Nick Schmaltz was always going to get paid after the year he’s had. It was just a matter of who was willing to foot the bill.
Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith decided to backstop the deal on Wednesday, handing the Madison, Wisconsin, native and eight-year member of the Arizona/Utah franchise an eight-year, $64 million extension.
“There was never a doubt that Utah is where I want to play the rest of my career,” Schmaltz said. “We have a very bright future, and I am thankful to 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 2014 first-round draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks and 2016 NCAA champion with North Dakota spoke to the media after the signing announcement and said he knew Utah was special from the moment he first stepped off the airplane in April 2024.
“Seeing hundreds of kids lined up, excited to have an NHL team,” Schmaltz said. “Then going to the Delta Center that night with a sold-out crowd just to see us walk on the stage. It was eye-opening.”
From Phoenix to Salt Lake City
Clayton Keller was the early face of the team and continues to be its captain, but Schmaltz is the Robin to Keller’s Batman, forming a special synergy on the ice that players and coaches say is rare in the NHL.
The two forwards have played together for over seven years, and Schmaltz specifically named Keller and Lawson Crouse as his “Day 1” buddies from Arizona.
“We’ve got a special bond,” Schmaltz said. “I think me and Keller have a special chemistry that you can’t really find around the league. He’s definitely a guy that I want to play with for the rest of my career. He makes my job a lot easier and we read off each other super well.”
Schmaltz was in the last few months of a seven-year, $40.95 million contract he signed in March 2019 with the Coyotes, and seemed set for a major pay raise this summer after hitting a new career best with 24 goals so far this season.
The center/winger hybrid forward has two hat tricks this season — including the first in Delta Center history — for a Mammoth team looking to make its Stanley Cup playoff debut after earning just one in his eight prior NHL campaigns.
He ranks second on the team in goals, assists and points through 65 games for Utah, who currently sits with a 6-point advantage in the first Western Conference wild card spot.
“When you go through a rebuild, you understand the character of people,” general manager Bill Armstrong said of his years with Schmaltz. “You have people bail on you or not want to play hard. Nick bought into it and drove through it.”
Many sleepless nights
Armstrong said the deal had been done for a while before Wednesday’s announcement, but was preceded by many sleepless nights over Schmaltz’s impending free agency.
“The thought of losing Nick left me sleepless night after night after night, thinking about what he would get in free agency,” Armstrong said. “We didn’t want to lose him.”
NHL player salaries have skyrocketed in recent years, with the league’s top forwards all making north of $12 million per year, and Utah’s own Logan Cooley signing an eight-year, $80 million contract earlier this season.
Schmaltz joins Cooley as the second Mammoth player to sign an eight-year contract in the final year that NHL players can do so under the new collective bargaining agreement.
“We are thrilled that Nick chose Utah and wants to remain with the team for the next eight years,” Armstrong said. “Nick is a tremendous player and person who is very deserving of this contract. We expect him to continue producing on the ice and leading our young, skilled forwards for years to come. This is another great day for Mammoth fans and our organization.”
Armstrong highlighted Schmaltz’s versatility across multiple positions and calmness under pressure, saying, “He can play if you’re up a goal or down a goal in the last minute.”
Schmaltz is the seventh Mammoth player to sign a contract lasting four or more years to remain in Utah, and the eighth if you include recent trade acquisition MacKenzie Weegar waiving his no-trade clause to spend the rest of his five-year deal in Salt Lake City.
“Getting guys locked in long-term 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. I’m just super excited to be here and live up to the commitment that (the team) made to me.” https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-hockey-club/2026/03/11/utah-mammoth-sign-nick-schmaltz/
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