The Utah Mammoth added another body to the blue line on today, signing defenseman Andrew Peeke to a one-year contract worth an average annual value of $1 million.
Bill Armstrong said the move gives Utah a bigger, steadier presence on defense. “Andrew is a big, mobile defenseman that brings depth to our blue line,” said Bill Armstrong, general manager of the Utah Mammoth. “He’s a smart player with offensive upside, and we look forward to seeing what he can do in a Mammoth uniform.”
Peeke, 28, arrives after his seventh NHL season, one in which he put up 5-9-14 and 22 penalty minutes in 77 games with the Boston Bruins. He has been a durable piece for most of his career, appearing in at least 76 NHL games in four of the last five seasons.
At 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, Peeke also made his mark in the Bruins’ own end. In 2025-26, he led Boston defensemen with 135 blocked shots and finished second among the club’s blueliners with 105 hits.
Over 386 career NHL games with Boston and the Columbus Blue Jackets since 2019-20, Peeke has recorded 16-59-75 and 141 penalty minutes. He has also suited up for 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Before turning pro, Peeke spent three seasons at Notre Dame from 2016-19, where he posted 12-40-52 and 62 penalty minutes in 119 collegiate games. He wore the captain’s “C” as a junior and helped the Irish win back-to-back Big Ten titles in 2018 and 2019.
His path also included a stop with the Green Bay Gamblers, where he was named to the USHL All-Rookie Team in 2015-16.
A Parkland, Fla., native, Peeke has twice represented Team USA at the IIHF World Championships, in 2022 and 2025, and won gold in 2025 alongside Mammoth forwards Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley. He also earned a bronze medal at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Columbus picked Peeke in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2016 NHL Draft.
In Other News...
Ducks Suddenly Face The Young Core Crisis Fans Feared
Anaheims reset around its young forwards took another sharp turn during the first round of the 2026 NHL draft, when the organization moved Mason McTavish and immediately found itself staring at a bigger decision with another cornerstone piece. The Ducks have spent years building around a promising core, but the economics of keeping that group intact are starting to come due at the exact moment the roster was supposed to be taking its next step.
Now the front office has to weigh whether it can keep pace with the market while protecting the rest of the future it has assembled. If it lets the latest move stand, Anaheim would at least be compensated with a haul of future first-rounders, but the real issue is whether the team can realistically keep both Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier under the same cap structure without forcing another painful choice somewhere else on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Roadrunners Fans Finally Have A Rare Opening Night To Circle
Roadrunners fans have had to wait a while for a season opener they can actually circle on the home calendar, but next fall will finally bring one. Tucson announced it will begin the 2026-27 season at Tucson Arena on Oct. 3 against the Colorado Eagles, a welcome change of pace for a franchise that has only opened at home twice before and has not done so since 2018-19.
The timing gives the organization a chance to turn Opening Night into a real event, too, with single-game tickets set to go on sale later in the summer and an early ticket opportunity tied to a July 15 fan gathering. For a fan base that has not seen many home openers, the chance to start the season in front of a Tucson crowd should make that first night feel a little bigger than usual. [Read more 🡒]