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There is an interesting situation brewing on the horizon and it is coming from Chicago. Former 2010 first round pick (24th overall) Kevin Hayes may not sign with the Blackhawks. If he does not sign by August 15th then he will become a free agent.
Some background info on Hayes:
He is 6'4" 216 pounds
He is a four year player at Boston College University
His 27 goals and 38 assists were second best in the nation last year.
Why would I bring him up on a Penguins blog?
The great Elliotte Friedman had his last
30 thoughts column of the summer and he had an interesting bullet point that pertained to Hayes and the Penguins.
46. For a while now it's been assumed that if 2010 first-round pick Kevin Hayes decides not to sign in Chicago, his first choice would be Florida. That's where his brother Jimmy plays. There are rumblings, though, that the Panthers may choose not to go this route. That makes the favourites Boston (where he went to school) or Pittsburgh (Tom Fitzgerald is a cousin). If he does not sign with the Blackhawks by Aug. 15, he will be a free agent.
Obviously Chicago is a tremendous organization, the only feasible reason that Hayes would be moving on is to shoot up the pipeline quicker. Pittsburgh certainly does not have the depth of young forwards that Chicago has, but is there enough opportunity available for the Penguins to be attractive to Hayes? Would the Penguins even want Hayes?
Remember, the last notable player to go this route was Justin Schultz of the Edmonton Oilers. Schultz ditched the Anaheim Ducks and since then the Ducks have turned into one of the potential big dogs in the Western Conference while Schultz has seen his struggles on the Oilers. Some of that certainly has something to do with being on a struggling Oilers team but
there are underlying numbers which show that he has not lived up to his high billing from the time of his signing.
That said, in the cases of both Schultz and Hayes I would consider the risk to be low and the reward to be potentially high. As it pertains to the Penguins you can never have too many young forward prospects when your cupboards are pretty bare on that front.
I have no idea if the Penguins are interested, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on, especially since there is nothing else to keep an eye on right now.
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Also interesting from Friedman's piece was him reiterating a point he made a few weeks back.
14. Christian Ehrhoff surprised by taking one year in Pittsburgh, but no one would be stunned if he's extended not long after Jan. 1. That's when he's eligible to do it.
Friedman is plugged in, a guy who's opinion should be taken in high regard. The fact he has mentioned this twice in a matter of weeks tells me that the chance of Ehrhoff getting an extension is above 50%.
That is all for now
Thanks for reading!
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