- Vincent Trocheck and Anders Lee were introduced as Utah Mammoth on Friday
- Both veterans pointed to Utah’s young core and a playoff window they believe is open
- Read below for what GM Bill Armstrong wanted from the two additions
Vincent Trocheck and Anders Lee spent years making life miserable for whoever lined up across from them. On Friday they were introduced as Utah Mammoth, and both veterans walked away talking about the same thing: a young team that looks ready to win.
Trocheck was asked what pulled him to Utah.
“Obviously a lot of potential and they’ve been taking a lot of strides the past few years,” Trocheck said. “They’re a very good young team. And I think for me, one of the biggest things is just going to a team that has a chance to win.”
He made clear he did not come to Utah to build character. “Every year you go into training camp, your goal is to win the Stanley Cup. There are no moral victories,” he said.
Elliotte Friedman framed the two moves as a real turning point for the franchise:
Trocheck arrived from the New York Rangers on July 1, with Sean Durzi, prospect Cole Beaudoin and a 2027 third-round pick heading the other way. He put up 53 points in 67 games last season and brings 56 games of playoff experience.
The Rangers said goodbye to their alternate captain:
Lee sees the same open window. The former Islanders captain signed a three-year, $16.2 million deal on July 1 after 14 years in New York, the last eight wearing the C.
He explained why Utah made sense after so long in one place.
“As an opposing player the last few years, you can tell every year, they’re taking a step,” Lee said. “You can see on their run last year and in the playoffs that their window is coming and it’s open. That was a big part of the fit for me, wanting to come to a team that has an opportunity to win.”
Utah made it official earlier this month:
General manager Bill Armstrong went after both for a reason. He said the Mammoth need more bite to get out of the first round.
“We have to get more competitive if we want to make it out of the first round,” Armstrong said. “They play a hard game, an inside game with skill. They can beat you with their bodies or their minds. We needed that inside game.”
Utah reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season before Vegas knocked the Mammoth out in six games. Lee brings 46 games of postseason experience of his own.
Both players also fit the identity Armstrong keeps describing. Lee lives at the net front. Trocheck grinds on the forecheck and kills penalties.
It is the kind of veteran spine Utah has been chasing all offseason, going back to the day Lee agreed to leave Long Island for the desert.
