Arizona Coyotes sign Barrett Hayton to a two-year contract extension

The Arizona Coyotes announced the signing of forward Barrett Hayton to a two-year contract extension. The contract carries an AAV of $1.75 million. The terms of the deal were reported by Craig Morgan.

Arizona Coyotes general manager Doug Armstrong had only good things to say about Barrett Hayton in a team statement, “We are very pleased to sign Barrett to a new contract,” said Armstrong. “Barrett is a young, talented, hard-working player who made significant strides last year. We’re excited to have him on our roster for this season.”

Hayton is coming off his three-year entry-level contract. In the 2021-22 season, he played 60 games for the Coyotes and scored 24 points.

A Peterborough, Ontario native, Hayton played his junior career for the Soo Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League. He quickly turned out to be a quality offensive player, with 60 points in 63 games in his sophomore season. He was selected by the Coyotes fifth overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.

In the 2018-19 season, Hayton scored an impressive 66 points in 39 games or 1.69 points per game. Hayton made his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season playing 20 games and tallying four points. Throughout the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons Hayton was hampered by injuries which hurt his performance.

Hayton played in three different leagues in the 2020-21 season, including the NHL, the AHL, and the Finnish SM-liiga. He scored four assists in eight games in Finland. In the AHL, he played 26 games, scoring 10 points. He played 14 games for the Coyotes, notching three points.

Hayton is a talented young player who has not fully reached his potential yet. Over the next two seasons, he will try to carve out a role for himself on the talent-sapped Arizona Coyotes.