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MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary Flames (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Grading Utah Mammoth’s 2026 Trade Deadline

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Jesse Courville-Lynch | Last updated Mar 11, 2026 8:35 AM ET

With the postseason rapidly approaching, one team that has been a pleasant surprise to its fans is the Utah Mammoth. At the time of this article, they currently sit fourth in the Central Division, holding a playoff spot with the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks trailing behind them. There was some speculation that the Mammoth were hunting for a big-name player at the trade deadline, but they remained fairly quiet after one big move.

That one big move was acquiring defender MacKenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Olli Maatta, Jonathan Castagna, and three second-round picks in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. It was a hefty price to pay for a player like Weegar, but being able to bolster their defensive depth for a playoff run is exactly what the Mammoth needed to do, and not having to trade a first-round pick was ideal, as well.

Trade Grade: A-

Weegar, who is 32 years old, has scored three goals and added 19 assists for 22 points through 62 games this season. Throughout his career, he has played 612 games, scoring 62 goals and adding 211 assists for 273 points, which comes out to a 0.45 points-per-game average. He isn’t commonly known for his offensive abilities, but he can still provide some depth production. However, his strength is mainly in the defensive zone, where he shuts down the opposition.

The Mammoth did still have some cap space to play with, but they didn’t make any other moves. It seems as though they will focus on the offseason to make another big addition, if they choose to make one, and trust that the team they have now can give them a good opportunity of having a long playoff run.

Weegar strengthens the left side of the blue line, and the trade they made was great, considering he also has five more seasons, on top of this campaign, left on his contract.

Mammoth Stay Quiet on Deadline Day

The Weegar deal came two days before the deadline, and after that, the Mammoth didn’t make another move. There was speculation connecting them loosely to St. Louis Blues’ forward Robert Thomas, but nothing came to fruition there, and it seemed as though the Blues never seriously considered moving him.

While the Mammoth do have a solid top-six forward group, their bottom six could’ve used another addition. Not to say that it’s bad, because it’s solid, but if they wanted to have a better chance at having a Cinderella run to a Stanley Cup, adding another forward wouldn’t have hurt their chances.

Deadline grade: B

The Mammoth did what they needed to do and kept themselves open to making even more moves at either the draft or over the summer, where they’ll have more flexibility. Making huge deals during the season is difficult, and while I’m sure they would’ve loved to have added someone like Thomas or Jordan Kyrou, they weren’t able to do so. However, adding a star defender in Weegar and keeping their first-round pick in the upcoming draft increases their grade.

They seemed to have the mindset that they didn’t need to make another move just for the sake of making another move, which is sometimes the best way to handle things. We’ll see if it pans out for them, but they seem to be in a good position heading towards the postseason.

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