When will Logan Cooley get a deal done with Utah?
The Utah Mammoth is a team on the rise. With a lot of young talent complemented by some solid veterans, the team has the potential to make noise this season.
However, the future for one of the Mammoth’s key offensive weapons is a little cloudy in terms of getting a new deal done.
Forward Logan Cooley has quickly become one of the best players on the Utah roster, let alone one of the top players under the age of 23. Dating back to his early days with the Arizona Coyotes, the former University of Minnesota star has been a crucial part in the team’s success. However, he’s in the final season of his entry-level contract, with no extension in place through next season.
That said, it’s been reported that there’s no rush for Cooley to sign a new deal, possibly hoping that a great performance this season can get him a nice paycheck next year.
On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Utah broadcaster Nick Olczyk joined Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton to explain how negotiations have been going between Cooley and the Mammoth, and the player’s importance to the team.
Nick Olczyk: I think you guys know this as well as anybody, while that’s way, way, way above my pay grade, I think we’re all hoping it gets done sooner than later. I think for Logan Cooley, he is the type of guy that is going to be worth every penny, no matter what the number and the deal comes out to. … Aside from just the fact that he scored a hat trick last night in St. Louis, he has been trusted to play even more this season. He will be the guy moving forward that’s going to be trusted to take the big matchups.
There was a time last year where he was trusted to have that matchup against the best player in the world, Connor McDavid. Connor was throwing move after move, shake and bait, turn one way, stop, go the other way in the defensive zone, and Logan flat-out stayed with him the whole way. So, it’s the skating element of him. You just watch this kid play. He’s going to blow you away when he’s got the puck on his stick. But when he doesn’t and he’s in a defensive mindset, the skating shows even more because he’s able to keep up with anybody, especially in the defensive zone, going corner to corner to the net front and having the cardiovascular ability to go the other way and transition too.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…