Utah Mammoth eye deeper postseason run following franchise’s first playoff berth | Sports
Enthusiasm bubbles from ice rinks across the NHL at the opening of training camp, the hope of every team to raise the Stanley Cup next spring. The Utah Mammoth kicked off their third training camp with a bit of extra juice. Buoyed by a playoff appearance and their young core in tact, the Mammoth are eyeing a deeper run into the postseason this year. “Each year we’ve gotten better,” Mammoth captain Clayton Keller said. “We’ve had higher expectations for our group and obviously we do this year as well. We know how good our team is, how much talent we have.” The Mammoth set the talent foundation when the franchise was still in Arizona. General manager Bill Armstrong rebuilt the roster by accruing a bevy of a draft picks that were used on talented young players who developed in their system. As those players matured, so did the Mammoth’s standing in the NHL, culminating in last year’s playoff run in the franchise’s second season since moving to Utah. Most of the core from that team is back after the Mammoth matched New Jersey’s offer sheet to restricted free agent Barrett Hayton, signing the 26-year-old center to a $4.775 million contract.
