The Utah Mammoth seemed heavily invested in the Connor Hellebuyck trade talks, but in the end, they didn’t get a deal done.
There’s plenty to be learned from that pursuit, though, and the obvious point from the outside is this: Utah really believes in the team it has assembled.
The Mammoth are new, only having been in Utah a few seasons since their move from Arizona, and so they aren’t thought about much in the scope of the NHL.
This year’s Mammoth team, though, is quite formidable. They’re pushing themselves into the conversation.
And there’s one way they could really move the needle: They could trade for Dylan Larkin, the Detroit Red Wings center who still hasn’t been moved after an offseason trade request.
Hellebuyck may have gone to the New Jersey Devils, and the Mammoth may not need a center as much as they needed a goalie, but a Larkin deal would still be quite the statement of intent.
Mammoth Dylan Larkin Trade Update
The Athletic’s Max Bultman ranked the 10 teams on Larkin’s reported approved trade list by their likelihood to make sense for a deal with Detroit.
Bultman put Utah in the No. 1 slot.
“In theory, the Mammoth are the team that should get the Red Wings the most excited,” Bultman writes. “It stings that Utah can’t trade young center Barrett Hayton, after matching an offer sheet for him this summer, but its farm system is loaded with talent at every position — some of which is already in the NHL. Center prospect Caleb Desnoyers is the big name, but wingers Daniil But, Tij Iginla and Ethan Belchetz have serious pedigree of their own, and young defenseman Dmitri Simashev is highly appealing as well.”
That framing from Bultman first emphasizes that if Detroit wants to maximize its package in return for Larkin, the Mammoth might be the team to call.
One Dilemma for Mammoth
The problem for the Red Wings is that the Mammoth don’t have an immense need for Larkin.
“The main complicating factor: The Mammoth don’t really need a center, after acquiring Vincent Trocheck to fill that need this summer,” Bultman writes.
Still, it’s not often you can add a player like Larkin.
“That said, adding Larkin would be an upgrade for them,” Bultman writes. “He’d raise the level of their forward group and give them all kinds of options for how to arrange the lineup. If the Mammoth want to do it, they have all the young players Detroit could want, and could spare a more veteran piece off their roster too — and would need to, for cap purposes. It’s just a question of how aggressive the Mammoth would be to make it happen.”
The Red Wings haven’t traded Larkin yet because they haven’t found an offer from his approved team that they’ll accept. Utah could be the team to change that, if the Mammoth want to do that.
Mammoth Positioned for Dylan Larkin Trade