The New Jersey Devils tendered Barrett Hayton a one-year, $4.775 million offer sheet on Wednesday, putting the Utah Mammoth on the clock for a seven-day match decision. The move gives the Devils a path to add a 26-year-old center who scored 10 goals and 25 points in 67 games last season.
Hayton’s Recent Track Record
Hayton’s season-to-season range is part of the appeal. He finished with career highs of 20 goals and 46 points the year before last season, then dropped to 10 goals and 25 points in 67 games.
That spread gives Utah a straightforward choice: keep a former fifth-overall pick from the 2018 draft at a one-year cap hit, or let the Devils take him and collect a 2027 second-round pick as compensation.
Utah’s Cap Space Test
Utah has enough cap space to match the offer sheet, which removes the simplest obstacle and shifts the decision to roster planning. Earlier Wednesday, the Mammoth added Vincent Trocheck, giving them more center depth before the Devils moved on Hayton.
The timing matters because the offer sheet is the first in the NHL since the St. Louis Blues successfully pried Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers in 2024. That turns this from a routine roster note into a real test of whether Utah wants to keep its center group intact or force the Devils to look elsewhere.
Will Utah match the Devils' one-year, $4.775 million offer sheet to Barrett Hayton within seven days?
