Imagine you're Chance the Gila Monster. You're sitting on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn, watching Vegas Golden Knights games of old. In fact, you have one game you really love: Game 5 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.
That's when you hear a doorbell. You think nothing of it since it could be one of those solar panel salesman looking to get a buck. Geez, can't they let a mascot watch hockey games peacefully?
They ring the doorbell again.
You get up and get the mace out so you can shoo them off your property. Nobody wants a 5'4" man trying to pick a fight that he knows he'll lose, especially against a gila monster. Nobody wants such a person trying to be a Jehovah's Witness or a stalker, either. Maybe he should turn back now.
You open the door and find... two mammoths dressed up in dress pants, dress shirts, and ties. They're holding a book that you've never seen before.
"Hello! Would you like to hear about our lor-"
*SLAM*
You go back to the couch and resume watching your hockey games. However, those two mammoths are seared in the back of your mind.
What did they want? Are they from Utah? Will they become a legitimate threat in the 2025-26 season for the Golden Knights?
Wait... The Utah Mammoth? How could they affect the Vegas Golden Knights' 2025-26 season?
Everyone knows that the Pacific Division is, well, mediocre. The only two formidable teams you have here are the Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers. Both teams were the last two Western Conference representatives in the Stanley Cup Final, giving them credence over everyone else.
In fact, only three Pacific Division teams are likely to make the Stanley Cup playoffs again. Sure, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks want to take that next step. But both teams are extremely young. Therefore, don't be shocked if five Central Division teams make the playoffs again.
One of those teams could be the Utah Mammoth, who've undergone a radical overhaul in the past two seasons. They added prominent names like Brandon Tanev, John Marino, and Mikhail Sergachev.
That's not even mentioning Clayton Keller coming off a career year (30 goals and 60 assists). The advanced statistics will tell fans that he arrived on the hockey scene (stats courtesy of MoneyPuck).
Player | Goals | Assists | Defensive Zone Takeaways | Shooting % | High Danger xGoals | Corsi | Fenwick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clayton Keller | 30 | 60 | 13 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 60% | 60% |
All of this equals a team ready to take the next step. That fifth team could be the Mammoth, who could provide the Golden Knights with a troublesome matchup should they face off.
It would be as annoying as having people knock at your door for no reason.
Look back to last season when the Mammoth (er, Hockey Club) gave the Golden Knights fits
Don't be fooled by the 2-1-0 record by the Golden Knights against the, uh, Hockey Club last season. One of those games went to overtime and the regulation win required four unanswered goals. But that's not the end of it.
The lone loss saw a Utah team constantly beating Vegas off the rush. That's why they scored four first-period goals. Sure, Ilya Samsonov was in net and couldn't stop a beach ball. However, it showed a Utah team relentlessly attacking Vegas up and down the ice.
They also disrupted Vegas's tempo with careful positioning, reading each play with precision. The Alexander Kerfoot short-handed goal is a perfect example of this.
Again, Samsonov gave Steve Dangle an anerysum here. but Kerfoot has the center of the ice and quickly realizes a pass heads his way. Lo and behold, he gets a shorty and Utah blows Vegas out.
That's the type of play that could annoy the Golden Knights like a random doorbell ringing. Of course, it's likely that Vegas would play a team like the Kings, the Ducks, or the Canucks in the first round. However, they probably wouldn't want to see two mammoths dressed like they're ready for Sunday morning on their doorstep.