The Utah Mammoth has had one heck of an offseason, putting division rivals on notice, including the Colorado Avalanche.
The Mammoth made a big splash by trading for JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres. Then, they got a great prospect in Caleb Desnoyers with the fourth-overall pick.
Now, the Mammoth have added considerable depth to their club by re-signing Kailer Yamamoto and then adding blue liners Nate Schmidt and Scott Perunovich. Utah also boosted its depth with Brandon Tanev up front.
The club also added Vitek Vanacek to deliver goaltending depth. Vanacek and Schmidt are fresh off a Stanley Cup championship with the Florida Panthers.
Utah has gone to great lengths this offseason to complement its crop of budding young stars. That situation means the Colorado Avalanche, among other division rivals, will have another talented team to contend with in the Central Division.
Does this mean the Mammoth are now Stanley Cup contenders?
Not quite. The first step for Utah will be to make the playoffs. That could happen as soon as next season. That’s why there will be added pressure on playoff incumbents like the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Winnipeg Jets.
Every team that made the playoffs this past season will now be hard-pressed to fight off the Minnesota, St. Louis Blues, and Utah Mammoth. As many as six teams will be vying for three playoff spots.
Of course, there are two other wild card slots in the Western Conference. But those slots are shared with the teams in the Pacific Division. So, it looks like making the playoffs next season won’t be a walk in the park. The Colorado Avalanche will need to play well straight out of the gate this upcoming season.
Colorado Avalanche respond with depth signings
The Colorado Avalanche weren’t expected to send shockwaves in NHL free agency. After sending Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a cap-clearing move, the club wasn’t in line to make a splash.
Instead, the Avalanche responded with a flurry of depth signings. Said signings are mostly focused on depth and giving the Colorado Eagles a decent team this upcoming season.
Beyond that, the Avalanche are pretty much set. The departure of Jonathan Drouin to the New York Islanders signals that there isn’t much room for another top-six forward in Colorado.
That being said, if the Avalanche could land their hands on a middle-six center, that’s something the club would consider.
As it stands, Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson will roll 1-2 down the middle. That does leave, however, some room for improvement in the bottom six. Daily Faceoff shows Jack Drury as the 3C with Parker Kelly leading the fourth line.
That’s not bad center depth. But if the Avalanche could land their hands on a bona fide 3C, the club would do it. It doesn’t seem likely at this point, but then again, championship teams know they can never have too much depth.