Mammoth Sign Nick Schmaltz To Eight-Year Extension
The Mammoth announced that they’ve signed forward Nick Schmaltz to an eight-year extension worth $8MM per season, a total value of $64MM. Set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, he’s now staying in Utah through the 2033-34 campaign. There are no signing bonuses in the deal, per PuckPedia. He’ll be paid entirely in base salary, earning $10MM from 2026-27 through 2028-29, $8MM from 2029-30 through 2030-31, and $6MM from 2031-32 through 2033-34. The deal also comes with a no-movement clause for the first two years. Starting in 2028-29, it downgrades to a full no-trade clause, then again to a 16-team no-trade list in 2030-31 and an eight-team no-trade list in 2032-33.
Amid what could now be a historically thin UFA class this summer, Schmaltz was going to be the leading target if he made it there. One could make the argument that he was just one of two forwards, along with Alex Tuch, available who could comfortably slot into a first-line role, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin notwithstanding.
Still, it’s no surprise to see Schmaltz commit for what could be the rest of his career to the team he’s been with for nearly seven seasons and 500 games, dating back to when the Mammoth’s predecessor, the Coyotes, acquired him from the Blackhawks for Dylan Strome in 2019. He already committed long-term to the organization once, quickly moving to sign a seven-year deal after his acquisition that saw him get paid $5.85MM per season. He now re-ups on a contract that only carries an extremely modest increase in cap hit percentage at the start of the deal from 7.2% to 7.7%. While it’s a significant raise in actual cash, it’s not a huge bump in market value.
Schmaltz has never hit 70 points in a single season, but he’ll lock in his third consecutive 60-point campaign with his next point and will end up at 75 points by the end of the regular season if he keeps up his current pace. He’d previously topped the 0.90 points per game mark twice in back-to-back years with Arizona in 2021-22 and 2022-23, although injuries limited him to about 75% of the schedule each time.
The 30-year-old’s resurgence comes after a couple of relatively down seasons. He’s had no trouble staying healthy now, but did see his points per game average drop to 0.77 across Arizona’s last season in 2023-24 and Utah’s first in 2024-25. That also came with -16 and -15 ratings, the worst two figures of his career.
The under-the-hood numbers never dipped too much, though. Quietly, Schmaltz has been one of the better play-driving forwards in the league over the past several seasons. He hasn’t had a net negative Corsi impact at 5-on-5 in a full season as a Coyote/Clubber/Mammoth and has taken things to new heights this season, controlling 55.0% of shot attempts, 55.2% of expected goals, and 55.2% of scoring chances at 5-on-5 this year. A natural center, he’s spent most of his career on the wing but has shifted back to the pivot position this year amid Barrett Hayton‘s struggles and subsequent demotion down the depth chart. He’s now Utah’s top-line pivot between lefty Clayton Keller and a rotation of Lawson Crouse, Dylan Guenther, and JJ Peterka on his right flank.
Schmaltz’s value comes from his reliable output and playmaking skills. He’s not particularly flashy, doesn’t have a “star-level” gear to unlock at this stage, and only lays a hit about once every five games. But he’s been a consistent top-six producer ever since first stepping into Arizona’s lineup seven years ago, and his versatility down the middle and on the wing is attractive to a Utah club that has a bevy of forward prospects still coming up the ranks.
After registering his extension, Utah still has $17.9MM in projected cap space available for next season, but that’s with eight open roster spots (an average of $2.24MM per player). Luckily, they don’t have anyone to sign who will cost significantly more than that.
Image courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images.
Mammoth Making Progress In Extension Talks For Nick Schmaltz
With Logan Cooley set to begin a $10MM-per-season extension next season, some wondered if Utah would still be willing to give middleman Nick Schmaltz a pricey new deal as well. There was speculation over the offseason that extension talks were not going well and his future with the Mammoth looked murky.
However, it appears that there has been some positive progress on that front. Prior to the trade deadline, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that there has been positive movement in contract negotiations and that Schmaltz is unlikely to make it to unrestricted free agency this summer. Meanwhile, speaking with reporters yesterday following the trade deadline (video link), GM Bill Armstrong declared that he feels “comfortable and confident that Nick’s going to be a Mammoth.”
The 30-year-old is in his eighth season with the organization, dating back to its days in Arizona. Very quietly, he has been quite consistent in recent years, putting up five straight seasons of more than 20 goals and at least 58 points. He has already reached those marks in 2025-26, tallying a career-high 24 goals and 34 assists in 62 games; at this rate, he’ll set a new personal best in points within the next few weeks.
With that production, Schmaltz is the leading scorer league-wide among pending unrestricted free agents. Given that and the fact he plays a premium position, he’s in great shape to get a significant increase on his current $5.85MM AAV. That current contract was heavily backloaded and as a result, he’s making $8.5MM in actual salary this season.
That salary number should serve as a reasonable approximation of a starting point for his next deal. The next best scoring options down the middle are Evgeni Malkin, who seems likely to stay with Pittsburgh and Charlie Coyle, whose production in recent years has run hot and cold. With the type of consistency Schmaltz has been delivering, he would have no shortage of suitors if he actually made it to the open market.
Fortunately for Utah, they have more than ample flexibility to afford that type of contract, even with Cooley’s new deal and the recent acquisition of MacKenzie Weegar. Per PuckPedia, the Mammoth have a little under $25MM in payroll room for next season with seven or eight roster spots to fill. Schmaltz should take up nearly a third of that himself but that will still leave ample room to round out the roster and ensure that the top pending UFA center doesn’t actually test free agency.
Poll: Who Will Be The Next Pending UFA To Sign An Extension?
As expected, the upcoming unrestricted free agent class has been thinned out over the last couple of months. From Connor McDavid to Adrian Kempe, there are very few top-level pending UFAs left on the board. Still, there’s some belief that the list could get even shorter relatively soon.
Of the highest-scoring pending UFAs in the league right now, Evgeni Malkin, Nick Schmaltz, Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson, Alex Tuch, and Artemi Panarin lead the way. However, in the cases of Malkin, Ovechkin, and Carlson, they are all 35 years or older, and there’s no guarantee they’ll continue playing beyond the 2025-26 campaign. That leaves Schmaltz, Tuch, and Panarin as the three likeliest options to sign an in-season extension.
Much has been made of Schmaltz’s situation with the Utah Mammoth this season. Despite getting off to an excellent start with 10 goals and 22 points in 23 games, there is some indication that the relationship between Schmaltz and Utah has soured.
According to a report from late October by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Mammoth apparently attempted to trade Schmaltz to the Carolina Hurricanes during the past offseason when the first round of extension negotiations proved unfruitful. Schmaltz was involved with the trade talks at the time, as he provided Utah with a list of teams with which he would sign an extension. Since then, there have been no updates as to any further negotiations between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Tuch has gotten off to a similarly good start to his contract year with the Buffalo Sabres. A native of Syracuse, NY, Tuch’s love for the Buffalo area is well known, leading many to believe that he’ll sign an extension with the team this season. However, given that the Sabres are headed for a 15th consecutive year without reaching the playoffs, few people would blame Tuch if he were to depart for a more competitive situation.
Lastly, there have been a few updates between Panarin and the New York Rangers, though it doesn’t appear anything is close between the two sides. Reports from earlier in the year indicated that the Rangers would only extend Panarin if he were amenable to a much lower salary, which is something Panarin has not appeared enthusiastic about. The 34-year-old Russian has scored six goals and 20 points in 24 games.
Despite all three potentially leading the pack of prospective UFAs next summer, and additionally being quality trade assets, there’s plenty of time remaining in the regular season to get a deal done. Which of these three, if any, do you think will be the next to sign?
Who Will Be The Next Pending UFA To Sign An Extension?
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Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres 32% (178)
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Nick Schmaltz, Utah Mammoth 30% (165)
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All three will reach free agency 29% (162)
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Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers 9% (47)
Total votes: 552
Mobile users click here to vote.
Mammoth Explored Trading Nick Schmaltz Over The Offseason
Nick Schmaltz‘s monstrous start to the 2025-26 season almost didn’t happen. The Mammoth explored trading the pending unrestricted free agent over the offseason after their initial round of extension negotiations were unproductive, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
The most complete trade that was discussed was with the Hurricanes around the draft and the beginning of free agency, Pagnotta writes, but those talks broke off once Carolina landed Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency. Schmaltz was involved enough in the process that the Mammoth asked him for a list of teams he’d be willing to sign an extension with if a trade went through, per Pagnotta.
Evidently, the 29-year-old didn’t let that uncertainty about his future affect his game. With an increasingly slim free agent class, he’s putting himself in position to be a top-five name on the market when it opens in July. He’s currently on an eight-game point streak and has rattled off seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 11 games to start the year. That’s tops on the Mammoth and tied for third in the NHL overall in both raw points and points per game. He’s done so while posting the best possession numbers and highest time on ice of any Utah forward at 19:39 per game.
Even keeping a fraction of this play up makes his current $5.85MM cap hit one of the best bargains in the league. Of course, he’s in the final year of his current contract: a seven-year, $40.95MM extension signed with Arizona in 2019. His hot start, plus the Mammoth’s early position tied atop the Western Conference, makes the thought of exploring a trade now inconceivable. The effect it has on any future extension negotiations remains to be seen, though.
Utah’s hot start, combined with a premier prospect pool still waiting to churn out multiple high-end names, may convince Schmaltz that sticking around is one of his best bets to play a key role on a championship-contending club, and he could be coerced into taking something of a discount to stay. Conversely, his playing such a large part in it drives up his market value dramatically as part of an ever-thinning UFA class.
From the Mammoth’s perspective, it might make the most sense to keep him as an in-house rental for the playoffs and not budge too much in contract talks. He’s been a key part of their top-six forward group for the life of his deal, dating back to his Arizona days, but he’s in the latter half of his prime, and the value proposition isn’t ideal by matching what he’ll now likely receive on the open market. With a trio of anticipated top-nine forwards in Daniil But, Caleb Desnoyers, and Tij Iginla still yet to graduate from their prospect pool and multiple core pieces signed longer-term, their long-term contention outlook isn’t affected much by his potential departure, either.
Coyotes Recall Justin Kirkland On Emergency Basis
The Coyotes have made a move to add some more forward depth before their game on Monday against Pittsburgh, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Justin Kirkland from AHL Tucson on an emergency basis.
This is the fourth recall of the last month for the 27-year-old but his playing time over the first three was limited to just two appearances where he averaged just 7:14 per game. Kirkland has done well in limited action with the Roadrunners, however, collecting 16 points in 18 games; he’s nearly up to his AHL point total from last season already in 14 fewer appearances.
Arizona currently has just 12 forwards on its active roster and one of those – Nick Schmaltz – has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. Head coach Andre Tourigny told reporters today including Remy Mastey of The Hockey News that he doesn’t expect that Schmaltz will be available to play against the Penguins. The Coyotes have dressed seven blueliners since then but with Kirkland’s presence on the roster, they’ll now have the option to go with the typical twelve-forward alignment.
Injury Notes: Grubauer, Coyotes, Hedman
Seattle Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer has not played in the team’s last two games, and today head coach Dave Hakstol told the media, including team reporter Alison Lukan, that Grubauer’s status is considered week-to-week. The result of Hakstol’s announcement is that Grubauer’s availability for the Winter Classic in Seattle is now in question.
A former Vezina Trophy finalist, Grubauer has split starts this season with Joey Daccord. Grubauer’s form since signing a $5.9MM AAV contract with the Kraken has been poor, and this season has been no different. He has a .884 save percentage, a decline from the .895 mark he posted the year before. With Grubauer out, the Kraken will turn to a tandem of Daccord and Chris Driedger.
Some other injury notes from across the NHL:
- PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reported three injury updates from Arizona today: forward Nick Schmaltz is injured and will be a game-time decision for Friday’s game, defenseman Sean Durzi is unlikely to play that game due to injury, and injured forward Jack McBain, who has not played in over a month, is expected to return to the ice. The best news of this trio is undoubtedly the return of McBain. The 23-year-old physical center scored 12 goals and 26 points in his rookie season last year, registering 304 hits along the way, which ranked second among all forwards. He had scored a healthy seven points in 13 games before getting injured in November.
- Bally Sports Florida’s Gabby Shirley reports that 2018 Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman will not play in tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers due to an upper-body injury. It’s unclear if Hedman will miss more time beyond tonight’s game. The legendary 32-year-old defenseman has been one of the league’s best defensemen this season, scoring 27 points in 29 games. Without Hedman in their lineup, the struggling Lightning will face a tall task attempting to beat the Oilers, as Edmonton is riding an eight-game winning streak.
Injury Notes: Pageau, Fischer, Schmaltz
Kevin Kurtz of The Athletic is reporting that New York Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau could return to the Islanders lineup as early as tomorrow night. Pageau would be a welcome reinforcement to an Islanders squad that is currently occupying the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The 30-year-old Pageau has been out of the lineup since he suffered an upper body injury on February 11th in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. Pageau was later roughed up in practice a few days later and wasn’t put on IR until February 16th, although it was retroactive to February 11th.
The former Ottawa Senator has 29 points in 56 games in his fourth season with the Islanders and would be a welcome additional to a team that appears set to battle down to the wire for a birth in the postseason. Although he has spent most of the season on a line with Zach Parise and a carousel of other wingers, Pageau would give the Islanders a strong penalty killer and face-off man. Pageau has garnered Selke votes in each of the past five seasons and would add a strong defensive prowess to an already strong defensive team.
- Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports is reporting some updates on a couple of injured Arizona Coyotes players Nick Schmaltz and Christian Fischer. Morgan states that the Coyotes currently have no timeline on injured forward Schmaltz after he was a late scratch Sunday night against the Minnesota Wild. Schmaltz likely suffered the injury sometime on Saturday night in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. The 27-year-old had been heating up in recent weeks having notched 18 points in his past 15 games.
- Arizona next plays Tuesday night against the Calgary Flames and they could have Fischer back in the lineup as Coach André Tourigny said he could play and is day-to-day at this time. Fischer was also injured in Saturday’s game against the Avalanche with an apparently lower body injury. He too missed last night’s game against the Wild. Fischer has been having one of the better seasons of his young career with 24 points in 65 games. He looked to be gaining some traction having had three points in four games heading into Saturday night, it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep it going when he does return to the Arizona lineup.
Evening Notes: Kirkland, Schmaltz, Johnson
After recalling him back on December 28th on an emergency basis, it appears the Anaheim Ducks have sent forward Justin Kirkland back to the AHL, according to CapFriendly. This had been Kirkland’s second emergency recall in as many weeks, however it did afford him the opportunity to make his NHL debut.
Originally a draft pick of the Nashville Predators back in 2014, Kirkland has had a strong AHL career, breaking out with 48 points in 66 games last season with the Stockton Heat, then Calgary’s AHL affiliate. This season, Kirkland is again off to a hot start with 13 points in 19 games in the AHL. Since making his NHL debut, the 26-year-old has skated in five games with Anaheim, but hadn’t yet tallied a point.
- Injuries have been a challenge for Nick Schmaltz this year, who has missed 16 of his Arizona Coyotes’ 35 games coming into this evening. Fortunately for Schmaltz and the Coyotes, the forward was back in the lineup tonight after missing the team’s New Year’s Eve game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning. The forward has 16 points through those 19 games, continuing on from his breakout performance last season and though his absence isn’t a good thing, keeping it to just one game is surely a positive.
- Just before puck drop tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that former Lightning forward Tyler Johnson would not skate for them, missing the game with a non-COVID illness. Ultimately, defenseman Caleb Jones played in the game, assuming the role of a forward. Now in his second season with Chicago, Johnson continues to deal with injuries, but has been solid when healthy, recording eight points in 14 games.
West Notes: Schmaltz, Smith, Spence
The Arizona Coyotes announced that forward Nick Schmaltz had suffered an upper-body injury on Thursday versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Per the announcement, Schmaltz is considered day-to-day. The Coyotes recalled forward Laurent Dauphin from the AHL today, so it’s possible his recall was motivated by this injury development.
The injury leaves a hole on the Coyotes’ first line, where Schmaltz had been playing with Clayton Keller and Travis Boyd. The 26-year-old forward has 16 points in 19 games so far this year and scored 59 points in 63 games last year. Injuries have been a consistent nagging issue for Schmaltz so far in his career, and he hasn’t yet had a fully healthy season in his career. He’ll hope to quickly get past this injury and continue what looks like it could be a productive year.
Some other notes from the Western Conference:
- The Nashville Predators have announced that forward Cole Smith suffered an upper-body injury, and will be out on a day-to-day basis. Smith, 27, has been a consistent presence in the Predators’ lineup, having played in 34 games so far this year. He has eight assists and 32 penalty minutes in that time frame.
- The Los Angeles Kings have loaned defenseman Jordan Spence to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Spence, 21, has bounced up and down from the AHL quite a few times this season. He has an impressive 21 points in 22 AHL contests so far this year, and has gotten into three NHL games as well.
Jakob Chychrun, Nick Schmaltz Set To Return Next Week
The Arizona Coyotes are about to get some reinforcements after an already impressive stretch of play, at least compared to expectations. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Nick Schmaltz are set to return to the lineup next Monday when the Coyotes take on the Nashville Predators, according to general manager Bill Armstrong, who spoke with PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan.
As previously reported, though, it seems like Chychrun won’t play more than a handful of games as a Coyote this year. Trade speculation around him has been constant for around a year, and as of the last notable update almost a month ago, the Coyotes’ asking price for the young defender remains on the high side. He’s missed the first month of the season with an ankle injury that kept him out of the end of last season, as well as a separate wrist injury sustained late last month. The 24-year-old is coming off a down season but had 41 points in just 56 games during the 2020-21 campaign. The 16th overall pick in 2016 is a legitimate top-four defenseman regardless, and players like him don’t come around on the trade market often.
Schmaltz, who had a resurgent campaign last year with 59 points in 63 games, left the team’s season opener in the first period. He’s been out since with an upper-body injury.
In an anticipatory transaction, the Coyotes today also sent down forward Laurent Dauphin to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. The minor-league veteran played just one game with the Coyotes this year, but has eight points in eight games with Tucson.