Jets Look To Stay Hot Against Red-Hot Mammoth In Battle Of Western Heavyweights
Two scorching Western teams collide. Can Winnipeg's surging offense overcome Utah's high-flying Mammoth? Get ready for an offensive explosion.
Video Transcript
Speaking of that area and new teams, the Utah Mammoth, the NHL's pseudo-newest team because they moved from Arizona.
They started the season 6 and 2, including a big win last night over St. Louis, although it got a little dodgy there at one moment or two.
But Mike, I'll go to you first.
Are the Mammoth a playoff team in that deadly central division?
I think at the beginning of the year, I said yes, so I'm gonna stick with that answer.
You know, there comes a time where you can only keep grabbing more and more prospects and draft picks.
Eventually, you have to take that step.
And I think this year is the year where Utah was saying, OK, like, we gotta get it done, you know, we can't just come out to a decent hot start and have our young guys, like a Dylan Gunther or a Logan Cooley, you know, this can't just be a development year.
This has to be a contending year.
And when I look at Utah right now, I know they're in a hard division, you know, but every division is hard.
It doesn't get easier in the Atlantic, or maybe it does get easier in the Metro because that one is so topsy-turvy.
But, you know, they've got to see themselves as this is the year where we do take that giant step and you know, to their credit, they are getting great production, like I mentioned Dylan Gunther, 4 goals, 9 points in 8 games.
Clayton Keller's got 12 points in 8 games.
Logan Cooley, 5 goals in 8 games.
So the young guys are not only developing, and producing, but they're the reason why Utah is where they are right now.
Yeah, and Nate, the Mammoth are leaning on some of those college kids right now.
7 goals last night, all from college guys, so I love to see the production and like you said, I do think that group of young talent is now.
Aged enough, they're still young, but they're experienced enough that you can expect more from them and it certainly seems like they're delivering.
Yeah, yeah, and I think just, you know, the speed of guys like Cooley and JJ Pateka, who was obviously the big offseason acquisition, is really sort of pushing them forward and let's not forget, like, I think they played Colorado twice already, so it's not like they've had a cupcake schedule, like the Mammoths are getting legit wins here.
And yeah, Mike, I'm with you.
I think at this point, we should see them as a playoff team.
Especially because the Minnesota Wild have gotten off to a horrendous start, or at least they're on a big skid right now.
So it does feel like there's some daylight there where maybe you grab that first wild card spot in the Central, or maybe it's the second.
We might see, you know, five in the Central and only three in the Pacific because the Pacific, we've seen has been a top-heavy division.
