Flyers trade Kevin Hayes to Blues a day before NHL Draft

We are a day out of the 2023 NHL Draft, and Danny Briere has made another move to rebuild the Flyers.

Philadelphia traded Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round draft pick. The Flyers shall retain 50% of Hayes’ salary remaining on his contract.

Hayes was the team’s lone All-Star this past season but saw his role decline towards the end of the season as the Flyers went full-force on a rebuild.

The 31-year-old center has three years left on a seven-year, $50 million deal, which had a no-move clause that was modified. His annual cap hit for the Flyers will now be $3,571,428 over the next three seasons.

So, it is a future sixth-round pick and half salary retention for a 6-foot-5 center coming off possibly the best season of his career where he finished a point shy from matching his career high of 55. That is not great value in return. But Briere really had no choice, especially when Hayes is not a piece to the future under head coach John Tortorella, Who, apparently, did not get along so well.

Bob Murray, Hayes' agent: "It's been stressful for Kev. He really liked Philadelphia, he liked the city, he liked his teammates … everything was good until December-ish when things started to go the other way. It's been a difficult, stressful time for him. (1/2)
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) June 27, 2023

In the 2022-23 season, Hayes led the Flyers in assists with 36 and scored 18 goals. In four seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, Hayes recorded 157 points (63 goals, 94 assists) and a minus-50 rating in 253 games.