has been the most impressive out of the bunch with 19 points in 33 games this season. He stepped up big time when Duda got hurt and has easily been the Roadrunners’ best defenseman besides Simashev.
Duda has also been offensively impressive with 13 points in 26 games. Lamoureux hasn’t been phenomenal with 14 points in 32 games, but has looked a lot better defensively than in his first pro season. Not to mention, it seems like he always breaks out when he gets called up to the NHL.
The Mammoth do have a couple of top-end prospects like Cole Beaudoin and Tij Iginla, but I can’t see a world where they part with guys like that. If the team does make a big trade, they’ll probably flip one or two of their draft picks and one of the aforementioned defensemen to add more value and clear up some space.
With all that was mentioned, fans shouldn’t be disappointed if the Mammoth don’t make a big trade. While this is the season where the team is expected to make the playoffs, they shouldn’t trade off everything for one run early in their window, where they don’t even have top prospects like Iginla, Desnoyers, Beaudoin, and Simashev on the team.
Getting a depth piece like Blueger or Sundqvist could make a huge trade for this team. To the players on the Mammoth, it could be seen as a reward for their good season thus far, which, with everything players like Keller and Lawson Crouse have been through in their careers, could be a fantastic thing to build on.
