Is making the playoffs good enough for the Mammoth?

The Utah Mammoth are finally living up to the hype. They’ve been a trendy playoff pick since the move to Utah two years ago with their young core, and this season, they’re performing as expected. While a playoff spot isn’t safely secured yet, they are six points up on the closest Western Conference team outside of the playoffs, and have another Wild Card team and (for some teams) two Pacific Division teams in their way.

But is just making the playoffs good enough to meet expectations this season? Or will we need to see more out of the Mammoth for it to be a job well done? Steve Peters talked about whether Andre Tourigny and Bill Armstrong will have met expectations if Utah makes the playoffs on Daily Faceoff Live.

Steve Peters: It is. And I tell you what, since Andre Tourigny took over in 2021-22, they had 57 points and they’re on pace for 91 this year in 2025-26. And I do believe it was playoffs or bust, and I think that comes from the ownership with Ryan Smith. He’s put the money behind this. He tried to put a roster together with Bill Armstrong. I think both of those guys, Armstrong and Tourigny, would have been in trouble if not for a playoff spot.

I don’t think the expectations are this team is ready to win a Cup. Bill Armstrong has said this is part of the rebuild and this is where they are. I believe that if they didn’t make the playoffs, I do think there was going to be changes. But I think this team is solidly in a playoff spot.

And not only that, being fourth in the Central, that might be just the perfect spot for any team in the West. You’re coming into the fourth-best spot. You don’t have to play Dallas, Minnesota or Colorado in the first round. You’re going to play Edmonton, Vegas or Anaheim in the first round. And in the second round, you’re going to play the next one of those two teams. You don’t have to play a Central Division team, the toughest teams in hockey, until the third round. I think this is going to be an interesting playoff run for the Utah Mammoth.

But I think Andre Tourigny is just fine. He’s done what we said. He makes guys happy to go to the rink with 57 points. Those guys were happy. They liked him. He had good personal connections. And now his x’s and o’s takes over. This team is defending better. And I think this is a good hockey team that if they get really good goaltending [from Karel Vejmelka], they might make some surprises and might make some noise in the playoffs.

You can watch the full episode here…