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Meltzer's Musings: Hayes, Phantoms, Watson |
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SUNDAY QUICK HITS
* Silly Season Musing: The clock is ticking for the Chicago Blackhawks to get Kevin Hayes under entry level contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on August 15. The 24th overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft is coming off a spectacular senior season for Boston College, for whom he racked up 27 goals and 65 points in 40 games. The Boston native also played for Team USA at the 2014 IIHF World Championships (one goal, two points in eight games).
Hayes, who turned 22 in May, has long intrigued NHL scouts with his combination of size (his frame has filled out to 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds after being drafted at about 200 pounds), above-average skating and skill. There is no doubt that he thrived playing with Johnny Gaudreau at BC but Hayes was a force in his own right as he became a Hobey Baker Award finalist as a senior.
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has played down the risk of losing Hayes' rights. Early last month, Bowman said that he was optimistic that an agreement would be reached this offseason. In late June, the team said there is still "plenty of time" to get a deal done and that the two sides agreed to wait until after the NHL Draft and the start of free agency to work in earnest on a deal.
Perhaps that is the case. However, something seems a bit strange here. It is not typical for a team to cut a negotiation this close. Hayes no doubt wants to play in the NHL next season, and there may not be a roster spot for him (or at least the promise of significant ice time) with perennial contender Chicago.
Relative to other types of contracts in the NHL, entry-level contracts operate under specific constraints designed to keep all clubs leaguewide on equal financial footing in negotiations. Under the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Players Association, we already know that Hayes' eventual contract will be a two-year deal and he can receive a maximum yearly base salary of $900,000 (a foregone conclusion in Hayes' case).
The trickier part of an entry-level contract is the bonus structure. Under CBA rules, players on entry-level contracts are eligible both for signing bonuses and performance bonuses. By rule, the signing bonus may not exceed 10 percent of the contract's total compensation. There is more negotiating wiggle room on the structure and amount of various performance bonuses but even those have a total-value ceiling ($2.85 million).
Most graduating collegiate players would be at a disadvantage waiting until Aug. 15 to become a free agent. By that time, most NHL teams more or less have their rosters set for next season and most or all of their offseason budget has been spent. Hayes, however, is a special case. He would still have multiple teams courting his services.
It behooves Chicago to get something done with Hayes sooner rather than later. Now that the NHL free agency market has calmed down, the next few weeks will be very telling. If Chicago cannot get a deal done, they have two options. The first would be to trade Hayes' rights to another NHL team (the team would then have until Aug. 15 to get something done). The second would be to let Hayes sign elsewhere and receive a compensatory second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, which would be the 54th overall pick of the Draft.
If Chicago is unable to get a deal done with Hayes, it would stand to reason that the Flyers would be among the most aggressive NHL teams in pursuing the player, either via trading for his rights ahead of Aug. 15 or pursuing him as a free agent.
The Flyers lack forward depth in their farm system, especially on the wings, and Hayes appears to be NHL ready now with a top-six upside as he gains experience. If the Flyers can get the Vincent Lecavalier situation resolved, there would also be a roster spot opened up for a young player.
* The Flyers' signings of veterans Andrew Gordon, Blair Jones and Chris VandeVelde are a testament to the fact that the organization wants to ice a more competitive Phantoms team in its first season in the Lehigh Valley than it did in Glens Falls the last few years. While the organization hopes that the likes of Nick Cousins and Petr Straka step up in their second AHL seasons -- and that Scott Laughton hits the ground running in the AHL if he doesn't earn an NHL roster spot with the Flyers out of training camp -- they are going to need the veteran help in the scoring department.
* Joe Watson, an original Flyer who was a member of both Stanley Cup championship teams, a two-time NHL All-Star Game participant and an inductee in the Flyers' Hall of Fame, celebrates his 71st birthday today.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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