SLC Puck!

Austin ranks the five can’t-miss Utah Mammoth home games for 2026-27: the Winter Classic, Vegas, Ovechkin, Florida, and Celebrini. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

The Utah Mammoth might already be the envy of some NHL fan bases.On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin uses the Vancouver Canucks as the ultimate contrast point. Reports say Canucks ownership wants to cut payroll by as much as $20 million, even with the NHL salary cap rising to $104 million. This is the same Vancouver team that finished dead last last season with just 58 points — 14 behind the next-worst Chicago Blackhawks — and still didn’t land the Gavin McKenna lottery win.Meanwhile, Utah is heading into year three with Ryan Smith spending money, the Delta Center...

Six centers, four spots. Austin breaks down where Vincent Trocheck, Barrett Hayton, Logan Cooley, Nick Schmaltz, Kevin Stenlund and Jack McBain fit—and who gets pushed to the wing. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

John Marino got paid, so the pressure moved. Austin ranks Bill Armstrong, André Tourigny and contract-year Lawson Crouse, then breaks down Utah’s 100-point expectation, the Vincent Trocheck and Sebastian Cossa bets, Crouse’s shrinking runway and the best beer deal inside the Delta Center. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

John Marino just cashed in with the Utah Mammoth — and I think Nate Schmidt deserves a little thank-you present for helping make it happen.On this episode of SLC Puck, I break down Marino’s massive 8-year, $54 million extension and why Utah clearly believes he’s a long-term top-four piece. Marino is coming off a career year: 80 games played, 4 goals, 32 assists, 36 points, and a plus-42 season after averaging more than 20 minutes a night. That’s a huge jump from the 35-game, 14-point season he had the year before.The biggest reason? That second pair with Nate Sch...

The Utah Mammoth got better this offseason. The problem is a bunch of the teams behind them did too — and that’s what makes this playoff chase feel a lot more dangerous.On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin breaks down why Utah’s path back to the postseason may be tougher than fans want to admit. Nashville added names like Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Nils Hoglander and Alexander Kerfoot. St. Louis brought in Mason McTavish, Brandon Carlo and Connor McMichael. San Jose added Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba, Mason Marchment and Darnell Nurse, plus drafted Ivar Stenberg with t...

Bill Armstrong said it out loud: the Utah Mammoth want 100 points next season. The question is whether this roster can actually do it.On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin breaks down the real roadmap after Utah finished 43-33-6 with 92 points last year. Even with the NHL moving to an 84-game schedule, Utah’s same 0.561 points percentage would only get them to about 94.2 points. That means the Mammoth still need to find roughly six more points somewhere, and that’s where this gets interesting.Austin looks at where Utah stole points last season against team...

The Utah Mammoth schedule is out, and yeah... April 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights already feels absolutely feral.On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin breaks down the full 2026-27 Utah Mammoth schedule month by month, from Opening Night against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 1 to the Winter Classic against the Colorado Avalanche on December 31 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. He digs into the brutal early road-heavy stretch, the six-game trip from late October into mid-November, and why simply staying around .500 early would be a huge win.There are also some massive dates to circle at Delta...

Anders Lee is a huge pickup for the Utah Mammoth — literally and stylistically. On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin breaks down who Lee is, why Utah gave the former New York Islanders captain a 3-year deal worth $5.4 million AAV, and why his game fits a very specific Mammoth need.Lee spent 14 NHL seasons with the Islanders, played 923 games, scored 308 goals, and served as captain for the last 8 seasons. He also won the 2024 King Clancy Trophy and helped raise more than $2.5 million for families affected by cancer. But the biggest on-ice number in this episode might be th...

Logan Cooley’s contract with the Utah Mammoth suddenly looks like an absolute bargain.On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin breaks down why Cooley’s 8-year, $10 million AAV deal looks so good after the Anaheim Ducks were forced to match Philadelphia’s 5-year, $90 million offer sheet for Leo Carlsson. The comparison is wild: Cooley has 69 goals in 211 NHL games, Carlsson has 61 in 201, and their points-per-game rates are nearly identical. But Cooley takes up just 9.62% of Utah’s cap, while Carlsson comes in at 17.31%.We also get into what this says about Bill Armstrong’s long-term...

Vincent Trocheck and Anders Lee don’t feel like random additions. They feel like a message. The Utah Mammoth are trying to get tougher, nastier, deeper, and a whole lot harder to play against.On this episode of SLC Puck, I break down what stood out from Friday’s Utah media availability with Trocheck, Lee, and Bill Armstrong. Trocheck revealed he’s been skating with Logan Cooley in Pittsburgh and texting with him over the last two weeks, which tells you this move had been in the works. I also get into Trocheck’s take on all the cent...

Well, egg on my face: the Utah Mammoth matched the New Jersey Devils’ offer sheet for Barrett Hayton after all.On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin reacts to Utah bringing Hayton back on a one-year, $4.775 million contract, why Bill Armstrong felt a second-round pick wasn’t enough compensation, and what Hayton’s 52.6% faceoff win rate and defensive value say about this decision. Austin also gets into the cap angle, with Utah now sitting around $4.6 million in space instead of having closer to $10 million to work with.But the most interesting part might be what happen...

Barrett Hayton’s future with the Utah Mammoth is hanging by a thread, and on this episode of SLC Puck, Austin Facer makes the case for Utah to let him walk. With Hayton signing a 1-year, $4.775 million offer sheet from the New Jersey Devils on July 1, the Mammoth are running out of time before the July 9 deadline to decide whether to match.Austin digs into why this is such a weird, tense spot for Bill Armstrong and the Mammoth. Hayton had 25 points in 37 games last season after posting 46 points in 82 games the year before, and Utah has to...

Join the SLC Puck+ tier on Patreon for bonus episodes! ➡️ www.patreon.com/slcpuckThe Utah Mammoth have a decision to make on Barrett Hayton, and somehow it all comes back to an old recliner.New Jersey signed Hayton to a one-year offer sheet, putting Utah in a tough but fascinating spot: match the deal, keep him at nearly $4.8 million, and lose trade flexibility for a year — or let him go and take the 2027 second-round pick as compensation.On this episode of SLC Puck, we talk through why the Mammoth may be ready to mov...

The Utah Mammoth didn’t tiptoe into NHL free agency — they cannonballed in. On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin reacts to Utah’s biggest move of the day: acquiring Vincent Trocheck from the New York Rangers in exchange for Sean Durzi, Cole Beaudoin, and a conditional 2027 third-round pick. The big takeaway? This front office is done being patient. This is a win-now swing.Austin breaks down why Trocheck’s profile matters so much for Utah: a two-time NHL All-Star, a faceoff monster winning nearly 60% of his draws, and the kind of veteran center who can change close ga...

The Utah Mammoth didn’t just sit at No. 19 and hope. They moved up to No. 17 to draft Ethan Belchez, the 6-foot-6 Windsor Spitfires winger Austin thinks they clearly did not want to risk losing. This episode of SLC Puck is all about what that move says about Utah’s priorities: size, edge, personality, and a player who could eventually fill a real power-forward role in this organization.Austin also digs into the other major draft-week dominoes. Utah shipped out J.J. Peterka to Boston for a pair of first-round picks, then used the 23rd overall pick to a...

Sebastian Cossa finally has his NHL shot, and the Utah Mammoth are betting he can solve a real problem. On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin Facer breaks down Utah signing Cossa to a 2-year, $4 million deal and why this move matters way more than people think.The big question is simple: can Sebastian Cossa be a competent backup to Karel Vejmelka? Austin looks at the numbers from Vitek Vanecek’s rough season in Utah — 22 appearances, 19 starts, a 5-13-3 record, a goals-against average just under 3.00, and an .883 save percentage — and lays out the bar Cossa has to cle...

Andre Tourigny is back, but this sure feels like a prove-it year. On this episode of SLC Puck, Austin breaks down the Utah Mammoth reportedly extending their head coach by just one season — and why that matters way beyond the headline. A one-year extension after a 92-point playoff season says a lot, and Austin lays out exactly what Tourigny needs to do to earn something longer-term in Utah.This episode digs into Tourigny’s full track record, from a 57-point season with Arizona in 2021-22 to 70 points, then 77, then 89 in Utah’s first season, and now 92 points with a...

The Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions, and this episode of SLC Puck is all about what Utah Mammoth fans should learn from it. Austin reacts to Carolina closing it out in Vegas, breaks down how Rod Brind’Amour’s team attacked all night, and explains why the Hurricanes’ depth, culture, and bold goalie switch to Brandon Bussi are exactly the kind of details that separate contenders from almosts.We also go back to Utah’s two games against Carolina this season, including that brutal January 29 collapse in Raleigh when the Mammoth blew a 4-2 lead in the fina...

Dylan Larkin to the Utah Mammoth? Austin’s not buying it. On this episode of SLC Puck, he breaks down why the Red Wings captain-to-Utah rumor feels more like easy speculation than a real fit — even with reports that Larkin wants out of Detroit and has given Steve Yzerman a list of preferred destinations that includes the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights.Austin’s main argument: the price, the age, and the timeline don’t add up for Utah. If Detroit is looking for a massive return, why would the Mammoth blow up a gradual...