Mammoth, Schmaltz holding off contract talks — The Fourth Period
The Utah Mammoth are in the thick of the playoff picture, currently owning the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference with a 26-20-4 record, and GM Bill Armstrong is continuously scouring the market for ways to further improve his club’s chances.
In an interview with Irfaan Gaffar and David Pagnotta on the DFO Rundown Insider Edition on Wednesday, Armstrong touched on a number of topics surrounding his team, including a desire to add to his roster.
One item he was asked about was the future of forward Nick Schmaltz, who is in the final year of a seven-year, $40.95 million contract and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
There was speculation in the off-season that the Mammoth explored trading Schmaltz, but ultimately decided to hold on to him, which turned out to be a solid move as the 29-year-old is second on the Mammoth in points with 46 (18 goals, 28 assists), to date.
Armstrong confirmed that contract negotiations have been put on hold as the team battles for playoff positioning.
“Well, first of all, Nick and his agent Kurt Overhardt have handled it unbelievable. Nick’s a pro’s pro. He comes to the rink every day trying to get better,” Armstrong said. “I just said, ‘hey, listen, let’s worry about getting the team into the playoffs, and we’ll deal with the other stuff when it comes time.’ And he’s been great about that; he’s really been focused on trying to get this team into the playoffs.
“And he’s had to go from wing to centre and he’s done an amazing job as (Logan) Cooley’s been hurt. But you know, one thing we try and do is quiet the noise a little bit, focusing in on what we have right now and go at it. And Nick’s been really, really good at that. So, we haven’t really got into that as much.”
The Mammoth have around $13 million in current salary cap space and that gives Armstrong the ability to add a significant piece to his roster before the March 6 trade deadline. But one thing the Mammoth won’t do it mortgage too much of their future for immediate gains.
“We want to add,” Armstrong stated. “Every morning, we wake up, we think about how to improve our team. But as long as it doesn’t crush us in the future, then that’s fine. If you look at a lot of our deals that we’ve done to improve our team, the Sergachevs, the Peterkas and the Schmidts, they’re all summertime moves.”
Watch the full interview with Armstrong below.
