The newly renamed Utah Mammoth had an amazing stroke of luck in the NHL draft lottery in May, one that could alter the course of the franchise — even more than the announcement of the team’s new name on May 7, just two days after the fateful lottery.
Now, one NHL analyst is urging the Mammoth to deal that pick to the Montreal Canadiens for a former No. 3 overall draft pick whose career has been largely an injury-hampered disappointment — but who may be primed for a breakout season at last.
The Mammoth, named in honor of the hundreds of ice-age fossils found around Utah, were known last season simply as the Utah Hockey Club, after relocating from Arizona where they had been known as the Coyotes since 1996 when they moved to Phoenix.
Before that they were the Winnipeg Jets.
Clearly this is a franchise with a history of big changes — but of big things happening on the ice. None of the incarnations of the team now known as the Mammoth has ever won a Stanley Cup.
In fact, the franchise reached the conference finals only one time since the Jets admission to the NHL in 1979, as one of four teams from the World Hockey Association after the upstart rival league agreed to merge with the more established NHL.
Given the tumultuous history of the franchise, it must have felt like some kind of cosmic reward for past hardships when the Utah club won the NHL draft lottery despite entering with a mere 1.5 percent chance, 14th of the 16 teams entered.
Utah Reportedly Ready to Deal the No. 4 Pick
Because clubs were allowed to move uo no more than 10 slots from their original position, Utah walked away with the No. 4 overall pick.
But would they turn around and trade that pick? According to NHL Network hockey insider David Pagnotta, they would indeed. According to Pagnotta, Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong would consider trading the valuable pick “for a young top six forward.”
The Montreal Canadiens Kirby Dach fits that bill, at age 24. But the center has been held back by injuries, and even when healthy has yet to find his footing in the NHL after being drafted with the No. 3 pick in 2019 by the Chicago Blackhawks.
“To acquire the 4th overall pick — which could land a player like James Hagens or Caleb Desnoyers — it appears (Canadiens GM) Kent Hughes would need to include (at minimum) a top-6 forward in his offer,” wrote NHL analyst Elias Adaime of the Canadiens-oriented site Habs Fantatics. “Does Bill Armstrong consider players like Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach as legitimate top-6 forwards? That’s the key.”
Utah Could Do Better than Dach With Valuable Pick
While Dach, Montreal’s second-line center, seems to be expected to have a breakout season year after year, he has never managed one yet. “There’s still potential in Dach’s game, but this season served as a tough reminder that development isn’t always linear, and the Canadiens are still waiting for him to truly break out,” wrote William Bourget of The Hockey Writers.
Dach also comes with the final season of his four-year, $13.4 million contract, which would cost the Mammoth $3.36 million. After next season, Dach would become a free agent.
With a closer look at Adaime’s trade proposal, it seems as if the Mammoth could do better with the No. 4 pick, by finding a top-six forward who has actually shown more than just potential in the NHL.
Analyst Urges Mammoth Trade No. 4 Draft Pick For $13.4 Million Top-6 Forward