Utah Mammoth center, Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley out at least 8 weeks with lower-body injury
Utah Mammoth center and Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks with what the team is calling a lower-body injury. General manager Bill Armstrong announced Cooley's timeline on Thursday.
Cooley, 21, was injured Dec. 5 in Vancouver when he slid into the net, with his left leg crashing into the right post. Being out eight weeks would take him to the Olympic break in early February and could put him in line to return when the season resumes later in the month.
Still the Mammoth's leading goal scorer with 14, Cooley was one of the biggest reasons they got off to a strong start to the season and were in a playoff spot the night he got hurt. Utah has lost all three games since Cooley was sidelined.
The long-term injury also all but certainly ends Cooley's already long-shot chances of being picked for the U.S. roster to take part in the Games in Milan.
Cooley, who grew up in West Mifflin, was taken with the third pick in the 2022 draft, when the club was the Arizona Coyotes before moving to Salt Lake City.
To date, Cooley has become the highest-drafted player from the Pittsburgh area.
Forward R.J. Umberger, originally from Plum, was taken by the Vancouver Canucks with the 16th overall selection in the 2001 NHL Draft. Ten years after Umberger was drafted, forward J.T. Miller, a native of East Palestine, Ohio, who grew up in Coraopolis, was taken by the New York Rangers with the 15th overall pick of the 2011 draft.
Before his professional career began, Cooley learned how to play the game through the inaugural season of Sidney Crosby's Little Penguins Learn to Play Program.
In late October 2025, Cooley signed an eight-year extension worth $80 million. He has 23 points in 29 games this season.