(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club celebrates a win over the Minnesota Wild, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
During the Utah Mammoth’s exit interviews, there was a common phrase used: “Top of the league.”
Nearly every player said it when describing their experience in Salt Lake City and how they were treated by their new owners.
It was a positive pitch coming from a team that was uprooted from a college arena, moved to a different state and put in front of a new audience in a matter of months. A lot could have gone wrong — but it didn’t.
With the NHL’s free agency window on the horizon, the Mammoth may be able to push itself onto the lists of talented personnel looking for their next stop.
It will be the first time in NHL history that Utah is branded as a potential destination. The NBA’s Utah Jazz have historically struggled with luring in stars through free agency. Will it be any different for Smith Entertainment Group’s new team?
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) celebrates a goal with teammates versus the Seattle Kraken at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
Mikhail Sergachev was quick to answer what the state meant to him after his first full season with the Mammoth.
“Utah is my home now,” the No. 1 defenseman said. “I could live here after I’m retired. I love this place. People are very nice and it’s great.”
Sergachev was the main piece in last June’s blockbuster trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had spent seven years there — and won two Stanley Cups — with the established franchise. Sergachev also had a quick stint in Montreal; the Canadiens (an Original Six team) drafted him in 2016. Utah, though, stuck out.
“Just from the organization — this is the best organization I’ve played for. From top to bottom, everybody is worried about us. They want us to be in the best place possible,” Sergachev said. “They want us to play hockey and not worry about anything else. So everything is taken care of. I really appreciate that. As a player, it means so much to me that I can go and focus on my craft and play.”
Nick Bjugstad — who is now an unrestricted free agent himself — echoed Sergachev’s message. The veteran forward has skated for five previous NHL teams and said Utah (under the ownership of Ryan and Ashley Smith) is the best he has been treated as a player.
(Dirk Shadd | Tampa Bay Times) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) on the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning during second period action at Amalie Arena on Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Tampa, Fla.
“The Smiths have given us something we never would have expected two years ago or a year ago,” said Bjugstad, who was also with the Arizona Coyotes. “This has been an incredible experience.”
Many of the now-Mammoth pointed to the family-first lifestyle that Utah offers, the mountains and the immediate support and growth of the hockey community as reasons Salt Lake City could become a free-agent destination.
That, and the team has an owner who has and will give them virtually anything they want. The customized, state-of-the-art practice facility is set to open ahead of the 2025-26 season. Delta charters are the only way they travel. If there’s a Ritz-Carlton, the Mammoth will stay there. The internal investment has been proven from the start.
“When you have that backing you and you can focus on what you’re doing on the ice, there’s no other distractions, it is so important. It is all you can ask for as a player,” Sean Durzi said. “And then you look at the group, the direction we’re headed in — it’s got to be a destination.”
It is these good reports, it seems, that will make a difference come free agency. The NHL — like any other workplace — talks. It spreads the team gossip, good or bad, and that influences players’ decisions on where to sign.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Smith Entertainment Group co-founders Ryan and Ashley Smith at the announcement of the new name for Salt Lake City's NHL team, Utah Mammoth, in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
“I think everything is positive from the outside. But the best recruiting is coming from your own players. I think the way our players talk about their experience, what is going on in town, the way they’re treated — that is the best recruiting,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Because you cannot hide that. Those guys talk to their agents and their agents are the same agents of the player who is somewhere else. There is no way to hide in this league.”
Some of the NHL’s biggest stars were impressed when their respective teams stopped through Delta Center this season.
The Nashville Predators’ Steven Stamkos was arguably the biggest name on last summer’s unrestricted free agent list. After 16 years in Tampa and two Stanley Cups, he signed a four-year, $32 million contract with Nashville. He knows how the market functions, and he knows what to look for.
“Heard some good things,” Stamkos said of Utah. “Ownership is fantastic. I think everyone knows that. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to give the guys the best chance to succeed, whether that’s on the ice, off the ice. I think there’s a new facility coming. It is — from what I’ve heard — a beautiful place to live. Guys enjoy that. The fan support has been great. The reviews have been really good.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club head coach Andre Tourigny looks to the scoreboard during the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 24, 2025.
Nathan MacKinnon — who is the face of the Colorado Avalanche and has earned five trophies (including a Stanley Cup) in his 12-year career — shared his reaction to the Arizona Coyotes getting bought and relocated when he was in Salt Lake in October.
“I was happy. I think everyone in the league was. Playing in a college rink was pretty crazy, and coming here, it is awesome facilities, the arena seems beautiful,” MacKinnon said. “The owner seems great — I’ve heard nothing but great things about him and the way he does things. I think it’s exciting not just for Utah but the whole league.”
Beyond ownership, it is attractive, too, to outside players that Utah is on an upward trajectory. Between the winning experience added to the roster last year, the push for the postseason this year, dominance of youngsters like Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, and, now, having the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a new Mammoth identity, it is a promising time for the organization.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club goalie Karel Vejmelka, center, defends a shot against Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during an NHL game in Salt Lake City, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024.
“What I’ve liked from their team is they’ve just continued to take a step each year,” said the Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk. “They will be in the playoffs if not this year, definitely next year.”
Some free agents will flock to the bigger markets — that has always been true. But for one year in the league, it seems the Utah Mammoth have made a strong starting case for themselves.
“You do things right, or everybody will know. And here, we do things right and the players are happy,” Tourigny said. That word will go in the NHL player community, and that will help our recruiting. No doubt about it.”
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