Sunny swung, and for that we can applaud. However, Barrett Hayton will not be slotted in the Devils bottom six in the upcoming season. However, there's always next year.
The 6-foot-1, 200 pound Center will remain with the Mammouth for the entire 26'-27 NHL season(matching the offer sheet comes with a contingency that the player cannot be traded) for $4.775m. The former fifth overall pick was a Mehta target at the draft, rumored to be in a deal to NJ that Utah backed out of last minute. With a chip on his shoulder, the scourned Mehta swooped in and submitted the offer sheet to Utah that if accepted and unmatched, Hayton would come to New Jersey for just a second round pick, likely much less then was offered on the botched trade.
The matched offer sheet prohibits Utah from extending Hayton this season, walking him into UFA status next off season. Will the Devils reconsider at that time? Hopefully they won't have to, however if the bottom six role holes still exist, I don't see why they wouldn't.
So where does Sunny Mehta turn now? With names like Patrick Kane, Patrik Laine, Anthony Mantha and Vladimir Tarasenko, still available, look for Mehta to be active in the next few days. Coming off of a 33 goal, 64 point seson, Anthony Mantha is the most intriguing of the bunch, but at what price? Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko still have a lot to offer NHL teams, especially on the power play. Patrik Laine is in a similar boat, but would have to agree to a much smaller cap hit/incentive laden deal to make it make sense.
In the end of the day, the Devils missed out on Hayton. Contrary to Tom Fitzgerald, Mehta has proved to the fan base that he will not sit on his hands. Expect a pivot and few more moves in the coming days.