The New Jersey Devils have thrown a curveball at Utah by signing Barrett Hayton to an offer sheet, and the price tag is a one-year deal worth $4.775 million. If Utah decides not to match, New Jersey would owe a second-round pick as compensation.
The Devils made the move public in a statement, but the reaction around the league has been plenty of confusion. On the surface, this looks like a tough sell for Utah to ignore. Sources indicate the Mammoth don’t have a real cap crunch, and a one-year offer at $4.775 million is being viewed as an easy match.
So what is New Jersey after here? One possible angle is the built-in trade restriction.
If Utah matches, Hayton can’t be moved for a full calendar year. He would still be headed for unrestricted free agency next summer, but that timeline would block Utah from flipping him at the NHL trade deadline.
If Hayton wanted out, the Mammoth could be forced to watch him walk without getting anything back.
That possibility makes the offer sheet even more intriguing. Hayton’s signature may hint that he’s open to leaving Utah anyway, which creates another path here: the Mammoth could simply decide the second-round pick is enough and let the Devils have him.
Hayton, 26, put up 25 points with 10 goals and 15 assists in 67 games last season. He also had four power-play goals and a career-high 54 penalty minutes, and he appeared in just one playoff game.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound forward has 155 career points in 358 NHL games, dating back to his debut with the Arizona Coyotes in October 2019. He spent four seasons with Arizona before the franchise moved to Utah.
Utah has seven days to respond, and the real question hanging over this whole move is simple: would the Mammoth have taken a second-round pick for Hayton anyway?
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