Mammoth News & Rumors: McKelly Trade, Expansion, etc. – Hockey Writer – Utah Mammoth

When we left the draft behind us, closer to free agents, Utah Mammoth once again became the center of rumors in the hockey world. As a team with the highest space in the league, many people think the Mammoth will stand out. Some recent deals have only exacerbated the fire. As always, it seems like it’s been wild weeks for the team. Let’s explore some of the latest news and rumors.

Matias MacCelli is traded

Starting with this version of news and rumors, the biggest thing the team has done in the past few weeks is that Matias Maccelli is no longer a mammoth. The team traded him to Toronto Maple Leaf in exchange for a conditional 2027 third-round draft pick.

Mammoth has already obtained a 2027 third-round pick from Toronto Maple Leaf in exchange for Matias MacCelli. #tusksup

– Chase Beardsley (@chasebeardsley_) June 30, 2025

The condition for draft picks is that if Maccelli records 51 points next season and Maple Leafs enters the playoffs, it will advance to a second-round pick in 2029. The Mammoth didn’t keep any salary for this deal, meaning Maple Leaf will make McKelly’s entire average annual profit value (AAV) payout throughout the season. This is the last year of his contract.

With this deal, even after JJ Peterka’s expansion, Behemoth now has $18 million in hat space to go with. They also traded players who struggled last season. After a great 2023-24 season, he recorded 57 points, with McKelly only scoring 18 points last season and being healthy most nights. The deal got rid of this issue while providing Maccelli with a great place to prove that he is still a great NHL player.

From the maple leaf side, having a chance on Maccelli doesn’t hurt much. They had a lot of offensive weapons, but they just lost a big weapon and Mitch Marner was traded to Vegas Golden Knights. If he finds his game again, he can add more than 50 points of players. If not, they will likely be able to find another team that can pick him up within the last few months before his contract expires.

Although Maccelli is not a daily NHLER, he is still part of the roster. The position on the release list means players like Daniil are more likely to be in the Opening Day squad. It’s a solid trade for the Mammoth, but it’s certainly something they have to do before the 2025-26 season begins.

Recent expansion

The Mammoth doesn’t have many big names to re-sign in offseason other than Peterka, but they’ve signed some contracts to some smaller names.

Related: Utah Mammoth and JJ Peterka Trade’s TOP-6

In the NHL, the Mammoth gave Nick Desimone a year, $800,000. After his Devil Savings from New Jersey, Desimone was outstanding at Salt Lake City, becoming the seventh defender and was excellent when he had to join the roster.

Meanwhile, in the American Hockey League (AHL), the Mammoth extended Jaxson Stauber, Ben McCartney and Montana Onyebuchi to a two-way deal for two years. The deal between McCartney and Onyebuchi keeps Tucson passers-by core together while providing a decent choice for Mammoth’s choice in case they have to call up any players due to injury.

Stauber can be fun. According to Mammoth free agent jobs, young goalkeepers may eventually back up Karel Vejmelka in the NHL. Even if they did sign another goalkeeper in free agency (sounds like GM Bill Armstrong might do that) or Connor Ingram Returns, Stauber is likely to be a starter in Tucson and try to keep his great performances in past playoffs.

In the end, Michael Hrabal officially decided to return to UMass in the 2025-26 season. While many of the concerns he wanted to get out were fulfilled, both Hrabal and Mammoth’s front desk confirmed that he might join the organization after the UMass season and would be a good year for goalkeepers in college.

Say goodbye?

Entering the offseason, Michael Carcone confirmed in the media that he will not return to Utah in the 2025-26 season, choosing free agents to try to find a place where he will get a more stable game time. For a while, it sounds like he will be one of the only 100% players who haven’t returned to the Mammoth organization.

Now, a few hours before the free agents start, we also learn about several other names that won’t be back. Nick Bjugstad is arguably the biggest name. After spending three seasons in the Arizona Wolf Wolf/Mammoth organization over the past three seasons, the veteran will bring his talents elsewhere. The person who signed him will receive a great leader and a solid bottom of six forwards.

As expected, Robert Bortuzzo wouldn’t be like the Mammoth either. While he hasn’t officially announced his retirement, it is speculated that Utah’s final game against St. Louis Bruce (the old team of Bortuzzo of Bortuzzo) will be the last NHL game for the defensive player, which he then calls it quit.

Yamamoto did not make a qualified offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. However, it sounds like both sides are still talking, trying to solve the extension. By not giving him a qualified offer, the Mammoth can still sign him, but can do that with the league’s minimum and/or without a two-way choice. Yamamoto told me at the end of the season that he loved his time in Utah/Tucson and would love to come back. We’ll see where this went.

Jack McBain made a qualified offer. Craig Morgan reported that McBain’s camp and mammoths are likely to complete a deal later this summer. Armstrong confirms later.

Other players who will be free agents on Tuesday include Travis Barron, Sami Walker, Eger Sokolov and Cameron Hebig. I hope to at least extend Herbig, especially after his incredible season with the Roadrunners. He also told me that he wanted to return, and it was no surprise considering how long he had been in the city and how long he had played in southern Arizona.

The other three are the core of Roadrunners. I would be very surprised if Walker didn’t return to the team. He performed well after getting out of the wild in Iowa. It would be interesting if passers-by cut spending, especially in rumors of relocation to Reno. But if they want to compete for the Calder Cup and play serious games, the revenue for those players AHL expansion and other star AHL players is similar to what ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS did last season.

Rumors in Florida are dead

Over the past year, rumors have revolved around the Florida Panthers’ three big free agents, possibly signing with free agent’s mammoth. Each of these rumors quickly disappeared.

Earlier this week, the Panthers locked Sam Bennett into the eight-year monster. On Monday, they signed Brad Marchand for a six-year contract and Aaron Ekblad reached an eight-year contract.

Rumors don’t make much sense. The rumors around Bennett are the most meaningful since the Mammoth needs a center, and Bennett is a great player with a physical advantage, which is the player they need. But it seems that he will always be sure to stay in Florida, and ultimately it is real.

The rumors about Marchand and Ekblad are particularly crazy. The Mammoth doesn’t need any defenders, especially after signing Dmitriy Simashev. Getting Ekblad will long waste a lineup that the team can use on Simashev or Maveric Lamoureux. Meanwhile, Marchand is 37 years old. The Mammoth doesn’t require any older players to use the roster for six years. Although he is a great player, it just wastes money and the team’s playing time.

Go to Idaho

The pre-season schedule for the Mammoth is released this week. Unlike last preseason, the team will play more than one game on their own stage. The Mammoth will play the role of King of Los Angeles on October 2 and play the role of San Jose Shark at the Delta Center on October 4. This will be the first event to be held at the arena after the summer renovation.

The Mammoth will start against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver, which will be a split game, meaning that earlier in the day, one group of players will face the Avalanche, while another group of players will play the Avalanche in the second game later in the day.

Another interesting game during the preseason will be held north of Salt Lake City. The Mammoth will travel to Boise, Idaho on September 30 to play the King. The match will be held at Central Arena, Idaho, home to ECHL Idaho Steel Head. After the last season, the team played in the West Valley, Utah and Des Moines, Iowa, and they will only have a neutral live trip this year.

The other two games will be played against the Anaheim Ducks on September 22 and against the Anaheim Ducks on September 25 in Anaheim, California and Las Vegas, Nevada.

The team will also participate in the second annual rookie exhibition. This time, the Mammoth will head to Colorado Highland Ranch to fight Avalanche and Avalanche on September 12, and against the Golden Knights on September 13.

Development camp begins

Mammoths launched their annual development camp in Park City on Monday. The camp lineup includes many top prospects like Simashev, but, Hrabal, Tij Iginla, Cole Beaudoin, Gabe Smith, Tomas Lavoie, Owen Allard, Noel Nordh, and Mammoth’s 2025 Best Draft Draft Choices, Caleb Desnoyers and Max Pšenička. This will be the first time fans have seen these two Utah color players.

Each player and Armstrong gave out damage updates to the prospect. Iginla has surgery on both sides of her hips and will attend the camp in a contactless jersey. On the wrist injured last season, Des Noyes appears to be fully attending the camp. Jonathan Castagna did not skate on Monday due to injury.

The camp will end on Thursday in the Olympic Oval’s annual prospect scrimmage. After that, until mid-September, we can’t see the mammoth back on the ice in any shape or form. But it’s not surprising that it’s been a busy summer for the latest NHL team.