Utah Mammoth forward Michael Carcone.

Photo credit: KSL Sports.

A former Vancouver Canucks prospect has landed a new contract in the National Hockey League for the 2025-26 season, ending any chance of him returning to the British Columbia club.

The free agent market has officially been open for two weeks now and as is the case every year, action has slowed down considerably because there aren’t many quality NHL players remaining unsigned.

The Vancouver Canucks have been one of the more busier teams around the NHL in recent weeks as they look to improve their roster for a playoff push next year and have been have been linked to a number of players this summer.

One of those players they’ve been linked to, who has ties to the Vancouver Canucks organization, is now off the open market after signing a new NHL contract on Tuesday.

Former Vancouver Canucks prospect signs new NHL contract

According to Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman, Michael Carcone will be sticking around in Salt Lake City, signing a one-year contract to remain a member of the Utah Mammoth.

Carcone’s salary for the 2025-26 season isn’t known at the moment, but it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see it come in around the $975,000 to $1.25 million US range.

“Michael Carcone back to the Utahns…one year” Friedman said on X.

The re-signing of Michael Carcone is a bit of surprising news, with Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports saying in a post on X that 29-year-old winger wasn’t too happy with his ice time and how he was utilized with Utah last season.

“Carcone was very vocal about how he didn’t feel like he got the playing time he deserved in Utah.

I guess he didn’t like what he was offered in free agency.” Houston said.

The Ajax, Ontario native had a solid year in 2023-24 with the Arizona Coyotes, putting up 21 goals in 74 games, which was good for fifth on the team, but things didn’t go as expected when he accompanied them to Utah last fall.

While Carcone saw a ten second bump in ice time this past season, it still wasn’t what he was hoping for after a 21-goal campaign the year prior, which led to him considering his options on the UFA market over the last couple of weeks, before ultimately deciding to stay in Utah.

Carcone joined the Vancouver Canucks organization as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2016, but never made an appearance for them at the NHL level and spent parts of three seasons with their AHL affiliate at the time in Utica before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in December 2018.

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Ex-Vancouver Canucks Top Prospect Gets One More Chance and Lands New NHL Contract for the 2025-26 Season

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