Look, Kevin Hayes was never going to fetch a great return. The two-way center has declined over the years due to multiple core injuries and some friction in the locker room with John Tortorella. Flyers general manager Daniel Briere was behind the eight ball with Hayes and unloaded him earlier this week for a lowly return: a 2024 sixth-round pick.
Initial reactions to the trade varied, but most were along the lines of “that’s it?”. Well, we can now look at the Hayes trade in a different light after a few high-profile players were bought out on Friday.
Hayes has three years remaining on his contract at a cap hit of just over $7 million. The Flyers retained half of that, eating $3.5M over the next three seasons. This was essentially a buyout of Hayes by the Flyers. Rather than actually buying him out and having to pay a smaller fee later in the decade when the team should be competitive, they bit the bullet of a smaller return in order to get Hayes’ contract off the books as soon as possible. A straight buyout of Hayes would’ve cost the Flyers $2.2M next season, $4.7M in the following two years, and $1.6M from 2026 to 2029.
On Friday, Matt Duchene and Blake Wheeler were among the players placed on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Duchene, 32, had three years left on his contract at a reasonable $8M cap hit. He had a career year in the 2021-22 season with 43 goals and 86 points and although that went down to 22 goals and 56 points last season, it’s still pretty good production for his cap hit. Barry Trotz and the Predators made a fairly big statement by buying out Duchene.
Instead of Nashville having that $8M cap hit on the hook through 2026, the Predators will now have that spread out through 2029 ($2.5M, $5.5M, $6.5M, then $1.5M in the three years after the contract would’ve expired). Duchene is now one of the best free agents on the market – which speaks both to the veteran’s play as well as the lackluster group of players available.
The Jets did the same with Wheeler. Their former captain carried a cap hit of $8.25M for just next season and Winnipeg will pay $2.75M in each of the next two years instead. Wheeler, much like Hayes, had worn out his welcome with the club and it was pretty clear that the team would move on from them.
The Predators also pulled off a Hayes-like deal to get out from under Ryan Johansen’s contract prior to Briere completing the trade with St. Louis. Nashville retained 50% of Johansen’s $8M cap hit for the next two seasons while getting back Alex Galchenyuk, who likely won’t be tendered a contract by the Predators.
The Flyers have these next three years to overhaul their roster and organization. Even if they essentially gave up Hayes for nothing – and the centerman could definitely bounce back in St. Louis – it was a necessary move for the future of the franchise.
Thomas Williams
Joseph DeMarini
