The Utah Mammoth said Wednesday they have matched New Jersey’s offer sheet to Barrett Hayton, signing the 26-year-old center to a $4.775 million contract for next season.
“Barrett is a key piece of our team and important to what we are building here in Utah,” general manager Bill Armstrong said. “He’s strong in the faceoff circle, plays both sides of the puck and can play with anyone in our forward group. We are grateful to be able to count on Barrett in our lineup next season.”
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.
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.
“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."
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.
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.
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 comment on any of it right now.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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