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Musings & Quick Hits: Kevin Hayes, Offseason Calendar, TIFH |
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Quick Hits: May 18, 2021
1) According to Philadelphia Inquirer Flyers' beat writer Sam Carchidi, center Kevin Hayes needs to undergo core muscle surgery. The procedure may take place within the next week, allowing maximum type for rehab over the offseason before training camp. Hayes played through the issue for much of the season but, as is quite often the case, saw his effectiveness on the ice take a noticeable drop. Hayes' basic offensive season splits
Pre-March: 18 GP, 7 G, 9 A, 16 PTS, 14.6% SH%
March-May: 37 GP, 5 G, 10 A, 15 PTS, 6.3% SH%
Hayes' underlying metrics were similar or in cases better than in 2019-20 -- including an expected goals statistical jump -- but this was deceptive. He saw a significantly larger share of offensive-zone starts at five-on-five (55.4 percent as opposed to 46.0 percent) at five-on-five than he did a year ago. Eye-test wise, his skating looked labored at times. He didn't protect the puck as well as the previous season. He was also far less individually impactful on the penalty kill than he was in 2019-20.
One of the biggest areas of impact that Hayes had in 2019-20 was in terms of stealing pucks from opposing players. He was on the positive side of the takeaway/giveaway ratio (43/34) a year ago, leading all Flyers in total credited takeaways. This year, his takeaways took a huge tumble -- 21 fewer takeaways, albeit in 14 fewer games played -- and he was charged with more turnovers (27 charged giveaways; tied for the most among Flyers forwards) than he was credited with takeaways. He also blocked fewer opposing shot attempts than a year ago.
Apart from trending in a negative direction in terms of protecting the puck when it was on his stick and his stick-on-puck work on the forecheck and backcheck, Hayes did not use his size and strength as well as the previous year in terms of taking the body. He averaged 1.28 hits per game in 2019-20 and 1.09 this season.
Bottom line: Hayes was a better player, both process-wise and bottom-line results wise, in 2019-20 than this season no matter what some of the metrics say. I lost count of how many developing high-danger chances were passed up for lesser shots, gave goalies a chance to recover or didn't end up as shots on goal at all. "Expected goals" are rendered meaningless when they don't become actual goals.
Hayes was an important part of why the Flyers had the NHL's best record in Nov. 2019, although he played better than his individual scoring numbers that month. The numbers picked up as the Flyers surged again over the final 26 games prior to the pause (including a team-leading 11 goals from Hayes during that stretch, three of which were scored shorthanded). Hayes' play in the playoffs was a bit uneven at times, but it was hard to quibble much with his overall 13 points in 16 games.
That is the player the Flyers need to see next season. The one who'd intercept passes and turn them into transitional chances. The one who, even when he wasn't scoring shorthanded goals, ragged time off the clock with the puck on his stick (although not necessarily when he'd bob and weave in the neutral zone, despite the fact that it usually seemed to work). The one who had three goals and six points against the Islanders in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
This season, due to the pandemic, we had no direct access to players and the locker room. So I'm not sure if Hayes was able to keep everyone else loose and laughing on a day-to-day through the pressure of the season the way he did a year ago. I kind of get the feeling that it was a rather joyless 2020-21 season for much of the roster, including Hayes. However, that could simply be a reflection of the fact that the team wasn't played great even when it started out with an 11-4-3 record. Thereafter, there wasn't much to smile and laugh about as the bottom fell on the season.
A transcript of Hayes' Exit Day media availability follows at the end of today's blog. He responded to several of the aforementioned questions about the season.
2) Some key NHL dates in the offseason to file away for your reference:
Wed. June 2: NHL Draft lottery.
Sat. July 17: NHL teams must submit their Expansion Draft protection list by 5 p.m. EDT.
Sun. July 18: The NHL will release each team's protected list to the public.
Wed. July 21: NHL Expansion Draft choices made by Seattle Kraken.
Fri. July 23: NHL Entry Draft Round 1 (note: remote Draft ala 2020).
Sat. July 24: NHL Entry Draft Rounds 2-7.
Wed. July 28: Free agency begins.
No decisions have been made yet as to whether NHL teams will be able to resume their annual post-Draft development camps, which were canceled last year due to the pandemic. It will depend on travel/quarantine regulations as the time gets closer.
3) Today in Flyers History: May 18
* 1975: The Flyers grab a two games to zero lead over the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 win at the Spectrum. Bobby Clarke broke a 1-1 tie with a power play goal at 6:43 of the third period. Bernie Parent (18 saves on 19 shots) and the team's stout defense in front of him (holding the Sabres to just three shots on goal in the final period) slammed the door.
* 2010: The Flyers open a two games to zero lead over the Montreal Canadiens with a 3-0 win at the Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) Center. Michael Leighton (30 saves) recorded his second straight shutout. The Flyers put up a picket fence on the scoreboard with one first period goal by Danny Briere (power play), one second period tally by Simon Gagne (power play) and a third period marker at even strength by Ville Leino midway through. The Flyers never gave the Habs a sniff at a possible comeback, outshooting them 10-4 in the final period. Two days earlier, the Flyers opened the series with a 6-0 blowout victory.
4) May 18 Flyers Alumni birthdays: Jay Wells (1959), Dave Michayluk (1962), Turner Stevenson (1972).
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Kevin Hayes Exit Day Transcript
Courtesy of the Flyers' Brian Smith, the following is a transcript of Kevin Hayes' media availability to Exit Day last Tuesday. At the time, Hayes did not go into specifics of the nature of his impending offseason surgery (core muscle repair). He also denied the speculation that there were tensions in the locker room that developed this season.
Kevin, AV kind of said the other day that you may have been bothered by some injury. Were you injured this year? And are you going to need some kind of surgery? Or was that a false read?
Yeah, it's gonna be a minor surgery and something that we'll fix and we'll be fine.
I guess you don't want to be specific as to what it was. But how much did it prevent you from playing as well as you did last year?
It's easy to say that the injury was the reason, but no, I just think it was kind of a mix of everything, type of season the team had, the type of season the league had and a bunch of different factors. I felt like my first year in Philly was amazing. It was a great start to my career here. And this year was kind of a little hiccup, not the way I wanted to go, obviously. And I kinda want to be a guy that's relied on every single night and a guy that plays the right way, 200 foot game. This year, I can't honestly say that that was the case. So yeah, it's just kind of going to get away from the rink for a little bit and then come back after I feel better. Get back to work and start working towards next season.
Obviously, everybody faced the difficulties this year, not just with COVID and your temporary shutdown, but the challenge is about lack of practice. It's something AV talked about a lot. How difficult was it this year, to not have as much practice time to get in sync when things were going wrong?
Well, it's easier to tune up your game when you can practice as a team a lot more than we did this year. That was definitely a challenge for our team. The whole league went through it, so we can't really use that as an excuse. That's when you get better. That's when you build chemistry. That's when you work on your systems and become a better team. I feel like this year, it was tough without it. Next year, it'll be a normal season, and we'll get back to it.
Hey, Kevin, one thing about last year's team, and you spoke to this a lot last season was your just how tight knit the group was? How much everybody enjoyed, you know, hanging out being together? Did the frustration level of this season and obviously not meeting expectations, did that impact kind of tenor in the locker room for you guys this year?
Yes and no. Like anything in life when things aren't going your way for an extended period of time, it's tough to be happy about what's going on. I think guys are real frustrated with how the season went. No one was really grumpy or anything, but outside of the actual hockey game, this is a tight group. Everyone loves each other. We have an awesome time with each other. I don't think that got away from us.
Much has been made by us and people on the outside about the loss of Matt Niskanen. To you guys inside the dressing room, how much was that loss? Was that a big loss? Did you guys really miss his presence on and off the ice?
It's easy to say that when a big part of your team is you have a great season with them and then all of a sudden he leaves and you don't have a great season. It's easy to say that. Nisky was an awesome guy, an awesome player. He definitely played the game in a way that we missed a little bit this year. I think we have the right group here. It was obviously a tough year. Matt Niskanen helps any team obviously. I don't think you can say that we had a bad year because Nisky wasn't here. I wish he was. Obviously he's a great guy.
Kevin, you got to know Carter hard a lot the last two years. Do you have any concern that he that the adversity he dealt with this year is going to set him back? Or do you think when you show up for training camp next year, he's going to be the guy that we saw last season? You guys saw last season in the playoffs?
Yeah, I don't want to speak for Carter, but I'm sure he's not happy about how it went this year. From getting to know him, seeing his work ethic and how he goes about his professional game, I think he'll be one of the best goalies in the league next year. He's a player that myself, this team and this organization is really relying on. I think everyone has a ton of confidence in him and knows how hard he works. I think he'll get away from the rink, reset and figure out his best way to go about getting back to where he was.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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