In the NHL, there aren't many offer sheets, but the Utah Mammoth are faced with one after they didn't re-sign a potential star. Even with that, though, the Mammoth shouldn't match the offer, at least for now. The offer isn't too expensive, but Utah doesn't really need a center, and the player has been quite disappointing. Simply put, unless Barrett Hayton becomes the star that the Mammoth have hoped he could become, he isn't worth re-signing.
Mammoth don't need another center as offer sheet comes in
The New Jersey Devils decided, for some reason, to be aggressive in trying to acquire the former 5th overall selection of the 2018 NHL draft. The Devils on Wednesday, July 1st, offered Hayton a one-year, $4.775M deal. This isn't very expensive, but it isn't necessary for the Mammoth to match the deal, anyway. Firstly, if the Mammoth were to, they can't trade Hayton for a full season, potentially losing Hayton for nothing. But secondly, the team just doesn't need a center after acquiring Vincent Trocheck. Trocheck already joins Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz, who both did much better than Hayton this last season. Hayton simply isn't needed by Utah.
The deal again isn't expensive, and even if Utah were to match it, there isn't too much to complain about- but looking at the situation makes one wonder if Utah needs Hayton. Hayton, 26, scored only 10 goals and added 15 assists after a career-best season in the 2024-25 season. During his good season, Hayton scored 20 goals and added 26 assists, but he fell short of those stats by a LOT in the 2025-25 season. Hayton still has the ability to be a key to success for an offense next season, but by this age, the time for a breakout season is running out.
With good depth and a solid top-nine, the Mammoth doesn't really need to spend the money to retain Hayton. Also, if the team didn't, the team would receive a 2027 second-round pick. One big question for Utah is simple: would they trade Hayton for that little anyway? Likely not, but the team doesn't need to risk not getting anything in return from him. For now, the top nine of the Utah Mammoth is both effective and good, and the need for Hayton just isn't there.
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