Drastic turn around in the Kevin Hayes situation in Philadelphia.

Hayes may sign after all.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Drastic turn around in the Kevin Hayes situation in Philadelphia.
Richard Ulreich/CSM/Zuma

It seems that general manager Chuck Fletcher may very well be earning his pay for his role with the Philadelphia Flyers. 

As all of our readers will know by now, the Flyers made a very bold move early in the offseason when they traded for veteran center Kevin Hayes of the Winnipeg Jets. Hayes himself was not the gamble, New York Rangers insider Larry Brooks referred to him as the best player on the Rangers roster at times this season, prior to his trade to the Jets, but rather on his current contract status. You see Hayes is set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, so Fletcher was not acquiring a player with control but instead merely the exclusive negotiating rights to that player prior to that July 1st free agent date.

Initially it seemed like Fletcher's gamble may have failed, there were reports late last week that suggest that Hayes was unlikely to sign with the Flyers. In fact Boston Bruins reporter Jimmy Murphy reported, citing a source close to Hayes as the source of his information, that the veteran center instead had interest in returning home to Massachusetts to play for the Boston Bruins. 

From Murphy:

The Boston Bruins pursued Kevin Hayes at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 25, and the Bruins are set to woo the current Philadelphia Flyers center and Dorchester, MA native once again. The Bruins would like Hayes to come home and play for the team he grew up cheering. Friday, a source close to Hayes told Boston Hockey Now that there is “mutual interest” between the Bruins and Hayes.

Well that report from Murphy as it turns out may have been premature, or perhaps even entirely incorrect. There is now a report on Monday morning from TSN National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli that suggests that Hayes may in fact sign with the Flyers after all.

"Sounds like [the Philadelphia Flyers] have made progress with pending UFA Kevin Hayes," wrote Seravalli on Monday. "No guarantee it gets done, of course, but certainly trending in that direction."


That is of course terrific news for a Flyers organization that gave up a 5th round draft selection to acquire the rights to Hayes, as Hayes would significantly bolster their depth up the middle of their line up this season.

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