The St. Louis Blues have completed the trade of Kevin Hayes to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Frank Seravalli first reported the news, while Andy Strickland confirmed the trade minutes later. The NHL Entry Draft is always a busy time for trades, with this deal being just another example that there’s more than one way to improve your team at the draft. At this time, the return for Hayes has only been reported as future considerations. In other words, this is the Blues availing of salary cap space.
Trade details, pure salary dump for Blues:
To #LetsGoPens: Kevin Hayes, 2025 2nd Rd Pick
To #stlblues: Future Considerations
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 29, 2024
Kevin Hayes Traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins
Kevin Hayes, a veteran forward, is making the move back to Pennsylvania after a previous tenure with the Philadelphia Flyers. Hayes was acquired by St. Louis last year from the Flyers, but lasted just one year with the Blues. In his lone year in the blue note uniform, Hayes logged 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points. This represented a sharp decline from his last season in Philadelphia, where he notched 54 points. While 29 points is Hayes’ career-low, he still may provide some value as a versatile forward that plays a puck possession-based game.
For all his offensive struggles, the American-born forward still carried positive Corsi-For and Fenwick numbers. The Blues also trusted him to start 54.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Perhaps a more offensive-minded deployment could lead to a higher scoring output. Another positive aspect of Hayes’ game, is his versatility. The Massachusetts native can play both centre and wing, as well as play throughout the lineup. He’s 6’5″ and weighs in at 216 lbs, giving him a large frame that can play a physical style when needed. Kevin Hayes is getting to the back half of his career, having just turned 32, and his current contract runs for two more years.
Pittsburgh and St. Louis Moving Forward
For the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Kevin Hayes trade nets an important player for their forward group. As mentioned, Hayes is able to play both centre and wing and versatility always proves to be a valuable asset. This is especially true for Pittsburgh who have just three centres currently under contract for the 2024-25 season. Kevin Hayes could fit perfectly on their third line behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. With the Flyers still retaining part of Hayes’ deal, he carries a cap hit of roughly $3.5 million. The cap hit makes Hayes’ production much easier to swallow. Furthermore, Hayes’ versatility gives him the opportunity to chip in as that third line centre while also getting more minutes as a winger when a shakeup is needed. It is possible Hayes’ regression will continue as he enters the twilight of his career, but the Penguins need just two more years of productive hockey.
The St. Louis Blues are moving on from Kevin Hayes and get cap space in return. Hayes played an okay season in St. Louis, but not one up to his standards and it ultimately resulted in nothing notable in the team success department. St. Louis has a fairly solidified top six forward group, and Hayes was unlikely to break in to that group. Hayes carries some positive traits, but he simply needs to be better than he was in St. Louis. It made the most sense for the team to move on and get that cap space to make improvements elsewhere.
Main photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
