The Utah Hockey Club has signed RFA forward Barrett Hayton to a two-year, $5.3 million contract (average annual salary of $2.65 million), the team announced Monday night.
Hayton, 24, was the No. 5 overall pick of the 2018 draft by the Arizona Coyotes. He has played in 209 games with the Coyotes over five seasons, recording 84 points (35 goals, 49 assists). The Peterborough, Ontario native is a strong two-way centre who is comfortable on the faceoff dot and can swing his body around when needed.
Hayton played in just 33 games last season due to injury, but is expected to be a key part of Utah's founding team.
“We are very pleased to have signed Barrett to a contract extension,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said on the team's website. “Barrett is a reliable two-way center who is a force in the faceoff circle and is an excellent complement to our highly skilled forwards at center. We look forward to having him return to our team.”
Utah has made an effort to retain some of its players during the offseason, having already signed Sean Darge, Liam O'Brien, Juuso Valimaki and Michael Kesselring to contract extensions earlier in the offseason.
Utah could turn some heads in its first season under new, stable ownership after years of futility in Arizona.
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