McCartney was placed on waivers by the Mammoth on Sunday.
McCartney had an outside shot to make Utah's Opening Night roster over one of the team's depth centers, but the team opted to keep Barrett Hayton and Kevin Stenlund to play in the bottom six. The 25-year-old McCartney was called up by the Mammoth during the 2026 Olympic break, but was sent back to AHL Tucson before the regular season resumed. With the Roadrunners, the team's alternate captain had a career year, where he posted 21 goals and 51 points across 59 regular-season outings. He's set to open the upcoming campaign playing a large role for AHL Tucson, where he'll have the opportunity to mentor the team's recent first-round picks, Tij Iginla and Caleb Desnoyers.