‘There Are No Hard Feelings’: Inside the Mammoth’s Decision to Match Hayton’s Offer Sheet

When the Utah Mammoth matched Barrett Hayton’s offer sheet from the New Jersey Devils, the first reaction from many was: why? The Mammoth brought back Kevin Stenlund and Kailer Yamamoto and added Anders Lee and Vincent Trocheck. The team had a whole lot of forwards, which also included Tij Iginla, who will turn pro this season. Why not let one who has had problems with injuries go for a second-round pick?

General manager Bill Armstrong had all of the answers in his media availability hours after the Mammoth officially announced Hayton’s return. He’s seen all of the concerns from fans. He knows the team he has in front of him. It’s a team Armstrong thinks can challenge anyone in the league in terms of center depth, and it’s one he’s excited to see form in training camp.

Some Interesting Roster Choices Ahead

Repeating last season’s lack of center depth due to injuries is something Armstrong wants to avoid badly. A reminder that the number of injuries forced Nick Schmaltz to play center, and while that panned out pretty well, it’s something Armstrong doesn’t want to happen again.

Now, the Mammoth will be rolling into the 2026-27 season with six players who can play the center role. They also have options in the American Hockey League (AHL) if needed. Armstrong has said you can never have too many centers, and his moves have reflected that. 

“We had an epidemic last year when we got into the exhibition games,” Armstrong said. “It went all the way to the first game of the season…It’s really important that you win with good centers. Centers make the world go round. Number 1D makes the world go round, and so does a goaltender, but centers are the key, and I feel like we’ve got some of the best center depth in the NHL. Starting at Nick Schmaltz, the number one line, Cooley at the second line, Hayton on the third line, and Stenlund on the fourth. It doesn’t count McBain, who’s a heck of a center, too, and also Trocheck in the mix. It gives us a lot of options in a lot of different places.”

There are some interesting nuggets in that quote. It seems like Armstrong might plan to have Trocheck on the wing instead of down the middle. It’s a move that not many suspected when the Mammoth acquired him. Again, we’re still a couple of months away from that officially being decided based on play in training camp and the preseason, but it’s an interesting scenario.

The other big question behind the potential roster come September is whether some of the rookies will get a chance at making the NHL roster. At the start of free agency, it seemed like the Mammoth might give them opportunities with the lack of signings and trades and the departure of Alex Kerfoot.

However, with the return/addition of five forwards, that scenario looks more impossible. That makes Daniil But, Tij Iginla, and Caleb Desnoyers’ chances of being in the AHL more likely. While it was assumed Desnoyers was going to be with the Tucson Roadrunners, it seemed like Iginla and But were ready for roles in the NHL.

Yet, Armstrong says never say never. He believes that the Hayton signing doesn’t overlap with Desnoyers and Iginla’s chances of making the NHL roster and that the two coming in hungry for spots will make this season’s training camp even better.

“Caleb and Tij have the ability to come in and make our team,” Armstrong said. “Both can play wing; both can play opposite sides. There’s a lot of flexibility for our club, but there are openings when you have somebody that comes in and pushes to make your team; you can always make openings for that player.”

Armstrong also mentioned But coming in and potentially making noise in camp because of what he learned during his season in the AHL. It is notable that the forward’s European assignment clause kicks in this upcoming season. It is something to keep an eye on, if But doesn’t make the NHL roster.

No Hard Feelings Here

With offer sheets, it’s been reported that sometimes they can ruin relationships between the player and the team or the two teams the offer sheet concerns. It was originally reported that the relationship between Hayton and the Mammoth was at a low point. However, Armstrong insisted that it is not the case.

“It’s just business,” Armstrong said. “Players want to get paid, they want to make as much money as they can in their lifetime…There are no hard feelings between us and New Jersey. We called them and said, ‘Hey, listen, we’re going to match.’ There are no hard feelings between the club and Barrett Hayton. We always talk about it with our players as we go into contract negotiations with them. Management has to do the best job for ownership and the club, and your agent has to do the best job for you, and it’s doing business.”

As mentioned, not only did Hayton sign an offer sheet, but the Mammoth also elected to take him to arbitration when it came down to deciding his contract. All of that can deteriorate a relationship. However, Armstrong said that the team wouldn’t be in this situation if they didn’t value Hayton.

“We want to make sure that you know on the other side of that, we love you,” Armstrong said. “We wouldn’t be in this process if we didn’t have a huge value for you. Even in this situation, we have really good relationships with the player, the player’s agent, and also New Jersey. There are no hard feelings. It’s just doing business, and it’s a part of the NHL; it’s a part of the CBA. We have to respect the process.”

It wasn’t an easy decision to match the offer sheet either. Armstrong and his staff went through nearly a whole week of deciding whether to accept or not. He also claims that nearly half of the teams in the NHL showed interest in Hayton. 

At the end of the day, a third-line center could be hard to come by. Say the Mammoth needed another center for some reason. It could cost them something they don’t want to give up. Why run into that issue when they have a solution already internally?

“I think people have a hard time understanding the whole offer sheet thing,” Armstrong said. “If we had to go to the market, especially around the trade deadline, and go to get a piece of 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. You’ve got to beat out eight other teams at the deadline to get that player, so it’s maybe even more. What we’ve done here in this particular situation is create an understanding of how valuable Barrett Hayden was from the get-go.”

That does create the risk that Hayton walks to unrestricted free agency and leaves next summer because of the fact that the Mammoth can’t trade him. However, the team can re-sign him beginning January 1. From the way Armstrong spoke about the forward on Wednesday and the way Hayton cares about this team, it wouldn’t be surprising if that happens.

At the end of the day, the Mammoth love Hayton, and he likes being with the Mammoth. The team is at the point in their window where they don’t need any more picks. They need players who can help them win now, and Hayton is that player.

“We love Barrett Hayton,” Armstrong said. “We don’t need as many picks as we did back in the day for the rebuild. Now we’ve got good players coming in…Everybody in the NHL wants to win right now. Everybody in the NHL wants 26-year-olds with experience. With Barrett Hayton and what he’s done, and all the underlying numbers behind the scenes, that’s what they want. They want an experienced player. It takes a while for a center to be good at center in the NHL, and he’s just getting into his prime. For us, when we made that decision, we went down a lot of different avenues, but we kept coming up with this.”

While the return of Hayton does cause a lot of questions for the Mammoth’s lineup next season, it certainly doesn’t make them worse, and it gives them quite a deep team down the middle. Armstrong strongly believes his team is better with Hayton on it and that he could be a piece that helps the Mammoth win a championship one day.