Forward Nick Schmaltz and the Utah Mammoth have come to terms on a new 8 year, $64M contract extension the club announced on Wednesday.
Schmaltz, who was in the final season of a 7 year, $40.95M contract signed with Arizona back in 2019, now avoids free agency in what’s likely to be his most productive season as a pro. Through 65 games the former 1st round pick has amassed 59 points (24G, 35A) which is 4 points off his career best which he set last season.
His 24 tallies are already a career best, and his +21 rating is 26th best across the entire NHL. As a result, Schmaltz gets the longterm stability he was hoping with a team and a city he’s grown to love.
“I feel like I’m a pretty loyal guy,” Schmaltz said Wednesday. “I committed to Arizona for seven years and obviously there was some tough times there, but I liked the group we had, I saw light at the end of the tunnel and I knew at some point it had to turn around and I wanted to see it through, be a part of the rebuild, kind of build it from the ground up. You can see the steps we’ve taken, it’s been fun to see. The new guys we’re bringing in, the young talent, I’m super happy that I did that. I think it means a lot to grind through those years because then it makes the good times that much better. I’m looking forward to getting better every year and hopefully get to that end goal of winning one day.”
Currently sitting at 34-25-5, Utah is poised to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2011-12 when they were still located in Arizona. While the team technically made the postseason in 2020, that year’s schedule was affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. With 73 points, the team has a 6 game cushion on Seattle for the 1st wildcard spot with 17 games remaining.
“The thought of losing Nick left me sleepless night after night after night and thinking about what he was going to get in free agency,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. “Finally, we reached out to his agent and we were able to have conversations. In those conversations we were mutually agreeing that we both liked each other and that this was a good fit and this could be a good fit for a long time. That was an important part of our talks.”
“He’s such a valuable, key piece of our organization,” Armstrong continued. “He has a unique ability. He can play if you’re up a goal or down by a goal in the last minute. He can play left wing. He can play center. He can play right wing. He can play on the power play. He can play on the PK. He is a huge minute muncher on our team and has maximum importance. I lost a lot of nights sleeping thinking that we weren’t going to get him back. It’s such an integral part of our organization to sign this young man today and make him a part for a long time.”
Utah now has a core group of players under longterm contract, giving the team some stability to build around. In addition to Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, Karel Vejmelka, JJ Peterka, Jack McBain, Mikhail Sergachev, and MacKenzie Weegar all have at least 5 seasons remaining on their deals.
Meanwhile, Clayton Keller, and Sean Durzi, who each play significant roles with the team, also have two more seasons under team control.
“It just shows the commitment to winning here,” Schmaltz said. “I think we’re right on the edge of being a really great team. We’ve got all the pieces in place, and I know we’re only going to get better.”
Up next for Utah is a 9pm ET showdown with the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Photo: The Kip. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.