(Jayne-Kamin-Oncea | AP) Utah Hockey Club center Barrett Hayton controls the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Club, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Dallas • Barrett Hayton did not make much of the sparkly statistics he recorded on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
Those around him, though, had plenty to say.
“It means a lot. Barrett is a guy who gets rewarded a little bit but does a lot more than what he gets rewarded for,” Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny said. “The way he competes, his face-offs, both special teams, his professionalism and his urgency every day — it’s contagious. The way he prepares himself and the way he competes, I think he makes others better.”
Hayton notched his 20th goal, 25th assist and 45th point of the season in Utah Hockey Club’s 5-3 win over the Stars. All three categories are new career highs for the forward who has been an anchor and driving force on the team’s second line.
The 24-year-old hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his six-year NHL career — which may seem like a long wait, given that he was selected fifth overall in the 2018 Draft. However, the center had only played one full season (2022-23) before this year after spending time in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners and dealing with a slew of injuries — including a broken hand.


Barrett Hayton, ALL IN!

Tied up 1-1. pic.twitter.com/BGADovTC1c
Consistency — while perhaps an overused word — was key for Hayton in terms of health and play in the 2024-25 campaign. It resulted in a record year.
“I’ve been playing with Haytes for a long time now. He’s one of the hardest-working guys,” said linemate Nick Schmaltz. “It’s awesome to see him get rewarded. He had a tough year last year with injury. He’s put the work in and come out and been a huge player for us all year.”
Hayton’s goal against the Stars tied the game 1-1 while Utah was on the power play in the opening frame. The first unit set up, sending the puck to Mikhail Sergachev at the point who launched it towards the net where Hayton commanded the crease. The forward tipped it past Dallas netminder Casey DeSmith at 8:11.
That net-front position is a place where Hayton has become very comfortable. It is where the majority of his goals have come from, too.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club center Nick Schmaltz (8) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Minnesota Wild, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
“I think it’s definitely an area I’ve got a ton to learn [in], a ton to develop more. It’s just an area I’ve found a bit of a niche in, I guess,” Hayton said. “It’s a work in progress for sure. But I take a lot of pride in competing down there.”
Brendan Smith regained the Stars’ lead just 32 seconds into the middle frame as his team skated down a player. The defenseman slapped the puck past Karel Vejmelka — who started for the 23rd consecutive game — to make it 2-1. It marked the eighth short-handed goal the Club has given up this year which is tied for fourth-worst in the league with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Utah followed up the poor management with a burst of three goals — from Sean Durzi, Logan Cooley and Josh Doan — to go up 4-2 by 18:06 of the second. Both Durzi and Doan’s tallies came from the power play’s second unit. Cooley, though, cashed in 5-on-5 with a one-timer from the left circle after the Club transitioned with speed.
“I think we played really well,” Tourigny said. “Power play came up big, obviously.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley (92) vies for the puck with Dallas Stars left wing Mason Marchment (27) and center Matt Duchene (95) during the third period of the NHL game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024.
Jason Robertson pulled Dallas within one, 4-3, with 1:07 remaining in the second period. Utah failed to clear the puck which allowed Matt Dumba to carry the puck low and dish it across to Robertson to knock it in on the left doorstep.
However, Schmaltz potted Utah’s fourth power-play goal of the night — a new season-high for the team — to cushion the Club’s lead to 5-3 at 5:32 of the third. The forward wristed home the rebound of Hayton’s shot in front.
“We’ve got a lot of pride in that room. Guys playing for each other,” Schmaltz said. “We’ve built a culture where we want to compete every night and try to get two points every night. Have to do that for 82 games no matter what.”
There was a mystery Utah had yet to crack in its inaugural season — how to beat the Dallas Stars. The Club had been close, falling by just one goal in its previous three matchups, but could not crack the high-flying crew atop of its division.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Dallas Stars left wing Mason Marchment (27) vies for the puck with Utah Hockey Club defenseman Olli Maatta (2) and Utah Hockey Club center Barrett Hayton (27) during the first period of the NHL game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024.
That changed on Saturday.
The solution? Well, going 4-for-4 on the power play no doubt helped. There is also the fact that the Stars were without three of their top defensemen — Thomas Harley, Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell — and their No. 1 netminder Jake Oettinger got the night off.
Nonetheless, it’s a moment of growth that Utah will embrace.
“This was a huge game for us. We’ve competed with this team all year,” Hayton said. “This was one we had marked off. This road trip is huge for us — we built a standard this year and we want to keep that and keep growing that in this final stretch.”
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