Balanced Mammoth off to a torrid start in second season since moving to Utah

The Arizona Coyotes spent years keeping the team mostly intact, hoping a big-splash addition via trade or free agency would be enough to push them deep into the playoffs.

Seeing that method wasn't working, general manager Bill Armstrong hit the reset button, unloading veteran players and their high-dollar contracts for a cache of draft picks that would set the foundation for the future.

The future appears to be here in the franchise's second season since moving to Utah, with the Mammoth matching the best start since the franchise moved from Winnipeg in 1996.

“I like the way we manage the momentum of the game, I like the maturity, the way we control our emotions,” Mammoth coach André Tourigny said. “I don't think we're at our full potential with any of our structure or any of our system — it's a work in progress.”

It's been working so far.

The franchise had been trying to solve the playoff riddle since playing in the 2012 Western Conference finals. The then-Coyotes reached the postseason in the 2020 NHL pandemic bubble, losing to Colorado after beating Nashville in the qualifying round, but that's it since the inspiring run 13 years ago.

Armstrong's renovation project began in 2021 with a roster purging that left a core group of young players he hoped would be joined by franchise-altering draft picks.

The latest phase of the rebuild has seen the young core mesh with the new additions in a steady climb under Tourigny. The franchise has increased its win and point totals during each of Tourigny's five seasons and is off to a roaring start this year.

After opening this season 1-2, Utah reeled off seven straight wins to tie the Colorado Avalanche atop the Western Conference standings with 16 points (8-3).

“Winning is fun,” forward Dylan Guenther said. “We're playing a lot of games, too, so it's fun to keep it rolling.”

The top line of Nick Schmaltz, Barrett Hayton and Clayton Keller has developed into one of the league's best during the early part of the season.

The shifty Schmaltz has been superb in his eighth season with the franchise, tying Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon for second in the NHL with 17 points (seven goals). Captain Keller has been to the All-Star game four straight seasons — five overall — and has 12 points through 11 games after posting a career-high 90 points last season.

Hayton has two goals, two assists and a plus-seven rating, matching Schmaltz for best on the team.

JJ Peterka has provided the scoring punch the Mammoth had hoped (four goals, six assists) when they traded for him, Mikhail Sergachev has been a solid two-way defenseman and new addition Nate Schmidt has provided stability on the blue line.

And then there's Logan Cooley.

The 21-year-old has been a star in the making since the Coyotes selected him with the third overall pick of the 2022 NHL draft and increased his production each of his first two seasons in the league. Cooley has eight goals and four assists in 11 games, and the Mammoth locked him up with an eight-year, $80 million contract extension this week.

“I think this is what we’re trying to build and this is exactly what we hoped for when we brought a team here,” Mammoth owner Ryan Smith said. “It’s a message to his teammates that this is a leadership move. It’s also a big message to the NHL that this is a destination and we’re going to be doing this for a while."

Karel Vejmelka has been a steady No. 1 goalie since arriving in 2021 and is off to a strong start this season, tying for the NHL lead with six wins and a 2.75 goals-against average. Vitek Vaněček has been solid as his backup with two wins and a 2.00 goals-against average in three games since being signed as a free agent in the offseason.

“They have both been unbelievable,” Guenther said. “When your goalies are playing like that, you’ve got a chance to win every game.”

The way the entire team is playing, the Mammoth have been close to winning every game to start the season.

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