
Kevin Hayes
Kevin Hayes has fully embraced his role as a shutdown center this season. While this has taken a bit of a toll on his offensive production, he has done an outstanding job of matching up against other teams’ top lines. He currently has 18 points through 43 games, but the offensive creativity is still there.
Hayes has fully transitioned into a dependable two-way center. He kills penalties, and has started 58.3% of his shifts in the defensive zone. These past two years, Hayes has been molded into a replacement for Derek Stepan. This is a drastic change from his first two seasons in which he started over 60% of the time in the offensive zone.
The reason that Kevin Hayes needs the All-Star break is because he is nursing a nagging injury. He has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury, and the Rangers’ center depth is badly depleted without him. The center did play well on Thursday night against the Sharks, but a few days off will help him get ready for the final 30 or so games of the season.