On social media last week, MacKenzie Weegar and a band of Utah Mammoth brethren were already posting their hacks at Pebble Beach, each of them trying to get closest to the pin at the iconic ocean hole.

But how close are they to the Stanley Cup?

That’s the real question — and one they are better equipped to answer than which club to pull on a par-3.

After a first-round exit in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Mammoth‘s young squad believes its next step is chasing a ring. And the window opens next season.

“Right now, there’s just no reason to think we can’t win the cup,” Weegar said.

But tweaks need to be made this offseason if the Mammoth want to close the gap on their Western Conference foes.

The process starts with hanging onto leads in a playoff setting.

In a 4-2 series loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Mammoth held the lead going into the third period several times and ended up giving the game away.

Utah built an advantage in five of six games but couldn’t win the series. It is something the coaching staff is looking into.

“We were 29-2-2 when we had the lead after two. Unfortunately, it did not stand in the playoffs,” head coach André Tourigny said. “It’s tougher in the playoffs. There are more lead changes in the third period in the playoffs. Why? The stakes are higher. The opponents are better. That’s why we need to be even more detailed.”

Another aspect of the Mammoth attack that didn’t hold up to playoff muster was the power play. The Mammoth went 1-for-16 scoring with an advantage. What’s worse, Utah gave up two goals on its own power play — including the game-winner in double overtime in Game 5.

In a series decided by two overtime games, the lack of a power play proved to be critical.

“There are the easy answers that we need to be more direct, more pucks to the net, which is all true,” Tourigny said. “But we need to be much better on our loose puck recovery, in the net front. We take that extremely seriously.”

Tourigny believed he fixed Utah’s power play. Down the stretch of the regular season, Utah’s offense was scoring at a good clip when it had the numbers. Against a physical Vegas team, that evaporated quickly.

“Since Feb. 1, we had the second-best power play in the league,” he said. “We had like three seasons. We had [times before] when it wasn’t the way we wanted. We had from Feb. 1 to the playoffs where it was elite. And then there is the playoff.”

Fortunately, Utah’s top brass believes the issues are fixable with players already in the building. This offseason, unlike years past, the front office might not be looking to make a big acquisition.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s somebody we can acquire,” general manager Bill Armstrong said. “We aren’t reinventing the board. The board is there. It is a good time for our franchise.”

Instead, their answer is allowing guys to mature into their roles. That includes players like JJ Peterka, who struggled at times after being acquired from Buffalo.

Armstrong thinks it is more difficult for skill players like Peterka to get acclimated to Utah’s system quickly. In Peterka’s second year in Salt Lake City, Armstrong believes the production will tick up.

“JJ, I don’t think it was exactly easy for him,” Armstrong said. “I thought he excelled at times. I think he’d be the first one to tell you he’s looking for a little bit more consistent performance during the year. He has the ability to score from anywhere.”

Weegar is another trade addition that Armstrong wants to age with time. He came in from Calgary at the trade deadline but dealt with injuries.

“It’s like moving into a new house. It takes a little bit of time to feel comfortable,” Armstrong said. “It wasn’t an easy transition. I liked what he did with how big and tough Vegas was.”

But if they don’t shape up, Utah has a bevy of young prospects who could take roster spots in training camp next year. Utah doesn’t need to go out and make a trade, the Mammoth have the farm system to pull players up.

“We have seven really good prospects that I believe were all first-rounders. They are pushing to get in [the roster]. We have to do some evaluation of them. Some more evaluation with our players,” Armstrong said. “It’s a harder team to make now. They have to come in and take somebody’s job.”

So after a little break at Pebble Beach, the Mammoth will be back to work.

This time with a Stanley Cup in mind.