On Saturday, the Utah Mammoth concluded the 2026-27 preseason with a nice 2-0 shutout win over the Colorado Avalanche.
For the majority of the other three preseason games, fans had seen a lot of the newly acquired Sebastian Cossa and even a little bit of the youngster Michael Hrabal. But Utah finally decided to prepare the starter for the season.
Vejmelka may be proving Utah has no need for another goalie
When Karel Vejmelka was in the net for Utah in 2025-26, the Mammoth usually found a way to win. Vejmelka had an impressive 38-20-3 record, among the best records in the NHL.
However, even with this, there was concern surrounding the goalie room thanks to the lack of a solid backup and "Veggie" hadn't exactly put up great stats last season.
Despite the record, Veggie allowed 2.75 goals per game (27th), averaged .897 SV% (28th), and had only two shutouts. In other words, his numbers don't jump off the page. His numbers weren't terrible, but they weren't exactly great either.
This led to speculation that still hasn't ended in terms of trading for a star goalie. Connor Hellebuyck has remained untraded despite demanding a trade, with many rumors pointing back to Salt Lake. With the potentially rough goalie room, it made sense for Utah to be included and to still be included in trade rumors.
However, this preseason game may have shown GM Bill Armstrong and Co. that a goalie trade isn't a dire need. Considering that Veggie is three years younger, cheaper, and technically put up better numbers last season, trading for Hellebuyck might be a longshot.
Plus, if Utah did something like this, they might have to trade Hrabal, Cossa, or even Veggie, since the Jets aren't exactly elite at goalie. For now, though, this recent performance is a good sign that Utah is making the right decision not to bring Hellebuyck to Salt Lake.
Add us as a preferred source on Google