With the 2025 NHL offseason heating up and the World Championships now in the rearview, it’s time to shift focus to what the Utah Mammoth could do this summer.
Most of the attention right now is on the team being linked to Mitch Marner — and while that’s certainly notable, there’s another path they could explore: the offer-sheet market.
Let’s quickly go over what that means. According to PuckPedia, it is: "An offer sheet is a contract offered to a restricted free agent (RFA) by a team other than the player's current team. If the player signs the offer sheet, their original team has the right to match the terms or receive compensation in the form of draft picks if they choose not to match."
We saw this play out last summer with Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. Both signed offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues. The Edmonton Oilers couldn’t match, so they received draft picks and the Blues landed the players.
Here’s what the compensation looks like based on the contract's average annual value:
- $1,544,424 or less – No compensation
- $1,544,425 to $2,340,037 – 3rd-round pick
- $2,340,038 to $4,680,076 – 2nd-round pick
- $4,680,077 to $7,020,113 – 1st- and 3rd-round picks
- $7,020,114 to $9,360,153 – 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-round picks
- $9,360,154 to $11,700,192 – Two 1sts, one 2nd, and one 3rd
- Over $11,700,192 – Four 1st-round picks
At the moment, Utah owns all of its draft picks except for its seventh-rounder. That gives them the flexibility to make a move, especially if they feel an RFA could make an immediate impact.
Now, let’s talk about some names.
There are some high-end RFAs out there — but the price to pry them loose might be steep. If Utah instead targets the second tier of talent, there are still some intriguing options that wouldn’t cost them a ton in compensation picks:
- Mason McTavish (F) – Projected: $6.7M x 6 years
- Cam York (D) – Projected: $5.7M x 5 years
- Bowen Byram (D) – Projected: $7.1M x 5 years
- Tyson Foerster (F) – Projected: $3.3M x 3 years
It’s worth noting that the player has to agree to the deal — nothing happens unless they sign. But if Utah were to land someone from that group, the compensation would likely top out at a first-and third-rounder. And in Foerster’s case, it would only cost a second-round pick.
That’s not a small price, but for the Mammoth, it could be the cost of getting better — and it might be well worth it.
