Nick Schmaltz, Mammoth Agree to 8-Year Contract Extension, Full Details Revealed

The Utah Mammoth have locked in their first-line center for another eight seasons.

Nick Schmaltz has agreed to an eight-year, $64 million contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Schmaltz was previously set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. He is now set to remain in Salt Lake City through his age-37 season in 2033-34.

Schmaltz joined the Arizona Coyotes early in the 2018-19 season, then followed the franchise to Utah for its inaugural campaign in 2024-25.

He is on pace for a career-best season after posting 59 points (24 goals, 35 assists) in 65 games.

That could beat out the previous career high of 63 points (20 goals, 43 assists) that Schmaltz recorded in 82 games of the Mammoth's inaugural 2024-25 season.

Schmaltz, Ian Cole and Jack McBain are the only three players to have appeared in each of the Mammoth's 147 games since the franchise joined the NHL.

The Mammoth will take on a cap hit of $10 million in each of the first three seasons of Schmaltz's new contract, according to PuckPedia.

That annual hit drops to $8 million after the third year and $6 million after the fifth, per PuckPedia.

Schmaltz already held a complete no-move clause this season. He retained the same clause for the first two seasons of his new deal.

He has a complete no-trade clause for the next two years, followed by limited no-trade clauses for the remainder of the contract, per PuckPedia.

Schmaltz said in a statement he was thankful to Mammoth owners Ryan and Ashley Smith "for wanting me to be a part of the group that will one day bring a Stanley Cup to Utah."

The Mammoth are hoping they have that championship core already in place now that the franchise has nine players signed through at least the 2029-30 season.

Schmaltz joins forwards JJ Peterka, Dylan Guenther, Lawson Crouse, Jack McBain and Logan Cooley, defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and MacKenzie Weegar and goaltender Karel Vejmelka as players locked in to long-term deals in Utah.

Utah also has Clayton Keller signed through 2027-28, potentially allowing the franchise to keep its top six of Keller, Schmaltz, Guenther, McBain, Cooley and Crouse together for at least two more seasons.

Despite those commitments, the Mammoth are still projected to have $17.9 million in 2026-27 cap space, per PuckPedia.

What the Mammoth ultimately does with that space this offseason could depend on whether this iteration of the team can carry the NHL's newest franchise to its first postseason berth.

The Mammoth, a team that boasts one of the NHL's lightest strength of schedules down the stretch, are heading into Wednesday in the top Wild Card spot in the West.