The Utah Mammoth matched New Jersey’s offer sheet to Barrett Hayton on Wednesday, signing the 26-year-old center to a $4.775 million contract for next season.
“Barrett’s a key piece for us,” general manager Bill Armstrong said on a video call with reporters. “He really anchors our team in a lot of different ways. ... He’s a valuable piece of our team and somebody that we believe we can move forward with and help us win a championship.”
Utah would have received the Devils’ 2027 second-round pick as compensation if it did not match. It cost New Jersey nothing to take the risk on the restricted free agent, as Philadelphia did with its $90 million offer sheet to Anaheim's Leo Carlsson on Friday.
While Carlsson is set to become the NHL's highest-paid player on a five-year contract, this was a calculated move for the short term. The Mammoth can sign Hayton to an extension beginning Jan. 1 but cannot trade him before July 1, when he could hit the unrestricted free agent market at age 27.
Because of that, Armstrong said this was not a quick decision.
“We went down every rabbit hole we could,” Armstrong said. “We made sure we explored every single avenue. And what we got is a player that’s going to jump in a role for us and really help this club get to the next level.”
Hayton is coming off putting up 25 points in 67 regular-season games. The fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft when the team was in Arizona, he has 155 points in 362 games in the NHL, counting the playoffs.
“I’m fired up to get back with my teammates and remain in Utah,” Hayton said. “I’ve been with this core group for my whole career and it’s exciting that we have an opportunity to do some special things next season.”
Offer sheets have been few and far between in recent years, although St. Louis successfully poached forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg from Edmonton in the summer of 2024 when the Oilers were hamstrung by the salary cap to match and keep two young players.
“It’s the new world of the NHL, and I think offer sheets are going to become very common,” Armstrong said. “I think you’re going to see them every single summer. I think every GM is going to be aware of them as they negotiate during the course of the year.”
Fifteen restricted free agents this year have filed for arbitration, most prominently Dallas' Jason Robertson, making them ineligible to sign an offer sheet.
Sunny Mehta, a first-time GM since taking over control of the Devils' hockey operations department in April, was tight-lipped about offer-sheeting Hayton when asked about it last week.
“I know that the offer sheet thing, it’s a unique thing,” Mehta said on a video call with reporters. “It’s exciting. I get all that, but right now with it still being within that seven-day window, I can't comment on any of it right now.”
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
