Mammoth sign center Cooley to $80M extension

The Utah Mammoth have signed center Logan Cooley to an eight-year, $80 million contract extension, locking in one of their brightest young stars for the long term.

Cooley, 21, leads the Mammoth in goals (8) and is tied for second in points (12) in 11 games, helping to power the second-year team to first place in the Central Division (8-3-0). He is on a four-game point streak with six goals and three assists, including a goal in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers that snapped the Mammoth's seven-game winning streak.

He became the first player in NHL history to score each of his first eight goals of the season in the first period.

"Choosing to play with this group of teammates was the easiest part of this decision, and living in Utah has been amazing since day one," Cooley said in a statement. "The atmosphere at the Delta Center in front of our fans is unreal and Ryan and Ashley Smith have given our team every resource to succeed, which is all you can ask for as a player. We have an opportunity to do something special here thanks to the incredible people in the organization. This is an awesome day for me and my family, and I am proud to commit to the state of Utah and to the Mammoth."

Cooley is playing out the final year of his entry-level deal before the extension kicks in starting with the 2026-27 season, when he would have been a restricted free agent. His $10 million average annual value would be the highest among current Mammoth players next season.

He had 25 goals and 40 assists last season for the Utah Hockey Club. Overall, Cooley has 53 goals and 68 assists in 168 NHL games with Utah and Arizona, which drafted him third overall in 2022.

"Logan is elite in every sense of the word," Mammoth governor Ryan Smith said in a statement. "He's one of the most exciting young players in the league, and the fact that he's chosen to plant roots here in Utah says everything about what we're building. He is part of an incredible core of young players that will have a major impact on the future of this franchise. Logan choosing to put his roots down here and commit for the long-term is another important milestone in building a championship-caliber team."

Cooley is the second major signing for general manager Bill Armstrong within Utah's young core. Forward Dylan Guenther, 22, inked an eight-year deal with an average annual value of over $7.1 million in September 2024, locking him in through 2032-33. Forward JJ Peterka, 23, was signed through 2030 ($7.7 million AAV) after Armstrong acquired him from the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason.