Utah GM Says Devils’ Offer Sheet Was Just Business, No Hard Feelings

The New Jersey Devils tried to poach Barrett Hayton with an offer sheet last week. The Utah Mammoth said no thanks. Sort of.

Utah matched the one-year contract and kept Hayton. But here’s the thing: Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong isn’t mad about it. Not at the Devils. Not at Hayton. He called it business, plain and simple.

“It’s just business. Players want to get paid, they want to make as much money as they can in their lifetime, we get it. There’s no hard feelings between us and New Jersey. We called them and said we’re going to match. There’s no hard feelings between the club and Barrett Hayton,” Armstrong told The Hockey Writers reporter Chase Beardsley.

Offer Sheets Are Becoming Normal in the NHL

For years, offer sheets were basically taboo. Teams just didn’t do it. But that’s changing. The Devils made a move. Utah matched. End of story. Armstrong made it clear there’s no beef here.

Hayton is entering his eighth NHL season and his third with Utah. He was drafted fifth overall by the Arizona Coyotes back in 2018, before that whole mess of a sale and relocation. He stuck with the franchise through the move, so it’s not like he was angling for a way out.

The one-year deal means Hayton can’t be traded for a full calendar year. So he’s locked in with Utah through the 2025-26 season. After that, he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer unless he signs an extension before July 1, 2027.

Is that stability? Kind of. It’s one year. But for a guy who’s been through a franchise relocation, maybe a little certainty isn’t the worst thing.