Kevin Hayes is walking away from the Pittsburgh Penguins and the NHL, signing a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL.
The move ends, at least for now, a run that spanned 805 regular-season games. Tuesday's report closes a chapter nobody saw ending in Kazan.
Hayes finishes with 185 goals and 446 points over his NHL career. Not bad for a kid Chicago drafted 24th overall back in 2010 and never once suited up.
Instead, the big center turned Boston College into his showcase, exploding for 65 points in 39 games during his final NCAA season. That performance made him one of the hottest free agents on the market.
New York scooped him up in 2014, and he delivered immediately: 17 goals, 45 points, a trip to the Eastern Conference Final as a rookie.
Hayes was never flashy, but he could slow a game down and make plays smaller players couldn't dream of.
Winnipeg got him at the 2019 deadline, and it was a short, productive stop. 12 points in 20 games, three more in six playoff outings, enough to cash in that summer.
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Kevin Hayes shocks the NHL with unexpected move to Russia
Philadelphia handed him seven years and $50 million. That contract is the real story here, a bet on size and skill that never fully paid off, and frankly, it looks worse in hindsight.
He scored 23 goals in his first season with the Flyers and put up 54 points in 2022-23, his best point total since entering the league.
But abdominal surgery and other injuries chipped away at his consistency over his final years in Philadelphia.
St. Louis got him next, 29 points in 79 games during the 2023-24 season. Then Pittsburgh came calling, landing him along with a second-round pick as the Blues shed his contract.
His first year with the Penguins produced 23 points in 64 games. Not the finish anyone imagined, but a functional bottom-six role.
Year two was a different story entirely. A shoulder injury delayed his season debut, then a lower-body issue and a reduced role limited him to just 28 games and eight points.
Is this really the end? Maybe, or maybe it's a reset in Kazan, a chance to rediscover the game away from North American scrutiny.
Either way, he leaves with a résumé most players would sign up for blind: a first-round pick, a coveted college free agent, a 50-point season, and more than 800 NHL games.
Career arcs like his rarely move in a straight line. His was more a highway with unexpected exits than a clean interstate run.
Whether Kazan turns into a permanent stop or a pit stop back toward North America, that decision isn't Pittsburgh's to make anymore.
Source : Veteran NHL forward Kevin Hayes signs in Russia
Did the Penguins make a mistake letting Kevin Hayes walk to the KHL?
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