SALT LAKE CITY \u2014 For the first time since 2014, NHL players are headed to the Winter Olympics. But before the break, the Utah Mammoth are making their mark in the Western Conference playoff race. <\/p>\n
On the latest edition of Inside Utah Mammoth, Jeff Rhineer sat down with General Manager Bill Armstrong to talk about the team\u2019s electric January homestand, the playoff chase, trade deadline strategy, and how the Olympics might make his players even better.<\/p>\n
Jeff Rhineer: Last year in December, you said January was going to be a big month for us. It didn\u2019t turn out to be that way. What\u2019s been the difference this year?<\/p>\n
Bill Armstrong: Well, we\u2019re a year older. I think there\u2019s more maturity. I think we\u2019re a better team. There\u2019s still some room for growth, but I do think that more things have been established. Karel Vejmelka has really taken the number-one spot and run with it. We\u2019ve been able to add some depth into our team with the Tanevs and the Schmidts of the world. We pulled off a trade for JJ Peterka to give us another guy for our top six. So I think we\u2019re a better team and we\u2019re more mature. I also think our players genuinely enjoy playing together. They\u2019re an exciting bunch, and they love to play hockey and be together. So I think coming back for the second year here in Utah and attacking it has been a very positive experience.<\/p>\n
Jeff: It\u2019s the first season at this new practice facility. How has this helped?<\/p>\n
Bill: It\u2019s unbelievable. I couldn\u2019t put it into words if I tried. It\u2019s the greatest place to come to work \u2014 from the views of the mountains behind us to the facility itself. It\u2019s given our players, and us, a reason to come to work and be excited about being a Mammoth.<\/p>\n
Jeff: You\u2019ve been building this team for a long time. Now that you see your team in the thick of the Western Conference wild-card hunt, how does it feel to be here at this point of the season?<\/p>\n
Bill: Well, it gives you a little bit of momentum. You never know \u2014 you could be in or out by one point every night in the NHL. I think it helps when you\u2019re in because it shows the team that if you continue to play this way, you have a chance to become a playoff team. It\u2019s a long, hard road in the NHL. There\u2019s a lot of hockey to play, so you can\u2019t get too excited. But I said from the start of the year, if we\u2019d be here at this point after getting through that hard early schedule and we\u2019d be in a playoff spot, we\u2019d be in a good place. I feel that today the buzz was just in the air for the club \u2014 just to have a little bit of success. Your confidence comes from a source, and our source is every day coming to work, not getting too high or too low, and staying with the process. If we do that, we\u2019re in good shape.<\/p>\n
Jeff: Nick Schmaltz has played great this season and is a free agent after the year. That play he made against the Flyers made me think, how do you not keep this guy?<\/p>\n
Bill: I think as you go through the process as a GM, there are different points of the season where you deal with your guys. As I said at the start of the year, the year before we got Guenther done. This year, we got Cooley done early in the season. Now we\u2019re going through the process of evaluating some players that are free agents \u2014 are we bringing them back, or are we not? That works its way through the season. You have to make decisions. Now, with the trade deadline coming up on March 6th, we\u2019re getting into that thought process about who we\u2019re signing to bring back next year. Schmaltz is definitely at the top of our priorities. He\u2019s a great player and a great kid. He\u2019s proven that he wants to be in Utah. We\u2019ll let the talks continue.<\/p>\n
Jeff: You mentioned the trade deadline. You usually make moves in the summertime. With the deadline coming up, are you more into the instant success or the long-term gains?<\/p>\n
Bill: We\u2019ve always been focused on the long-term gains. Rentals are not really part of our team unless it\u2019s a need that comes up at the end. But for the most part, we really plan anywhere from three to five years out \u2014 where we think we\u2019re going to have these championship windows. That doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t be a great team now. It doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t make runs now. But we are always planning for the future. Our best team is still ahead of us.<\/p>\n
Jeff: How important is it to have players in the Olympics, both for the organization and for those who are playing?<\/p>\n
Bill: You hold your breath as a GM, just for injury purposes, with some of your top players going over there. I also feel there\u2019s a goodness that comes from it \u2014 they\u2019re going to be around some really great leaders and some really great players. They\u2019re going to learn a little bit about how to play with those great players under huge amounts of pressure in the Olympics, and they\u2019re going to grow. They\u2019re going to come back better hockey players for our club. So it\u2019s a win-win on our side, and they\u2019re fighting for their country. The ultimate is to win a gold medal for your country and come back and let that help our team win a championship at some point. They\u2019re gaining experience in high-pressure situations. I love that for our guys to go through. I do believe, in the end, it makes us a better team here.<\/p>\n
Jeff: What\u2019s the Olympic break like for a general manager?<\/p>\n
Bill: It\u2019s not as enjoyable as it is for a player. I can tell you that. At the end of the break, we have the trade deadline, so there will be a lot of preparation, a lot of jockeying, a lot of absorbing information, and trying to make some moves behind the scenes. Even though there\u2019s a trade freeze going on, you\u2019re still working the whole time.<\/p>\n
Jeff: What do you want to see from this team as we approach the second half of the season?<\/p>\n
Bill: We need to play big in the big moments. That\u2019s the biggest thing \u2014 we\u2019re going to come down the stretch and play to get in. Right now, it\u2019s set up so every game has been like Game 7 since we started. I want to see our team be at its best. I want to see our team come in every day, get better, and keep improving so we\u2019re playing our best hockey when the playoffs start.<\/p>\n
Jeff: The atmosphere at Delta Center is always great, but that Flyers game was insane. Could you imagine a playoff game in Salt Lake City?<\/p>\n
Bill: I say it every night after I drive home from a win. I think, \u201cOh my God, it\u2019s going to be incredible.\u201d When we get into the playoffs, it\u2019s going to be at a new level. Right now we are a spoiled bunch, and we\u2019re very grateful for our fans. Every night we go to Delta Center, the energy is incredible. It\u2019s loud, and you can see it inspires our players. Just remember this \u2014 our players went from playing in front of 4,500 people for the other team, and now we\u2019re in front of our fans, 16,000-plus a night. It\u2019s incredible, and we never take that for granted.<\/p>\n