<p>The <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/utah-mammoth/line-combinations">Utah Mammoth</a> might not have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their first season, but the opening year of NHL hockey in Utah still went down as a success.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Even without playoff hockey, the season drew significant crowds for the team’s first year in Salt Lake City, demonstrating to the rest of the NHL that the team has greater ambitions than it may have had as the Arizona Coyotes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Yet, as they approach the second year in Utah, the expectations will undoubtedly be higher, with hopes of building off a year that saw them miss the playoffs by seven points.</p>



<p>On the latest episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgZs-gRiTGI&amp;t=1558s&amp;pp=ygUNZGFpbHkgZmFjZW9mZg%3D%3D"><em>Daily Faceoff Live</em></a>, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports joined Jonny Lazarus and Tyler Yaremchuk to break down what success would look like for the team in 2025-26.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="133"></div>



<p><strong>Lazarus</strong>: Is it crazy to say that even though this team didn’t make the playoffs in their first year, that it was still a success, and what would that look like this coming season?</p>



<p><strong>Bagley:</strong> That one’s tough because the inaugural season was all about introducing hockey to the State of Utah and putting on a full 82-game schedule. So, whatever happened on the ice was a success, no matter what.</p>



<p>We learned that hockey works in Utah, whereas in year two, we’re getting serious now. It doesn’t matter who you ask, whether it’s the front office, whether it’s players, whether it’s staff management, everyone is saying: ‘look, we’re taking that step out of the rebuild, and we want to make the playoffs. We expect to make the playoffs.’</p>



<p>I think if Utah doesn’t make the postseason, it wouldn’t be a huge or wild disappointment, but I would definitely look at it and say they did not live up to expectations if they are not playing games after the regular season next year.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="173"></div>



<p>You can catch the full Mammoth segment and the rest of the latest episode here…</p>



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