The NHL's Next Mitch Marner Emerges, Turning Down Mammoth Contract Extension Out of ELC

Maple Leafs' rising star Matthew Knies inked a six-year extension with the Leafs at the end of June that ensured he and the Leafs could resolve their off-ice business before free agency to allow the team to focus on adding the right pieces in free agency.

Many believe Knies could have asked for a lot more money given the rising cap, but the 22-year-old was very humble when discussing his new deal on Monday's 'Spittin' Chiclets' episode, admitting he feels he was fairly compensated given his limited time in the league. His former University of Minnesota teammate, however, has taken a different approach.

According to Frank Seravalli, Logan Cooley, who played with Knies in the NCAA in 2022-23, turned down an 8-year extension from the Utah Mammoth that would have paid him $9.6M per season at the conclusion of his entry-level deal this year.

The third-overall pick in the 2022 entry draft has burst onto the NHL scene through his first two seasons with 44 and 65 points respectively while quickly becoming the Mammoth's first-line center and scoring highlight-reel goals.

As the salary cap is rising significantly over the next few seasons, with reports indicating it could be as high as $107M next year, teams are doing their best to lock up their young talent to lengthy contracts.

At the same time, certain players are signing short-term deals, or in Cooley's case, not signing anything just yet to ensure they capitalize on earning the most amount of money.

Utah fans may not be familiar with the concept, but Leafs Nation knows it all too well, and it's one of the root issues that caused them to turn on now former Leafs star Mitch Marner.

Coming out of his ELC, Marner threatened offer-sheets and heading over to Europe if the Leafs didn't pay him what he wanted. Ultimately, Marner got what he wanted in a six-year deal with an AAV of $10.9M per season, raking the team's feet over the coals.

There are a lot of parallels between Cooley and Marner, as the two are both former top-5 draft picks, and both want bigger deals than what was offered coming out of their ELC's.

While we can't firmly establish whether or not Cooley is attempting to rake the Mammoth's feet over the coals as Marner did in Toronto or simply wait to see where the 2026-27 salary cap lands, we can certainly establish that there are some similarities, and that may make fans in Utah uncomfortable.