The Utah Mammoth have signed forward Brandon Tanev to three-year deal with a $2.5 million average annual value.
The 33-year-old undrafted left winger split his season between the Seattle Kraken and the Winnipeg Jets, being traded to the latter for his second stint there at the 2025 Trade Deadline. Between the two teams, he recorded 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 79 games.
The Toronto-born product, who began his career with the Jets out of college in 2015-16, has 84 goals and 96 assists for 180 points in 552-career games between the Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Kraken.
Tanev just came off the final year of a six-year deal he signed with the Penguins in 2019 that carried a $3.5 million cap hit.
In Tanev, the Mammoth are a spark-plug pest who does absolutely anything it takes to win. He is exactly the type of player teams want on their bottom six because he can kill penalties, block shots, and chip in on offense. He was a fan favourite in Winnipeg for his “junkyard-dog” mentality, hustle, tenacity, and willingness to lay his body on the line.
The Mammoth, who played their first season in Salt Lake City as the Utah Hockey Club, were a stronger team than many suspected for most of 2024-25 but faded down the stretch to finish sixth in the Central Division.
Despite the fact the Mammoth missed the playoffs, they have has a good mix of young players well on their way to becoming stars and a strong group of experienced players to support them. Tanev will provide head coach Andre Tourigny with another veteran presence and penalty-killing prowess as the Mammoth look to bring playoff hockey to Salt Lake City for the first time ever in 2025-26.
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