The Los Angeles Kings are preparing for the loss of Anze Kopitar when he retires at the end of the year. They'll need a little more than Quinton Byfield in their top six at center, and Utah Mammoth's Nick Schmaltz could come into play in the summer.
The Los Angeles Kings will need some help up the middle once Anze Kopitar retires at the end of this campaign. Quinton Byfield doesn't seem to be ready to assume first-line center duties, so some reinforcements are likely required.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that in the coming off-season, Los Angeles could be in the mix for a center in free agency.
That player is the current Utah Mammoth center, Nick Schmaltz.
Schmaltz is in the final year of a seven-year contract that he signed in 2019 with the Arizona Coyotes. He carried a $5.85-million salary cap hit across those seven years and is set for a new deal at the end of this season.
He will be 30 years old when it's time to sign a new contract, and there will likely be plenty of interest in him.
With Mammoth's young star Logan Cooley out with an injury, Schmaltz has stepped in as the team's No. 1 center.
This season, Schmaltz has scored 18 goals and 46 points in 51 appearances. In a contract year, he is on pace to smash all of his career highs.
Additionally, the Mammoth are in a playoff spot. They own the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Utah's franchise has never made a playoff appearance in its short history, and the Coyotes didn't make the post-season for the final four years of its existence. This time around might be different, and Schmaltz is leading the way on the top line.
Nick Schmaltz (Rob Gray-Imagn Images)In what is now his NHL 11th season, Schmaltz is on track to score 29 goals, 45 assists and 74 points, a new personal best in all categories. The 29-year-old's best campaign was last season, when he recorded 20 goals and 63 points for Utah.
While he'll be entering a new decade of his life, going into his next contract, he'd be a help as a new body down the middle. That gives the Kings another option for a top-line center, and could light a fire under Byfield and push him further.
Though he could be a great fit for Los Angeles, Ken Holland won't be the only GM making calls on the Madison, Wis., native.
Per Pagnotta, the Toronto Maple Leafs will likely be calling on Schmaltz in the off-season, too. They lost superstar playmaker Mitch Marner last summer and haven't found an elite playmaker in the meantime.
Furthermore, there could be other teams that weren't mentioned in the mix, as everyone knows how desperate teams are for a center.
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