Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Flyers Reportedly Sign Hayes to 7-Year Contract; Quick Hits

June 19, 2019, 4:58 AM ET [952 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Bob McKenzie reported on Tuesday night that the Flyers and Kevin Hayes have reached an agreement on a seven-year contract that will preempt Hayes' impending unrestricted free agency. The deal will reportedly carry a $7.14 million cap hit and a $50 million total value. The Flyers have not issued official confirmation but that is likely on Wednesday.

The exact structure of the deal -- signing bonus,real-dollar salary each season -- is not confirmed. It is not known if the contract will contain a no-movement clause (which would force the Flyers to protect Hayes in the Expansion Draft in 2021).

From the beginning of the 16-day process in between the acquisition of Hayes' rights from Winnipeg on June 3 to the likely announcement of the contract agreement, it was clear that Hayes was going to get paid at an open-market price whether it was in Philadelphia now or somewhere else come July 1. Overpayment was a certainty, with the $7 million AAV range and a lengthy term probable if Hayes were to sign in Philadelphia before he could field offers from other teams.

Centers come at a premium on the open market. especially large-framed ones who are still in their mid-to-late 20s. Even though the 27-year-old Hayes is a reluctant shooter at times and has only one 20-goal season to his credit thus far in the NHL, he is coming off a career-high 55 points (combined between the Rangers and Jets) this past season. He has always been more of a playmaker than a finisher, and is an above-average two-way forward who can kill penalties and play a responsible game without the puck. He's also very familiar with new Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault after Hayes spent the first four seasons of his five-year NHL career to date playing under Vigneault in New York.

The Flyers seemingly project that, in support of the projected top-line of Sean Couturier centering Claude Giroux and still-unsigned restricted free agent Travis Konecny, they will have a 2A/2B caliber middle six with the left-shooting Hayes on one line and the right-shooting Nolan Patrick on the other to make matchups tougher for opponents.

For a time during the second half of last season, the Flyers moved Giroux back from left wing to center. This was done in an effort to spread the wealth a bit more with Couturier on a separate line. As it turned out, Giroux's productivity suffered when he went back to center. However, Patrick benefited from it for a time via more favorable matchups behind Giroux and Couturier.

From Jan. 14 to Feb. 16 of this season, Patrick had a 13-game run in the second half where he produced 12 points, including a pair of two-goal games and the first three-point game of his NHL career. Unfortunately, he had another goal drought thereafter, scoring just one more goal the rest of the season before missing the final two games with an upper-body injury.

Nevertheless, the acquisition and signing of Hayes has a similar idea behind it; spreading the wealth through the middle between Couturier, Hayes, and Patrick with Laughton as a viable fourth line center who can also play wing if asked to. This way, the quest for creating favorable matchups beyond Couturier does not have to come at the expense of wearing down Giroux.

That's the line of thinking on paper, at least. We'll have to see how it translates on the ice.

Barring additional roster changes over the offseason and assuming the team goes into the regular season opener in Prague against the Chicago Blackhawks with a healthy roster, the Flyers' lineup presently looks something like this:

Claude Giroux - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny (RFA)
James van Riemsdyk - Kevin Hayes - Jakub Voracek
Oskar Lindblom - Nolan Patrick - Ryan Hartman (RFA) or an outside addition
Michael Raffl - Scott Laughton (RFA) -- TBD (possibly Hartman)

Ivan Provorov (RFA) - Matt Niskanen
Travis Sanheim (RFA) - Justin Braun
Shayne Gostisbehere - Philippe Myers
Robert Hägg, Samuel Morin

Carter Hart
Partner goaltending acquisition/ free agent (TBD)

There have been a slew of Shayne Gostisbehere-related trade rumors during the offseason to date. It is possible that he is dealt for a forward. It's also possible, in lieu of a clear-cut candidate to take over the point on PP1 -- either Ivan Provorov would be asked to do it, or Travis Sanheim would move up from part-time PP2 duty into a PP1 role -- that Gostisbehere would remain with the Flyers as a third-pairing D at even strength and in a PP1 and overtime 3-on-3 rotation role.

If Gostisbehere is not traded, it is possible that the Flyers could either trade Robert Hägg or have him and Samuel Morin (now healthy after missing most of the last two seasons due to injuries in 2017-18 and ACL rehab that spanned much of this past season) battle for a seventh-defenseman role.

In terms of long-term forward implications, the reported seven-year span of Hayes' contract suggests that 2017 first-round pick Morgan Frost may have to switch from center (his primary position in junior hockey) to a wing when he eventually cracks Philadelphia's NHL roster. The organization's other two top forward prospects entering the pro ranks in 2019-20 are already wingers: Joel Farabee and Isaac Ratcliffe. All three players are expected to open their rookie pro season in the American Hockey League as members of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. However, an exceptionally strong training camp or injuries at the NHL level could change the plan.

****************

Quick Hits: June 19, 2019

1) Tuesday's acquisition of Justin Braun, which came at the price of giving up a 2019 second-round pick (41st overall) and 2020 third-round pick, could somewhat change the Flyers' outlook come the second day of the Draft. Barring the acquisition of another pick, there will be a gap of 54 picks in between Philly's first selection and their second.

When there is a long gap between selections, especially at the top end of the Draft, teams sometimes get more conservative with their next selection and opt for a prospect with perhaps a lower pro ceiling than other available players but also a more projectable floor.

This is where the Flyers' picks currently fall in each round:

1st Round: 11th overall
2nd Round: None (traded to SJ for Braun)
3rd Round: 65th overall, 72nd overall
4th Round: 103rd overall
5th Round: None (traded to Winnipeg for Hayes)
6th Round: 165th, 169th
7th Round: 196th, 201st

2) The 16-day span between the Flyers acquisition of Hayes' negotiating rights and the pending announcement of his signing is identical to the span in between the respective rights acquisitions and signings of Ilya Bryzgalov in 2011 (rights acquired June 7, 2011, signing announced on June 23) and Mark Streit in 2013 (rights acquired June 12, 2013, signing announced on June 28).

3) Today in Flyers History: On June 19, 2010, the Flyers acquired the rights to impending unrestricted free agent defenseman Dan Hamhuis from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Ryan Parent. A native of Smithers, British Columbia (the same small hometown as the Flyers' Hall of Fame defenseman brother duo of Joe and Jim Watson as well as forward Ron Flockhart), it had been strongly rumored for months that Hamhuis had his heart set on returning to BC to play for the Vancouver Canucks. Publicly, however, the Hamhuis camp spun the notion that his main concern was seeing sufficient playing time for a contending team.

Unable to convince the Hamhuis camp to negotiate a contract despite assurances that he would regularly play 20-plus minutes per game, the defending Eastern Conference champion Flyers traded his rights exactly one week later to the arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins. Eastern Conference champions in 2008 and Stanley Cup champions in 2009, the Penguins tried a similar pitch, with coach Dan Bylsma promising Hamhuis that he'd see lots of important minutes and Sidney Crosby making a direct appeal to tell Hamhuis he'd be welcomed with open arms in Pittsburgh and would be a great fit.

As with Philadelphia, Hamhuis thanked the Penguins for their offer but immediately turned it down without a counter proposal. On July 1, 2010, as expected, he signed with Vancouver. In his Hamhuis' first season with the Vigneault-coached Canucks, his team reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Boston Bruins.

4) Today in Flyers History: On June 19, 1972, the Flyers signed "Cowboy" Bill Flett to a three-year contract extension. Installed on the top line with Hart Trophy winner Bobby Clarke and rookie sensation Bill Barber during the 1972-73 season, the heavy-shooting Flett enjoyed a career-best 43 goals and 74 points.
Join the Discussion: » 952 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Bill Meltzer
» Quick Hits: Flyers-Habs Wrap, Fedotov, Phantoms
» Flyers Gameday: 3/28/24 @ MTL
» Wrap: Flyers Lose 6-5 OT Game to Rangers
» Flyers Gameday: 3/26/24 @ NYR
» Quick Hits: Flyers-FLA Wrap, Flyers Daily, Phantoms, Bigger than Hockey