Buy or Sell: Kevin Hayes

In this edition of “Buy or Sell” we take a look at specific players and try to predict whether we are “buying” or “selling” a players stock for next season. Some may not even be with the Flyers next season so follow along to see which players could bounce back and which may be better off somewhere else.

Let’s kick off our first “Buy or Sell” segment with Kevin Hayes.

Tragedy Strikes

2021-22 season may have been the toughest season of Kevin Hayes’s life and not just because of injury issues. Jimmy Hayes, Kevin’s older brother, shockingly passed away weeks before training camp was set to begin.

“It’s going to be weird stepping on the ice for the first time knowing that my brother’s not there,” Kevin Hayes said. “When I’m having bad days or bad games or not playing up to [what] all the fans want me to here, I’ll just think of my brother, and hopefully he’ll push me through.”

Second and Third Surgeries in 7 Months

Then just two days before training camp, it was announced that Hayes would undergo abdominal surgery that would keep him out of action for six to eight weeks. This would be the second time Hayes would go under the knife since May, keeping him out of action for at least the Flyers first 10 games.

Once Hayes returned he would apparently re injure himself in a game on November 16 and would miss time for a procedure to drain fluid from the abdominal area, Hayes would miss the next two weeks.

Instead of opting for a third surgery, Hayes tried to play through the injury and did through all of December and most of January but hardly looked himself. After a game on January 17, Hayes would elect to have the second abdominal surgery and would miss three to four weeks.

Finally Healthy

Once Hayes returned from injury he looked more like the Kevin Hayes we know and love as he racked up a cool 12 points in 13 games in March, leading the Flyers to a positive 10 game stretch of 5-4-1 during the month.

April would be another rough month for the Flyers as they elected to call up some of the kids like Bobby Brink and Noah Cates. That did not slow down Kevin Hayes as he tallied 10 points in the 15 games played during the month.

For those keeping track at home, that’s 22 points in the final 28 games of the season for Hayes.

Buy or Sell Time

Looking ahead to the 2022-23 season it is hard to predict what sort of production to expect from players because we don’t know what the roster will look like. Having said that,  judging by the production to finish last season and considering all this particular player went through. To finish a season the way Hayes did has me BUYING all the Kevin Hayes stock.

Whether you like it or not Kevin Hayes is an integral part of the Philadelphia Flyers. His personality alone can change the culture in a room. Add in his production on the ice and you have an extremely important player on your roster.

Also consider Hayes is a player who plays all facets of the game in the Power play, Penalty Kill, and obviously 5 on 5 and you have a massive loss when you’re without him.

Last season the Flyers found out what it was like to lose a player of Hayes’ caliber for long stretches. Fans can only hope this season will go differently and if Hayes can remain healthy, he could be in for a very nice season.

Jim Iacovone is the Site Manager for HW Hockey
Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
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