Free Agent Focus: Utah Mammoth

Free agency is now less than two weeks away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Mammoth.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Barrett Hayton – Once viewed as a potential top-six fixture, Hayton instead spent 2025-26 settling into the player he may simply be: a reliable, defensively sound middle-six center. The fifth overall pick from 2018 endured a frustrating, injury-interrupted year, managing 10 goals and 25 points in 67 games, roughly half of the career-best 46 points he posted the season before, as an upper-body injury cost him the end of the regular season and most of Utah’s first-round series. Even so, he won better than 52% of his faceoffs and remained one of the team’s best forecheckers, and with the center depth chart crowding behind Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz, his value lies in that steady two-way role. An arbitration-eligible RFA coming off a $2.65MM cap hit, Hayton has spent his entire career in the organization and has made clear he wants to stay. A short-term deal that lets both sides reassess feels like the logical outcome, with PuckPedia’s comparable tool pointing to something around the $4.375MM AAV of Morgan Frost‘s recent contract.

Other RFAs: F Michal Kunc, D Maksymilian Szuber, G Anson Thornton

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Kailer Yamamoto – Despite playing on a one-year, $775K contract for the 2025-26 season, Yamamoto was a quietly productive tertiary scorer for the Mammoth this season. In 59 games, Yamamoto registered 13 goals and 23 points, on pace for nearly a 20-goal campaign on an 82-game average. Utah didn’t have many struggles with offense this season, but Yamamoto shouldn’t be too expensive to keep, either. There will come a time when Yamamoto will likely lose his spot in the lineup in favor of a younger forward, but if the Mammoth can have that additional offensive weapon in their bottom-six, why not keep him for a year or two?

F Alexander Kerfoot – Brought back last summer for his veteran presence and bottom-six versatility, Kerfoot saw an injury-marred season undercut his on-ice impact. A core-muscle procedure wiped out the first 35 games before an upper-body injury cost him another month, limiting the alternate captain to 34 games and 13 points (seven goals, six assists), though a strong March showed he could still provide a jolt to the depth. The 31-year-old’s value extends well beyond the box score, as a back-to-back King Clancy nominee whose leadership and community work made him a cornerstone of the franchise’s early years in Utah. With the Mammoth’s prospect pipeline pushing for jobs, his return is no certainty, but he remains a useful, low-cost depth re-sign if both sides want to continue.

D Ian Cole – The veteran’s veteran, Cole quietly turned in one of his more productive seasons in years while serving as a steadying presence on Utah’s young blue line. The 37-year-old appeared in all 82 games, posting three goals and 23 points, his highest total since 2019-20, while mentoring rookies such as Dmitri Simashev through their first NHL action. A two-time Stanley Cup champion known for his honesty and leadership, Cole proved he can still handle a third-pairing role while shepherding the team’s prized young defensemen, exactly the kind of presence a club on the cusp of contention covets. With Utah ascending and Cole still effective on a cheap deal, a reunion that keeps that veteran voice in the room would make plenty of sense for both sides.

Other UFAs: F Kevin Stenlund, F Kevin Rooney, D Nick DeSimone, G Vitek Vanecek, F Andrew Agozzino, D Kevin Connauton, D Scott Perunovich, G Matt Villalta

Projected Cap Space

After two seasons finding their footing, the Mammoth arrive at this offseason as an ascending team rather than a rebuilding one. Utah reached the playoffs for the first time since relocating from Arizona and pushed Vegas to six competitive games in the opening round, powered by a young, deep core that produced 10 double-digit goal scorers and a breakout 30-goal season from Schmaltz. The Mammoth are projected to have roughly $13MM in cap space with a handful of mostly depth roster spots to fill. That is a manageable, if not lavish, situation for a club that doesn’t need to be a major player in free agency. GM Bill Armstrong‘s priorities are re-signing RFA center Hayton, deciding which of his veteran UFAs to keep, and sorting out the backup goaltending behind Karel Vejmelka, while a long-term extension for budding star Cooley, who becomes eligible to sign on July 1, looms as the franchise’s most consequential cap decision. With one of the league’s stronger prospect pipelines and a deep stockpile of mid-round picks to dangle, Armstrong has the flexibility to add complementary pieces while staying patient.