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Utah Mammoth matches New Jersey Devils offer sheet for Barrett Hayton

The New Jersey Devils were hoping that the Utah Mammoth would let Barrett Hayton go for a second-round pick after signing him to a $4.775 million offer sheet. Unfortunately, he Mammoth front office matched the contract.
ByNick Villano|
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Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton (27) advances the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton (27) advances the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New Jersey Devils had a trick up their sleeve on the first day of NHL Free Agency. After a relatively quiet July 1, Sunny Mehta dropped a bomb. He sent an offer sheet to restricted free agent Barrett Hayton. 

Mehta added a poison pill to the contract, giving Mammoth a hard decision to make. See, the contract was only one year, and it was worth likely more than they would have wanted to give him for just one year of service. Because of his time in the league, a one-year contract walks him straight to unrestricted free agency. 

Everyone was pretty split on what the Mammoth were going to do. Some thought this was a no-brainer and that the Mammoth would of course match. Hayton is a former top-five draft pick, and he could get more than a second-round pick in trade talks elsewhere. Unfortunately for the Mammoth, offer sheet rules state that they are not allowed to trade him for one full year. Meaning, they cannot trade him until he’s a free agent. 

Others thought the Devils found their man and made it too hard for the Mammoth to match this. 

It sounds like the Mammoth are going to figure this out. They announced that they would match the offer sheet on Wednesday.

Barrett Hayton won't become a member of the New Jersey Devils

Now, the Devils have to find a backup plan. With Cody Glass and Nick Bjugstad still on the roster, Hayton was going to be a luxury, not a need. They can go one of two directions. Either they look for a similar player (Shane Wright?), or they use the money saved and the rest of their cap space to get another superstar winger to play alongside Jack Hughes. 

The Devils are the big losers in this situation, but not all is lost. They didn't lose many opportunities while the offer-sheet window was in place. Jason Robertson and Alex DeBrincat haven't been traded or committed to their current teams. Mehta has work to do, but the opportunity is still available.

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