logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
NHL Notebook: Mammoth sign Nick Schmaltz to an eight-year deal
alt
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Mar 11, 2026, 18:30 EDTUpdated: Mar 11, 2026, 18:23 EDT
Comments
One potential free agent is now off the market.
On Tuesday evening, the Utah Mammoth announced that they have re-signed Nick Schmaltz to an eight-year deal worth $8 million annually. This contract will keep the right-shot centre a Mammoth until his aged-38 season, meaning that barring a trade, Schmaltz will have spent the majority of his career with the organization.
However, the Madison, Wisconsin native was drafted 20th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014. After two seasons at the University of North Dakota, he played parts of three seasons with the Blackhawks until he was traded to the Arizona Coyotes for Bredan Perlini and Dylan Strome.
That trade didn’t work out for the Blackhawks, but it sure worked out for the Coyotes. In his first full season with the team, he scored 11 goals and 45 points in 70 games, then 10 goals and 32 points in 52 games during the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 season. After that, Schmaltz became a consistent 20-goal scorer with around 60 points.
Now in his age-30 season, the right-shot centre has already scored a career-high 24 goals, with 59 points. If he remains healthy for the remainder of the season and continues his goal-per-game and point-per-game pace, the 30-year-old will finish the season with 30 goals and 74 points in 82 games, shattering his career-best numbers.

Gabriel Landeskog out week-to-week

Sticking with Central Division teams, the Colorado Avalanche announced on Sunday that captain Gabriel Landeskog will be out week-to-week with a lower body injury.
Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like this injury is related to the knee problems he had for three seasons after winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. While the Avalanche didn’t specify the injury, Landeskog was on the receiving end of a Cale Makar shot.
It is a little concerning that he’s injured again, as Landeskog missed some time heading into the 2026 Olympics. That said, it’s good to see Landeskog back on the ice after missing so much time, as he’s played 47 games this season with nine goals and 29 points.
While he’s their captain, the Avalanche have plenty of depth to cover for the 33-year-old’s departure from the lineup, especially since they just traded for Nazem Kadri.

Brandon Hagel fined in rowdy game against the Sabres

One of the best games of the season occurred this past Sunday in Buffalo.
The Buffalo Sabres, now competitive for the first time in a decade and a half, hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. In the first period, the Sabres took a 1-0 lead, as the teams dropped the mitts three times as they combined for 70 penalty minutes.
Just two seconds into the second period, Michael Kesselring and Erik Cernak dropped the gloves, followed by Corey Perry and Beck Malenstyn fighting just four seconds later. There were only eight more penalty minutes in the second period, but the Sabres stormed out to a 3-0 lead, then a 4-1 lead, before the Lightning tied it before the end of the period.
In the third period, the game turned from a slobberknocker to a back and forth affair. Just a minute in, the Lightning took their first lead, then got an insurance goal. Just like Bel-Air Direct, that insurance goal didn’t matter at all, as the Sabres cut the lead to one, before Brandon Hagel, who had received two minors (and a fine) for roughing Rasmus Dahlin, scored to make it 7-5 midway through the third.
They coasted to an easy win, right? Wrong. Dahlin scored 11 minutes into the third, then Jason Zucker tied the game at seven with five and a half minutes left. The lone penalty, other than one with no time left, ended up being the deciding factor, as Josh Doan scored his 20th of the season with a little over four minutes left in the game.
It’s the first time since the 1993-94 that two teams have combined for 15 goals and 27 penalties. The good news is that the two teams will meet up again on Apr. 6 in Buffalo. That could have seeding implications as well, as the Lightning trail the Sabres by four points. Signing me up for a playoff series between the two teams.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
Sponsored by bet365:

Editorials

Breaking News