After a tiring weekend where rumours started swirling around incessantly, the Philadelphia Flyers have finally traded Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 6th round pick in 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
The Flyers will also retain 50% of his contract, which will have them on the hook for $3.571 million for the next 3 seasons.
It was being reported on Saturday that the Flyers were working hard on a blockbuster type trade with the Blues that was to involve Travis Sanheim. Unfortunately, Torey Krug was unwilling to waive his NTC, which put the kibosh on the deal. The Flyers were to reportedly receive a late first round pick this year, either the 25th or the 29th overall selection, but they seemed to lose leverage in the deal after the Ryan Johansen trade between Nashville and Colorado.
The Flyers then spent the better part of Sunday and Monday trying to convince Krug to waive his NTC and when that didnt work, they tried finding a third team to flip him to. By the end of the deal, the Flyers were left with an underwhelming return, however it was expected with the term and salary remaining.
Hayes has had a tumultuous tenure, especially the last couple of seasons where he had to deal with 3 surgeries and the passing of his brother, Jimmy, in 2021-22 and then after a scorching start to the 2022-23 season, it looked like he gave up in a battle of wits with head coach, John Tortorella.
After signing his mega 7-year deal in the summer of 2019, Hayes ends his Flyers tenure with 253 games under his belt, 63 goals and 157 points, including 54 points this past season. He had 45 points in his first 49 games, was well on his way to breaking his previous career highs but fell short by 1 point as he succumbed to a 9 point finish in his final 32 games.
There were mumblings of a rift between coach and player after he sat him for a lone game in the middle of the season. Flyers fans can attest to the laziness and lackadaisical effort at times from the $7.142 million man, which drew the ire of Tortorella. He had already benched him twice earlier in the year, including the game prior.
Moving Hayes had more to do with opening up a roster spot, not being a road block for a prospect, and with Sean Couturier expected to return, there would’ve been a serious log jam down the middle which would’ve forced a player like Noah Cates – who excelled in his rookie year – to play further down than necessary. Also didn’t help that Tortorella saw no reason in keeping him around with their perceived rift.
It’s not entirely what we expected after the rumours from Saturday but the Flyers and Hayes are better off in the long run with a separation and greener pastures ahead.
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