The NHL offseason is kicking into high gear as the NHL Draft has come and gone and the first wave of free agency has come and gone. But one aspect of offseasons that does not happen every season is making an appearance, offer sheets. The offer sheet part of the offseason seems to be in play more than any recent season. Not long ago, the New Jersey Devils decided to tender an offer sheet to Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton.
And more recently, the Philadelphia Flyers tendered an offer sheet to Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson. The Flyers are still waiting on the Ducks decision on if they want to match the offer sheet or not.
But the Mammoth seem to have made their decision on if they are going to match the Devils offer sheet or not. Reporter Andy Strickland recently revealed the Mammoth’s decision.
The Utah Mammoth Are a Better Team With Barrett Hayton Than Without
No team that is going through a stage of trying to build their roster to compete, wants to lose a young center that can help them with where they are in the stage of contention. That seems to be the case with the Mammoth and matching the Devils offer sheet.
If the Mammoth had lost Barrett Hayton to the offer sheet to the Devils, they would have been thin at the center position. They currently have Nick Schmaltz, Logan Cooley, newly acquired center Vincent Trocheck from the New York Rangers, and Kevin Stenlund down the middle.
That is a decent center core for a Mammoth team that was able to make the postseason last year and go toe-to-toe with the Western Conference Champions the Vegas Golden Knights. With the Mammoth matching, they can now slot Hayton on the wing since Trocheck is one of the best face off players in the league.
The Mammoth now have the options of trying Hayton at center again if Stenlund struggles or gets hurt or keeping him on the wing with a fully healthy roster. The options are there for Utah, they just have to utilize it to their advantage.
The Devils Have to Figure Out a New Route After Missing on Hayton
The New Jersey Devils decided to mix it up this offseason by sending in an offer sheet to the young Mammoth forward. They missed out on him, but that does not mean that they need to stop trying to find players of that caliber to figure out their roster.
There are rumors that the Buffalo Sabres are shopping forward Jack Quinn and are using him as bait to upgrade their roster. That is a name like Hayton that would make some sense for the Devils and trying to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division.
The Devils with sending an offer sheet to Hayton, decided they wanted to take a swing on a young forward that has not necessarily hit his stride yet and shoot for upside. That is the exact type of swing they would be taking with Quinn.
It is just a matter of time before the Devils strike and try a move similar to Hayton. They need to make a move like that again or they likely will be on the outside of the playoffs this season.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Utah Mammoth Set to Match Offer Sheet to Barrett Hayton appeared first on HEAVY.