Utah Mammoth Keep Barrett Hayton on $4.775M Deal

Mammoth Match New Jersey’s Offer

The Utah Mammoth have matched New Jersey’s offer sheet for center Barrett Hayton, securing the 26‑year‑old for a $4.775 million contract for the upcoming season. General manager Bill Armstrong praised Hayton’s face‑off work, two‑way play and ability to fit into the forward group, saying the team is “fired up to get back with my teammates and remain in Utah.” The move keeps Hayton with the core group that has developed throughout his career.

Hayton’s Stats and Significance

Hayton posted 25 points in 67 regular‑season games this year and has accumulated 155 points over 362 NHL contests, including playoffs. He was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft when the franchise was still in Arizona, giving Utah a long‑term asset at a pivotal age. He becomes eligible for an extension on Jan. 1 but cannot be traded until July 1, when he would hit unrestricted free agency at 27.

Offer Sheet Landscape in NHL

Utah would have earned New Jersey’s 2027 second‑round pick had it not matched, and the Devils incurred no financial risk in the process. The league’s most recent high‑profile offer sheets include Philadelphia’s $90 million deal for Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson and St. Louis’s successful poaching of Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from Edmonton in the summer of 2024. These examples illustrate how clubs use offer sheets to add talent when salary‑cap constraints limit direct signings.

What Happens Next for Utah

Fifteen restricted free agents have filed for arbitration this year, a group that prominently features Dallas’s Jason Robertson, who is now ineligible for any offer sheet. Devils general manager Sunny Mehta remained tight‑lipped about the Hayton situation, noting the seven‑day window still in effect and the limited commentary possible at this stage. Looking forward, Utah can lock Hayton into an extended contract starting Jan. 1, and they retain him until the July trade deadline, after which he could explore the open market as an unrestricted free agent.