The Utah Mammoth offense was balanced last season, but did feel like it really lacked offensive consistency at times. One the main reasons was because of the only player that had a lot of assists was Clayton Keller. All of the other offensive key players got a lot of goals, as 6 players got 20 or more, but the offense only had Keller who could stack up assists. A trade with the Islanders could definitely benefit Utah.
Matthew Barzal Could Really Make Sense
The 29-year-old Matthew Barzal would make a ton of sense for a Mammoth team that is young and exciting, mainly because Barzal wouldn't be very expensive. The most goals Barzal has gotten in his career is just 23, but the amount of points he has added to the New Islander offense has still been pretty good. Barzal had 72 points and 53 assists in the 2025-26 season, which was very valuable to the Isle's offense. The only Mammoth players who got more points than Barzal was Keller, Nick Schmaltz, who managed to score 33 goals and add 41 assists (74 points), and Dylan Guenther, who managed to score 40 goals and add 33 assists (73 points).
Barzal would probably only take a good player or draft pick. But it would add some nice offensive depth to a Mammoth team that would probably love a veteran who has the capability to do it all. Keller doesn't need a ton of help, especially since it has to expected that many of the teams youngsters should only continue to get better, but Barzal would make a lot of sense. Sometimes, the key to a good team is a young team with a veteran like Barzal.
A Couple of Trades Over Recent Seasons Have Been Interesting...
Mikail Sergachev:
In June of 2024, the then Utah Hockey Club traded away J.J. Moser and Conor Geekie for Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikail Sergachev. This trade has aged so far pretty well for the Mammoth, especially since Sergachev managed to score10 goals and also add a nice 49 assists in 2025-26, which was his second season with Utah. His first season he had 53 points, with 15 goals and 38 assists. So far for the Lightning, Geekie has played in just 66 games in his career and has scored nine goals and added just eight assists- albeit, he is only 22.
Moser has been a pretty decent defender and managed to actually have the 7th best plus/minus in the NHL, which was a really good +41 in 2025-26. Ultimately though, Utah doesn't regret the trade- at least yet. Sergachev has been a really good offensive defender so far- and is still just 27.
JJ Peterka:
In June of 2025, the Utah Mammoth traded away Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring to the Buffalo Sabres for JJ Peterka. This trade didn't go too well, at least in 2025-26 for Utah. Doan managed to score 52 points, with 25 goals and 27 assists. Doan did just a little better than JJ Peterka, who is just one month younger at the age of 24, and added scored 25 goals with only 22 assists. The Sabres also got Kesselring, who isn't very young (26) and didn't perform well in just 34 games, but the Mammoth hoped for more from Peterka in the 2025-26 season.
Peterka only got 47 points after getting 68 points the season prior, which is one the main reasons why a trade for Barzal would even happen. Even though Peterka scored 25 goals, the Mammoth definitely hoped for more points, but mainly, more assists. The trade definitely isn't a disaster, but the Mammoth essentially after one season traded away one player for another player who almost did the exact same thing plus they traded away Kesselring. Utah can still win the trade, but they need more offense from Peterka in the future.
The two trades have been affective from the Mammoth, even though they kind of lost the second trade- after the first season at least. A Barzal trade also seems possible, as Utah has showed interest before. Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch reported that: "Reports indicate the Utah Mammoth kicked tires on Barzal last summer, but opted not to make the move." If Utah wanted to go after Barzal again, then that would make a ton of sense, especially because of the lack of assists other offensive players added. It definitely seems likely Utah will at least make one trade this offseason with all of the youth and picks they have.
The Mammoth have some work to do to be true contenders. No one knows what the future holds for the young Mammoth, but we can all be sure of one thing: it will be absolutely wonderful.
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