Vancouver Canucks Poised to Pounce After Contract Talks Go South With Utah Mammoth Star Centre

As the Vancouver Canucks look to keep their heads above water in the Western Conference playoff picture throughout the month of November, General Manager Patrik Allvin is likely to be more aggressive in his in his search for forward help, specifically a second line centerman, something the organization has coveted for the majority of 2025 after trading J.T. Miller.

From the start of the offseason until now - November 2nd, the Canucks have been linked to a number of different centers on the trade market, among them being Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt of the Boston Bruins, Steven Stamkos of the Nashville Predators, among others.

There will certainly be more options available to Patrik Allvin on the market once we hit American Thanksgiving later this month, which traditionally, upwards of 80 percent of teams in playoff spots end up making it to the postseason and we sometimes see trade talks pick up around then.

One name that you might hear pop up in the weeks ahead is Nick Schmaltz of the Utah Mammoth, who is under contract for the 2025-26 season with a cap hit of $5.85 million US.

While the Mammoth currently occupy the third playoff spot in the Central Division entering action on Sunday, contract talks between the pending unrestricted free agent Nick Schmaltz and his team haven't gone as well as they hoped.

Utah is likely to hold onto Nick Schmaltz as long as they can, perhaps even try again to get a contract done, but if the club finds themselves out of the playoff race ahead of March 6th, he will become a hot commodity on the trade market and someone that the Vancouver Canucks should absolutely be interested in.

The Madison, Wisconsin native is coming off four consecutive 20+ goal seasons and set a career-high in points with 63 during the team's first year in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Entering Sunday, Schmaltz leads the Mammoth in points with 17 (seven goals, ten assists), along with four penalty minutes and is a plus-seven through 11 games.

Acquiring Nick Schmaltz won't be cheap, but for the production he has brought in each of the last four seasons, the Vancouver Canucks would be wise to make an offer for him, if he becomes available.