What an offseason this turned out to be for the Flyers, and their proud faithful. On Monday June 3rd, 2019 at approximately 8:40 p.m. the Flyers traded for the rights of Center Kevin Hayes from the Winnipeg Jets for a 5th Round Pick. A little over two weeks later the orange and black signed Hayes to a 7 year-$50 million deal, worth an AAV of $7.14 million per season.
Hayes is a big bodied Center, as he stands at 6’5” and weighs 220 pounds. He has provided much-needed size down the middle for the Flyers, and Hayes is also versatile. Hayes can play the Wing, and he is an excellent Penalty Killer. He is a legit scoring threat on the PK, which has helped the Flyers immensely. Better yet, Hayes seems to be doing everything right, including scoring goals. He is now tied for the team lead in goals with 12 (Tied with JVR), and my word he potted a beauty on Sunday night against the Anaheim Ducks:
When Hayes signed his contract with the Flyers, some of his critics said he wouldn’t produce offensively. Well, Hayes sure has proved them wrong as he has 16 points (8g, 8a) in his past 19 games played. Moreover, Hayes is now on pace to tally 27 goals for the season, which would be a new career high. What more do Hayes have to do to prove his contract?
His most important attribute for the orange and black is his familiarity with now Head Coach Alain Vigneault. In 2017-18, Hayes played under Vigneault for the New York Rangers, a year in which he tallied a career high in goals with 25. Moreover, Hayes and Vigneault developed a good relationship and one that rubbed off on the locker room. Vigneault has nothing but good to say about Hayes. Moreover, Hayes has helped with this group of Flyers to better understand Vigneault’s system. Fletcher tried to make this locker room less toxic, by putting his own stamp on the roster. Well, Hayes definitely has these Flyers riding high at the moment, with four wins in their last five games played.
Hayes is also a very good Penalty Killer. He has helped tremendously in an area that has been an Achilles heel for the Flyers for the past few seasons. Like previously mentioned he is also a scoring threat on the PK, and hopefully, he continues to mold this unit into a successful one. Overall, the Flyers PK has improved tremendously with the Hayes addition, as he has apparently solidified this unit single handedly by himself. For his efforts, the Flyers currently own the sixth best Penalty Kill with a success rate of 83.8%.
The 27-year-old Veteran in Hayes has been an addition the Flyers have lacked for the past few seasons. He has this young Flyers group riding high with a record of 5-3-1. For his efforts, the team is now a threat to move as up as high as second place in the Metropolitan Division, with two games remaining until the halfway mark of the season. Fletcher gets an “A” for this addition.
Photo Credit: Zack Hill
