Kevin Hayes is looking forward to a fresh start.
The words are eerily similar to the ones he spoke when the St. Louis Blues acquired the veteran forward from the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2023 NHL Draft. But a year later, for the 2024 draft, Hayes was on the move again as the Blues sent the 32-year-old to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with a 2025 second-round pick for future consideration.
Needless to say, it wasn’t a good year for Hayes in his only season in St. Louis, when he finished with just 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) in 79 games, a 25-point drop from the previous season when he was an All-Star with the Flyers.
Hayes spoke on a Zoom call with Penguins media on Wednesday how he discovered he was on the move again and described his time with the Blues.
“A real quick phone call; he said I changed his contract with Pittsburgh,” Hayes said of Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. “… Very excited to get back to the (Metro Division). I feel like I’ve been in Metro pretty much my entire career except for last year. I’m used to it; I’m used to the travel and I’m excited to get back to that division.
“I felt like last year I couldn’t find a role in St. Louis and didn’t play my best hockey. Looking forward to getting this season started to show that I can still play in this league and be part of a winning team. … I still think I can produce in this league and I want to show that to my teammates and the coaching staff.”
Armstrong admitted it just didn’t work for Hayes heresomething he felt could be a good fit when he acquired him at the 50% reduced cap hit the Flyers took on.
The Blues tried to utilize Hayes, who had an excellent face-off season, winning a career-high 57 percent of draws, in different roles, even moving the career center to the wing, a third-line role, in the fourth line, sometimes in the top six, also being a healthy scratch, it just never worked out, from a coach [Craig Berube] for the next [Drew Bannister].
“I think being comfortable definitely helps,” Hayes said. “I feel like last year, I honestly enjoyed my time in St. Louis and the guys on that team were amazing in the locker room. there would be stretches of bad games to be able to get back to where I think I should be in this league, just building the right relationship with the coach, gaining trust in the coach and being able to play in all situations.
“I think because of the style of play I have, I’m a pass-first type of player and I think I want to change, maybe having a little more of a shooting mentality. a little better near me. I think the opportunity in Pittsburgh will allow for that.”
Hayes understands the direction the Blues are heading in and also mentioned reshaping rather than saying the Blues were rebuilding, but again, hasn’t really found a defined role for himself.
“In St. Louis, I feel like I never found the right role,” Hayes said. “I don’t want to say they’re going to rebuild because I don’t think they will and I know when that was said to the guys in the locker room they didn’t really like it, but I just didn’t like it. Doesn’t fit into their plan, I guess. It’s definitely a shot to the ego when you go to two teams in two years. But I’m a pretty confident person, I’ve been in the league for a long time. successful seasons. I know what I need to do to make sure my game works in this league, and I think I’ll have a good opportunity in Pittsburgh to do that.
“Instead of it being more of an ego issue, I’m going to use it more as motivation to show these two teams (Blues and Flyers) that I can still play and produce in this league.”
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