Breaking The Mammoth With Barrett Hayton’s Offer Sheet – Hockey Writers –

It took nearly a week for the Utah Mammoth to match the New Jersey Devils’ offer sheet to Barrett Hayton, but with hours left before the deadline, it was announced that they will keep the forward for at least one more season.

The first offer sheet attempt in franchise history is now upon us. However, Hayton’s return may not only have major consequences for his future with Mammoth but also for other players.

Hayton Gets the Best Possible Result

Matching the Devils’ offer sheet, Mammoth signed Hayton to a one-year deal at an average annual value of $4.775 (AAV). By matching the contract, Mammoth will be able to sign the forward to an extension until January 1. However, they are not eligible to trade Hayton next year.

There have been indications that Mammoth will be in line for a deal with the Devils. The biggest was when general manager Bill Armstrong was available in free agency. When asked about it, he told reporters that he will do what is best for the team. Armstrong talked about Hayton a lot while answering some questions as if he expected the striker to return next season.

It’s been a rocky few months between Hayton and Mammoth. The striker was injured all last season, playing only 67 games. His offense declined, producing about half the points he did in the 2024-25 season. Hayton appeared in just one game before the Mammoth’s season ended.

From there, Mammoth chose to partner with Hayton to determine his new contract. However, because the team opted to go to arbitration, the pitcher was eligible for an offer sheet, which is exactly what happened on the opening day of free agency.

With his new contract, Hayton will be making almost double the amount he made in his last contract. The contract will also move him to an unrestricted free agent next summer. It’s dangerous to walk the Mammoth, but for the player, it’s a great situation.

Hayton gets to reunite with the only group he’s ever known and get a chance at redemption. The forward really came into his own and played his best hockey under head coach André Tourigny. In an improved Mammoth team with new players like Anders Lee and Vincent Trocheck, you will have every chance to be in the top 9 of the team. With a healthy season, Hayton could return to a production average of 46 points and get an even bigger pay raise in his next contract.

If the Mammoths don’t ultimately offer Hayton another contract coming up next summer, he won’t be bound by becoming a restricted free agent. He’ll be able to sign anywhere he wants, including a team that gives him more of a role, perhaps where he’ll be the lead center again.

However, it seems that Hayton wanted to return to Mammoth even though he signed the contract with the Devils. As mentioned, this is the only team he has known in his NHL career. He is very close to many of his colleagues. This may be his last chance to prove he can be a big part of Mammoth’s future, but it’s an opportunity he’s excited about.

“I’m determined to get back together with my teammates while I’m still in Utah,” said Hayton. “I’ve had this core team my entire career, and it’s exciting that we have the opportunity to do something special next season in front of the best fans in the NHL.”

Mammoth Get Hayton Back But With A Dangerous Future Ahead

Mammoth didn’t have to match the Devils sheet on offer. After bringing back Kevin Stenlund and trading for Trocheck, the team had plenty of depth at center with Logan Cooley, Nick Schmaltz, and Jack McBain. While Hayton’s return wouldn’t hurt, it certainly brings a lot of questions.

You can never have too many centers, but at the end of the day, only four players can be designated as line centers. Will Hayton be one of those four players? Currently, it is estimated that Schmaltz, Cooley, Trocheck, and Stenlund will be the four centers, Hayton on the third line with Michael Carcone and Trocheck.

The big deal is that Hayton will take another NHL roster spot. Before free agency opened, it looked like the Mammoths might be making room for Tij Iginla to potentially be in the NHL next season. However, with the return of Stenlund, Hayton, and Kailer Yamamoto and the acquisitions of Lee and Trocheck, it creates a situation where it is difficult to imagine Iginla jumping to the NHL next season.

Although players like Liam O’Brien should be in the American Hockey League before Iginla, there is almost no way the Mammoth will send the veteran to the Tucson Roadrunners. If they can’t make room for Iginla in the top six, he’s probably better off in the AHL than in the bottom six in the NHL or as a healthy player. It will allow him to play with players like Caleb Desnoyers while playing high minutes in a highly competitive league.

Aside from the questions of next season’s schedule, it puts the Mammoth in an interesting position heading into next summer. They have two options next year. Extend Hayton or let him leave in free agency next summer. As already mentioned, Mammoth cannot sell him.

An extension will be given if the Mammoth ultimately think bringing Hayton back after this season is the best move; it will happen. However, it will likely be decided by the forward’s performance this season.

Bringing Hayton back is an exciting move rather than a risky one. It gives Mammoth some reliable depth, but it also creates a situation where the team can’t move forward and can ultimately get nothing out of Hayton if he decides to leave. It may be a move the team later regrets, but the Mammoths clearly believed in making the team better than before and still do.

“Barrett is an important part of our team and is important to what we are building here in Utah,” Armstrong said. “He’s strong on the faceoff team, he plays both sides of the puck and he can play with anyone on our forward team.

Devils Miss Hayton But Still Get Another Center

For the Devils, not getting Hayton doesn’t change much for them. A striker would never move the needle much on them. So far, Cody Glass and Nick Bjugstad are still their bottom two centers. You’d like to have a better third-line center (which is why they targeted Hayton in the first place), but there are options left in free agency.

Adam Henrique, Gustav Nyquist, Philipp Kurashev, and Kevin Hayes are all still free agents. It’s debatable if any of these players are better than Glass or Bjugstad, but it’s not like they don’t have options.

Ultimately, the Devils could use the second-round pick they would have used as Hayton’s sheet compensation to acquire another center like him in a trade. It might be the best way the Devils can get a center the size of Hayton.

It may stink for the team and its fans that they couldn’t poach Hayton from Mammoth, but it’s not like they lost anything but time. They obviously liked Hayton a lot, and it was worth the offer sheet effort if they were that interested in him. Although it didn’t work out, it’s a good move by new general manager Sunny Mehta to show that he means business and is willing to do whatever it takes to improve his team, even if it means making enemies along the way.