- Bill Armstrong says “probably half” the NHL called Utah about Barrett Hayton this offseason
- The Mammoth matched New Jersey’s offer sheet, keeping Hayton on a one-year, $4.775 million deal
- Read below for what Armstrong said about the Devils and the cost of replacing Hayton
Bill Armstrong isn’t carrying a grudge against New Jersey.
Half the NHL, by the general manager’s count, spent this offseason calling Utah to ask about Barrett Hayton. The Devils were the only club to actually make a move, signing him to an offer sheet, and on Wednesday the Mammoth matched it to keep the center on a one-year deal worth $4.775 million.
Armstrong met with reporters that afternoon and waved off any suggestion of hard feelings.
“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,” Armstrong said. “There’s no hard feelings between us and New Jersey. We called them and said we’re going to match.”
Armstrong wasn’t about to let a player that many rivals wanted walk out the door for a second-round pick, the compensation Utah would have collected by declining to match, per the Deseret News.
Simple math made the call for him. Finding a center who can slide up and down the lineup would cost far more on the open market.
“If we had to go to the market, especially around the trade deadline, and go get somebody that can do a little bit of everything and play from your first line to your third line, you’re looking at paying a price of a first-rounder-plus,” Armstrong said. “And you’ve got to beat out eight other teams at the deadline to get that player.”
Hayton, the fifth pick in the 2018 draft, gives Utah a two-way center who kills penalties and holds his own in the faceoff circle. Armstrong already had a stack of centers on the roster and still wanted this one back.
There’s a string attached. By matching, Utah can’t trade Hayton for the full length of the one-year contract. He becomes eligible to discuss a new extension on January 1, 2027.
Here’s the Mammoth confirming the match:
Utah keeps a center half the league wanted, and Armstrong keeps things clean with New Jersey. Hayton stays put in Salt Lake City for at least one more season.
