Kevin Hayes has never cracked the 60 point barrier and is 27.
He just signed one of the stupidest contracts in NHL history.
What the Flyers have done so far this off-season is just incomprehensible. Had they ceded control of the franchise to Gritty they'd be doing better.
The Jets trade was stupid.
But their reasoning is amazing: clearing cap space to sign Tyler Myers. Because taping four sticks together and just throwing them randomly in the Dzone somewhere wouldn't accomplish the exact same thing.
The fact that two separate teams signed Roman Polak to play and Dave Nonis to manage is insulting to every person who secretly wishes they could get a job playing or managing in the NHL.
The whole thing is a joke. ,
The majority of NHL general managers seem to be interchangable with any random person reading this.
It is hilarious, but do you know what's even better?
Cheering for a team that doesn't have a moron running them.
Because he somehow became an avatar for the advanced stats community, a lot of uneducated hockey fans like to take shots at John Chayka.
Chayka, however, is having the last laugh.
As far as I can tell, he hasn't made a single stupid move during his reign. I strongly disagree with his decision to give up on Dylan Strome, because the numbers he put up when given a chance were very clearly good, but the return he got on him looks to be pretty sweet.
So his worst move sort of sucks if you're enamored with the raw talent of Strome, but given his footspeed, the history of the Strome brothers and the fact the coach clearly hated him, and factoring in the return, you can't say it was "stupid."
Annti Raanta's injury history hides the fact that Chayka's trading of Anthony DeAngleo and the #7 overall pick for defensively elite Derek Stepan and elite-elite Raanta would otherwise be one of the best trades of this decade.
The contracts he has signed might not all work out, but you have to hand it to the guy for understanding that its better to overpay a player coming off his ECL and bet on him to return value later, than to overpay a vet in free agency.
This strategy was employed with Schmaltz, Chayka and Dvorak. He only has to hit on one of these guys to make a profit.
The Coyotes - despite their lack of high-end scoring, have the makings of an awesome team. If Schmaltz and Chychrun take another step forward, if Keller rebounds and Hayton makes the team - look out.
They are a playoff team with a little luck. If they somehow land an elite scorer, they could be a dark horse contender.
Either way, one thing is clear:
By having an analytics based, forward thinking, smart-risk taking 35 year old running their team, the Coyotes are miles ahead of almost every other team in the NHL not employing Steve Yzerman, Jeff Gorton or Kyle Dubas.
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