Latest On Logan Cooley
Last night, Ryan Novozinsky of njdotcom asked Devils Head Coach Sheldon Keefe for an update on defenseman Brett Pesce. As shared by Novozinsky, while the key defenseman is progressing, he is still not close to a return, and remains considered week-to-week.
The blueliner has now been absent for over a month after blocking a shot against the Avalanche and leaving mid-game. The initial thought was at least one month, so the update is not great, but it appears the veteran is on the right track for a return by January. While Pesce never jumps out on the stat sheet, anyone remotely familiar with his game knows his importance as a top shutdown defender. Prior to going down, he and Luke Hughes were a formidable pair, complementing each other’s games perfectly.
Impressively, New Jersey has battled through the adversity of losing Pesce, along with Jack Hughes and others, remaining atop the Metropolitan, especially thanks to a 9-1-1 home record. 21-year-old Simon Nemec has stepped up of late, being trusted with high minutes from Keefe, and starting to break through from his second-overall selection billing. However, Pesce’s absence is a major hole, and if the Devils are to hold off the Hurricanes along with the many other formidable teams in the division, they will need their steady leader back, placing their elite young defenders Hughes and Nemec back into more favorable roles.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Blue Jackets Head Coach Dean Evason told Jeff Svoboda, Columbus’ team reporter, that Boone Jenner is “close” to returning, but likely not tomorrow against the Devils. The captain practiced today but is being phased back gradually. Jenner landed on IR two weeks ago with an upper-body-injury, and it was thought to be longer term, so a return by early December is favorable. The 32-year-old career long Jacket has 10 points in 16 games, and while a Monday return seems out of the cards, Jenner could return on Thursday as Columbus hosts Detroit.
- Insider Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff confirmed that Utah forward Logan Cooley appears to have “dodged a bullet”, with an initial finding of a quad contusion. Although further testing will be done, it seems to confirm last night’s sentiment that a serious injury was avoided. Cooley’s knee-on-knee collision with Alexei Toropchenko immediately caught the concern of the league, as he had to be helped off the ice, earning Toropchenko a match penalty. In an update from Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Toropchenko will not face supplemental discipline for the hit. Thankfully it appears the dynamic young star Cooley, with 23 points in 26 games, will not be sidelined for long.
Logan Cooley Helped Off Ice With Injury
The Utah Mammoth were shut out yesterday by the St. Louis Blues, an unfortunate outcome for Utah that was made even more unfortunate due to an apparent injury suffered by star center Logan Cooley. The 2022 No. 3 pick had to be helped off the ice yesterday after a collision with Blues forward Alexei Toropchenko. Toropchenko did not receive a penalty on the play initially, but was assessed a match penalty after the game’s officials convened.
While we are currently awaiting an official update on Cooley’s status, FanDuel Sports Network’s Andy Strickland reported that Cooley “avoided serious injury” and that his apparent injury yesterday was more “very painful” muscle cramping than any kind of serious structural damage. Assuming Strickland’s report is accurate, that would be a massive, positive development for the Mammoth. Cooley is among their most important offensive players with 23 points in 26 games. He recently signed an eight-year, $10MM AAV contract extension to remain in Utah.
Mammoth Recall Kevin Rooney, Place Olli Maatta On IR
Kevin Rooney’s latest stint in the minors was short-lived. After being sent back down over the weekend, the Mammoth announced today (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the forward from AHL Tucson. In a corresponding move, defenseman Olli Maatta was placed on injured reserve.
Rooney signed a one-year, two-way deal with Utah at the end of the preseason and quickly cleared waivers, allowing him to start the season with the Roadrunners. In eight games with them, he has fared rather well offensively, collecting five goals and an assist. That performance has now earned him a third recall in less than five weeks although he’s still looking to make his official Mammoth debut.
The 32-year-old played in a career-high 70 games last season with Calgary where he had five goals and five assists. Over his career, he has 32 goals and 28 helpers in 330 NHL appearances. Rooney may have to wait a little while yet to add to that count as he projects to be their 14th forward for the time being.
As for Maatta, he missed last night’s game against Montreal due to an undisclosed injury which has now been revealed as an upper-body issue, one that will now keep him out for the next week. The 31-year-old is in his first full season with Utah and while he fared well last season after being acquired from Detroit in an early swap, things haven’t gone as well this season. Through 16 outings, Maatta has just one assist while his ice time is down below 12 minutes a night, well below his career ATOI of 18:18.
With the moves, Utah’s roster remains at the maximum of 23.
Mammoth Looking To Be Buyers
- While the trade market is still in the process of getting established this early in the season, several teams know they will be looking to buy when the opportunity arises. One team that hasn’t done a lot of that in-season lately is the Mammoth but it appears that will be changing. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes in his latest 32 Thoughts column that Utah is definitely looking to add to its current group. While they’ve scuffled a bit as of late in the win-loss column, they enter play tonight in a Wild Card spot and with them projecting to finish the year more than $5MM under the salary cap per PuckPedia, they have ample flexibility on that front to make a move along with one of the better prospect pools in the league.
Mammoth To Activate Sean Durzi Off IR
The Utah Mammoth will see the return of defenseman Sean Durzi in Wednesday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, head coach Andre Tourigny told Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. Durzi sustained an upper-body injury in the second game of Utah’s season. He has sat out of 21 games since. The Mammoth will need to activate him off of injured reserve before Wednesday’s game, but already have a roster spot availabel for his return.
This is the second year that Durzi has started the year with a long-term absence due to an upper-body injury. He sustained a shoulder injury in October of last season that required him to undergo surgery. The injury held Durzi out of the lineup until February, and limited him to only 30 appearances on the year. He was a core part of the Mammoth lineup when he was healthy, netting 11 points and a plus-four while averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time every night. He also recorded 52 blocked shots, which ranked fifth on the blue-line and seventh on the team despite Durzi missing more than 50 games.
He seemed to be stepping right back into that role this season. Durzi played nearly 21 minutes in Utah’s season-opener, and recorded two blocks, one hit, and no scoring. He ramped up in their second game, recording one point, two blocks, and two hits in 17 minutes of ice time before getting injured.
Durzi has only been able to show Utah fans a glimpse of his impact through two seasons with the Mammoth. He had a standout year in his first year with the organization – the 2023-24 season, prior to the Arizona Coyotes’ move to Utah. Durzi scored a career-high 41 points in 76 games that year, while also posting career-highs with 63 penalty minutes and 160 blocked shots. He racked up 65 points, 105 penalty minutes, and 263 blocks in 136 games with the Los Angeles Kings prior to his move to Arizona.
Durzi is an established, top-four defender when he’s at full health. He’ll now get a chance to bring that impact to a Utah lineup in need. The Mammoth have won their last two games, but only have four wins through their last 13 games. They have allowed the 10th-most goals in the NHL (44) in that span, and the eighth-most on a per-game average (3.38).
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?
Mobile users click here to vote.
Mammoth Assign Kevin Rooney To AHL
The Utah Mammoth announced today that forward Kevin Rooney has been assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Rooney has been bouncing between Utah and their affiliate throughout November, being last recalled to the big club last week, only to now be headed back down.
Signed by Utah in October on a one-year, two-way deal, after a PTO stint in camp with New Jersey where he had hoped to return to his original club albeit unsuccessfully, the veteran center figures to be surefire organizational depth to slot in if needed. Despite considerable time spent with Utah so far this season, Rooney has yet to play in a game. In six AHL appearances he had netted three goals out of the gate.
Originally undrafted out of Providence, Rooney made stops with the Devils, Rangers and Flames, establishing himself as a legitimate NHLer with relentless penalty killing efforts but never posting more than 14 points in a season. Despite setting a career high 70 appearances with Calgary in 2024-25, now 32, it appears Rooney’s NHL opportunities are sparse.
With 330 NHL games under his belt however, Rooney figures to be strong leadership for Tucson alongside longtime AHL star Andrew Agozzino and fellow veteran Kevin Connauton. Still, Utah seems to have Rooney on speed dial, and at some point the center could earn his way into the Mammoth lineup in 2025-26, extending an admirable underdog career in the NHL.
Sean Durzi Upgraded To Day-to-Day
- The Utah Mammoth are set to get one of their better defensemen back from injury. Cole Bagley of KSL Sports relayed word from head coach Andre Tourigny that injured blueliner Sean Durzi is now considered out on a day-to-day timeline and is nearing a return to the ice. Durzi returned to practice in a regular jersey today, having missed all of the Mammoth’s games since their Oct. 11 contest against the Nashville Predators. Injuries also limited Durzi significantly in 2024-25, as he got into just 30 games. The year before that, he was highly effective, scoring a career-high 41 points in 76 games.
Mammoth Recall Kevin Rooney
11/16: The Mammoth have reversed this move, recalling Rooney ahead of Monday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. Rooney played in two games with Tucson this weekend, recording no scoring, one penalty, and three shots on goal. Durzi skated in Sunday morning’s practice wearing a no-contact jersey.
11/14: The Mammoth have reassigned center Kevin Rooney to AHL Tucson, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports. It’s unclear what, if anything, they plan to do with the open roster spot in the coming days. Defenseman Sean Durzi is somewhat close to coming off injured reserve, but won’t do so until next week at the earliest, head coach André Tourigny said.
Utah signed Rooney to a two-way deal at the beginning of the regular season. The seven-year vet went unsigned throughout the summer until landing a professional tryout with the Devils, who first brought him into the league as an undrafted free agent signing out of Providence College in 2016. Rooney managed a goal and an assist in three preseason games for New Jersey but was ultimately released from his PTO, passed over for a fourth-line job by fellow tryout invite Luke Glendening.
Rooney quickly landed on his feet with the Mammoth and was technically on their opening night roster, although he was waived the following day. Upon clearing, he was sent to Tucson, where he spent the first two weeks of the campaign. The 32-year-old came roaring out of the gate with three goals and an assist in four AHL games before being called up to the Mammoth on Oct. 23, swapping him out for fellow journeyman veteran Andrew Agozzino.
Rooney was around as the second healthy extra forward behind enforcer Liam O’Brien. Utah’s health up front over the past few weeks meant Rooney never actually got into a game during his 22-day call-up, serving as a healthy scratch in 10 straight games. Utah had eight days left until Rooney would have required waivers to head back to Tucson, so with him not playing a meaningful role, they’ll get out ahead of the deadline and give their minor-league affiliate a significant reinforcement.
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.