Utah Mammoth’s 2025 Free Agents: Who Stays & Who Goes?

While McBain hasn’t developed offensively as much as the Mammoth may have liked over the past few seasons, he has been consistent. He has shown that he does not need to get on the stat sheet to be an effective player by finishing sixth in the NHL in hits thrown this season and having an on-ice goal share percentage of seven percent higher than Utah’s team goal share at five-on-five. He is a massive body that brings an element of physicality that the Mammoth are desperately lacking. He stands up and protects his teammates, and has shown that he can play anywhere in the lineup.

McBain is not going to be expensive to re-sign. If the Mammoth are going to bring him back, I would expect a contract to be signed before July 1, the date when other teams could start submitting offer sheets for him, potentially driving the price up.

Michael Carcone (UFA)

Michael Carcone was an undrafted free agent before signing with the Coyotes in 2021-22. He had been playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 2016-17 season. Finally, he earned his NHL contract after registering 25 points in 35 games with the Coyotes’ affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, in 2020-21.

In the season after Carcone signed with the Coyotes, he scored 24 goals and totalled 41 points in the AHL, before being called up to the Coyotes to finish out the season. After struggling to find his footing in the NHL, he started the season in the AHL, where he went on a tear, finishing with 85 points in 65 games, but again struggled to make an impact in the NHL when he earned a midseason call-up.

Carcone finally got his first chance to play in the NHL full-time in 2023-24. He finished the season with 21 goals, which gave fans plenty of hope that Coyotes management had found an undrafted gem.

However, in Utah’s inaugural season, Carcone only played 54 games, and at times, he struggled to stay in Utah head coach Andre Tourigny’s rotation. Despite a limited role, he produced at a similar pace to his 2023-24 season, finishing with 0.36 points per game, compared to 0.39 points per game the previous season.

Carcone had some excellent underlying numbers with Utah this season, and could be one of those guys who need a more significant role to play to their full potential. However, that will unlikely be happening with the Mammoth next season, as they are looking for proven producers at the NHL level, and in his exit interview, Carcone said, “I don’t think we’re going to agree on anything…I spoke to the coaching staff and management, and I think we’re going to go in a different direction.”

Nick Bjugstad (UFA)

Nick Bjugstad might have the most complicated situation of the Mammoth’s pending free agents. He is a 32-year-old veteran, a first-round pick of the Florida Panthers, with 13 seasons of experience in the NHL. He is listed at 6-foot-6, 205 pounds, a massive body, which is an area of need for the Mammoth.

However, Bjugstad is coming off a highly underwhelming season, during which he finished with eight goals and 19 total points. Both metrics are more than 50% less than what he put up for the Coyotes in 2023-24. While Bjugstad’s size is something the Mammoth are still looking for, his production decrease is a concern for his future with the team, as the Mammoth have the likes of Daniil But and Tij Iginla, two first-round picks with sky-high ceilings, looking to crack the Mammoth’s roster next season and could likely step right into Bjugstad’s bottom six center role with Bjugstad finishing the season as Utah’s second-worst net rated forward only behind Liam O’Brien (via Hockey Stat Cards).

In his exit interview, Bjugstad said that he would be open to a return, stating, “I love the city and I’ve loved the people in the organization”, but also acknowledged that the decision is not entirely up to him saying “He’s [Bill Armstrong] got some decisions to make and he’s got a lot of guys in the pipeline.”

With the Mammoth potentially looking to make big moves this offseason, they still have plenty of depth and cap space to work with. It shouldn’t be expected that they rush into re-signing Bjugstad. Given his lack of production and poor underlying numbers this season, it is likely the Mammoth are thinking they can find an upgrade in-house or on the open market this summer.

Robert Bortuzzo (UFA)

Robert Bortuzzo is 36 years old and has over 500 games played across 14 NHL seasons. He won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. Over the past two seasons, he has appeared in only 44 games, split between one season with Utah and the other with the New York Islanders.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely Bortuzzo will ever be an effective everyday player and is at the stage of his career where he is starting to consider other options as he said he does not “know what the future holds hockey-wise“, but also noted that he “would love to maybe stay in hockey if we do end up not playing.”

While Bortuzzo’s prime is behind him, he did say that “I enjoy working with young guys”, something the Mammoth have plenty of. With the Mammoth being one of the youngest rosters in the NHL, they do lack guys with Stanley Cup experience.

Bortuzzo’s championship pedigree is something the Mammoth should be looking to keep in their organization. Bortuzzo, working with the team in some advisory or player development role, could be a tremendous asset to this team’s continued development. However, it is not currently expected that Bortuzzo will sign another contract as a player with the Mammoth.

The Mammoth are lucky; they have very few players on expiring contracts, and all four are fairly replaceable on the open market. This should allow them to focus on who they want to bring in and look towards their 2026-27 pending free agents later in the summer, to start considering contract extensions for Logan Cooley, Josh Doan, and Barrett Hayton, among others, who will be due for new deals.