Mammoth's Ben McCartney: Agrees to two-year extension
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McCartney signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Mammoth on Wednesday.
McCartney had 16 goals, 33 points and 86 PIM across 63 regular-season appearances with AHL Tucson in 2024-25. The 23-year-old hasn't played in the NHL since logging two games with Arizona back in 2021-22, but there's a chance he eventually establishes himself at the top level in a fourth-line role.
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Mammoth's Gabe Smith: Signs first pro contract
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Smith signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Utah, the team announced Friday.
A fourth-round pick in 2024, Smith is officially in the fold with the Mammoth after signing his entry-level contract. The 18-year-old is currently playing in the Memorial Cup with the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats. In his third year with the team, he finished the regular season with 20 goals and 19 assists in 52 appearances, but he's playing at a high level in the postseason with 22 points in 19 games.
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Mammoth's Nick DeSimone: Signs one-year extension
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DeSimone signed a one-year, $800,000 contract extension with the Mammoth on Thursday, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
DeSimone made 20 regular-season appearances for Utah during the 2024-25 campaign and recorded a goal, five assists, 14 hits and 14 blocked shots while averaging 15:35 of ice time. He'll presumably attempt to compete for more consistent playing time during training camp this fall.
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Mammoth's Dmitry Simashev: Inks entry-level deal
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Simashev agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract with Utah on Wednesday.
Simashev will make the jump to North America after spending the last three years playing for Yaroslav Lokomotiv in the KHL. In 56 regular-season games this year, the 20-year-old blueliner notched one goal and five assists before adding one point in 21 playoff appearances. While Simashev figures to get a look during training camp in the fall, he will likely spend the bulk of the 2025-26 campaign in the minors with AHL Tucson.
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Mammoth's Daniil But: Inks three-year deal
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But signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Mammoth on Wednesday.
But was selected with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He had nine goals and 28 points across 54 regular-season outings with the KHL's Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in 2024-25. The 20-year-old is a big forward at 6-foot-6 and already has plenty of experience playing against men after logging 124 career regular-season KHL games and another 33 playoff outings in that league. Although he might still start his North American career in the AHL, but should be given every chance to earn a roster spot during training camp.
Hockey Club's Jaxson Stauber: Inks two-year extension
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Stauber signed a two-year, two-way contract with Utah on Tuesday.
Stauber had a 2-1-1 record with a 3.26 GAA and an .892 save percentage in six NHL appearances with Utah during the 2024-25 regular season. If Connor Ingram (personal) returns to the active roster in 2025-26, Stauber could start the season with AHL Tucson.
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Hockey Club's Michal Kunc: Secures one-year deal
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Kunc inked a one-year, two-way contract with Utah HC on Thursday, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports.
Kunc will likely get a chance at securing a spot on the Opening Night roster heading into the 2025-26 campaign, though he figures to split his time between the NHL and AHL given the two-way nature of his contract. With Czech club Olomouc HC, the 24-year-old winger set new personal bests this year in goals (13) and assists (22).
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Hockey Club's Dylan Guenther: Out for Worlds
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Guenther (undisclosed) will miss the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Championship, Utah Hockey Club Insider Craig Morgan reports.
Guenther was on track to becoming an important piece of Team USA alongside Utah teammate Logan Cooley. Instead, an injury will force him to miss the World Championship in Sweden this coming May. The good news is signs point to this injury not being long-term, so concern level for his future moving forward should be low. The 22-year-old Guenther scored 27 goals and added 33 assists this past season, both career-best marks.
Yamamoto was sent to AHL Tucson on Wednesday, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports.
Yamamoto had two goals and three points over 12 appearances with Utah in 2024-25. Utah's season is over, so Yamamoto will help Tucson instead. He has 19 goals and 53 points across 52 outings with the minor-league club.
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Hockey Club's Matt Villalta: Sent to AHL
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Villalta was assigned to AHL Tucson on Wednesday.
Villalta spent the past few weeks in the NHL, but he made just one appearance for Utah, turning aside 28 of 31 shots (.903 save percentage) en route to a win over Nashville on Monday. However, he'll head back to the minors now that Utah's regular season is over.
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Hockey Club's Clayton Keller: Scores in regular-season finale
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Keller scored a power-play goal in Tuesday's 6-1 loss to the Blues.
Keller mustered all the offense Utah could generate in this win with a power-play tally in the second period, and the goal allowed the 26-year-old to reach the 30-goal plateau for a third consecutive campaign. Keller ends the season with a career-high 90 points (30 goals, 60 assists) in 81 appearances while also racking up 218 shots, 11 hits and 30 blocked shots while averaging 19:07 of ice time.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Gives up six goals
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Vejmelka stopped 23 of 29 shots in Tuesday's 6-1 loss to St. Louis.
Vejmelka was beaten four times in the first period, including thrice over a 6:37 stretch and twice on the power play, and Utah couldn't even sniff a comeback. Vejmelka settled down afterwards and only gave up two goals the rest of the way, but the damage was already done. This was Utah's final game of the regular season, and the team had been eliminated from playoff contention for quite some time. This means the 28-year-old ends the 2024-25 campaign with a 26-22-8 record and career-high marks in both GAA (2.58) and save percentage (.904) across 58 starts -- also a personal best.
Hockey Club's Ian Cole: Secures assist in Monday's win
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Cole logged an assist, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Monday's 7-3 win over the Predators.
Cole has contributed four assists, a plus-7 rating, 33 hits, 54 blocked shots and 26 PIM over 21 contests since the start of March. He's hardly a consistent presence on the scoresheet, but his physical play is helpful in deep leagues with an emphasis on non-scoring categories. For the season, Cole has 17 points, 77 PIM, 66 shots, 106 hits and 209 blocks across 81 appearances as a steady top-four defenseman in Utah's lineup.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Between pipes in St. Louis
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Vejmelka will get the road start Tuesday against the Blues, according to Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Vejmelka has played well down the final stretch of the season, earning a 4-1-1 record, .925 save percentage and 1.98 GAA across six appearances in April. Vejmelka and his club can play the role of spoiler Tuesday -- the Blues are competing with Minnesota and Calgary for one of the two final Western Conference wild-card spots. The 28-year-old netminder is sporting the best ratios of his career (.906 save percentage, 2.52 GAA), and even though Utah won't be in the playoffs, Vejmelka has a strong foundation to build on heading into 2025-26.
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Hockey Club's Nick Bjugstad: Finds twine Monday
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Bjugstad scored a goal, fired four shots on net and dished out two hits in Monday's 7-3 win over the Predators.
Bjugstad scored the second goal of the game for Utah off a feed from linemate Alex Kerfoot with just under two minutes remaining in the first period. Overall, the 32-year-old Bjugstad is up to eight goals, 19 points, 114 shots on goal and 104 hits across 65 appearances this season. He's thrived as a goalscorer in Utah's last five games with three goals over that span. Bjugstad's contract expires at the end of the season, but if Utah elects to re-sign him, he's proven that he can do damage in a limited role by posting 64 points over his last two seasons.
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