The New Jersey Devils broke the ice. They sent the first offer sheet of the offseason when they signed Barrett Hayton, a restricted free agent with the Utah Mammoth. They signed him for one season, for a contract worth $4.775 million. At the time of the signing, the Mammoth had seven days to respond to the Devils’ move, either to accept the second-round pick compensation or match the offer sheet and sign Hayton.
There are a few poison pills in the Devils’ contract. For one, the signing walks Hayton right to unrestricted free agency. On top of that, the Mammoth cannot trade Hayton this season, and they already have Vincent Trocheck joining the roster. The Mammoth had three centers they want to play over Hayton, so he doesn’t really fit the roster.Â
The Mammoth don’t want an issue with this situation hanging over them all season. It’s nice to have depth, but it’s a problem not to have opportunity.Â
However, when the Devils sent this offer sheet, it was the talk of the NHL. People have been calling for offer sheets for years. We usually only get one every few years. When players like Connor McDavid became a restricted free agent, other teams left him alone, and he was able to negotiate essentially unimpeded with the Edmonton Oilers.Â
A new offer sheet will only help the New Jersey Devils
Now, that’s not the world we live in. The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Leo Carlsson to a five-year deal worth $18 million per season. This would not only be the biggest AAV on an offer sheet of all time, but it would be the highest salary ever given out to a player. Carlsson is good, but this is a little ridiculous to many.
And that is good news for the Devils. The Flyers coming off the top rope means that NOBODY is talking about the Devils and the Mammoth. It’s essentially old news already, even though a decision there hasn’t been made. That autonomy will allow the Mammoth to just take the second-round pick with little consequence, and the Devils get their third-line center without too much noise.
That’s because everyone will be looking at Pat Verbeek and the Anaheim Ducks. Known as one of the hardest GMs to work with, Verbeek has ground down trades in the past. Now, his back is against the wall for the first time in a while.Â
Everyone wants to see what happens there. Nobody cares about Hayton, and that means the Devils can take his services and move on with their season. The pressure is on the Ducks, not the Mammoth.Â
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