As the Stanley Cup continues, the Carolina Hurricanes were able to secure their second straight win and third win in the last four games to go up 3-2 in the series against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights have strangely decided to stick with goalie Carter Hart, who is the only goalie in Stanley Cup history to allow four goals in the first five games ( and also was the first to allow four goals in the first four games of a Stanley Cup). Meanwhile, Stanley Cup champion, Adin Hill, hasn't even seen a game in the final yet, which makes one wonder if Vegas no longer wants Hill- and if the Utah Mammoth could take a chance.
Adin Hill was once a very consistent goalie
Adin Hill, who is now 30-years-old, was once one the most consistent goalies in the NHL. And Hill has some pretty good career numbers: 106-73-19, 2.68 GAA, .905 SV%, 12 SO. Hill has seen a little bit of a fall from glory over the last few seasons, but his career numbers don't lie, they are pretty good. Not to mention, Hill's numbers over the seasons show that he was just recently been a heck of a goalie for Vegas:
2022-23: 27 GP, 16-7-1, 2.50 GAA, .915 SV%, 0 SO
2023-24: 35 GP, 19-12-2, 2.71 GAA, .909 SV%, 2 SO
2024-25: 50 GP, 32-13-5, 2.47 GAA, .906 SV%, 4 SO
2025-26: 27 GP, 10-9-6, 3.04 GAA, .871 SV%, 1 SO
Before playing for Vegas, Hill actually played for the Arizona Coyotes, who of course are now the Utah Mammoth, and then for the San Jose Sharks for one season. Hill never had one season with a SV% below .900 with the Coyotes or Sharks, other than his first four career games with the Coyotes, in which he had a .891 SV%. This shows that Hill has been very consistent and able to keep his SV% relatively elite throughout his career. His most recent season is the cause for concern for any team wanting Hill- but his inability to stay healthy during this last season could explain the abysmal numbers.
A Consistent Goalie Would Strengthen the Mammoth
Utah has reportedly already considered trading for a Detroit Wed Ring goalie. This isn't very surprising considering the lack of a good backup goalie, or even an elite starter. Karel Vejmelka, the starter, was 38-20-3 (2nd best in the NHL), albeit with a 2.75 GAA and a .897 SV% and two shutouts. Vejmelka can definitely be the starter next season, but his save percentage and goals allowed per game weren't very good (27th and 28th in the NHL, respectively). What's worse was the backup, who was Vitek Vanecek, who is thankfully a free agent after an ugly season: 5-13-3, 2.94 GAA, .883 SV%, 1 SO.
Vanecek only played in 22 games, but he hasn't even had one season with a SV% above .900 since the 2022-23 season with the New Jersey Devils. The only other goalie that Utah has that could have a major impact is Jaxson Stauber, who has only 12 career games under his belt with a 7-2-1 record, 3.01 GAA, .903 SV% and one shutout. The Mammoth definitely could use a consistent goalie, so trading for Hill would make a lot of sense. Hill also wouldn't be very expensive, considering his injury history and recent seasons. Hill could be a low-risk, high-reward kind of player to trade for.
Add us as a preferred source on Google