New York Rangers: Cost Comparables for Kevin Hayes
The New York Rangers signed center Kevin Hayes to a one-year deal worth $5 million. With centers in high demand around the league, let’s take a look at how Hayes’ contract compares to other centers.
One of the New York Rangers’ many free agents this summer was center Kevin Hayes. The 26-year-old filed for arbitration, but avoided his hearing by signing an extension. Hayes signed a one-year, $5.175 million contract for the 2018-19 season.
Center depth is a priority in today’s NHL. Teams are bending over backwards to either sign or trade for a player considered to be an elite NHL center. With Hayes signing a one-year deal, it looks like he may be heading somewhere new via a trade.
So how does Hayes, and his contract, compare with other centers around the league? And if he is eventually traded, what could a return look like?
Hayes’ contract is a pretty fair price to pay in comparison to other centers. If he has an even stronger year than last year, $5 million will seem even better. That will also help with his trade value.
Here are some examples of other centers around the NHL. Two of them were recently traded, and brought in sizeable returns.
Matt Duchene
Matt Duchene started the 2017-18 season with the Colorado Avalanche and a load of trade rumors that carried over from the previous summer. Eventually he would be traded to the Ottawa Senators in a three-way deal.
Duchene currently has one year left on a five-year, $30 million contract. So he earns $6 million per year. He is 27 years old.
In the trade with Ottawa and the Nashville Predators, the Avalanche received a first, second and third round pick, three prospects, and goaltender Andrew Hammond. That is seven pieces in total for Duchene.
Initially, he slumped offensively in Ottawa. However, he built chemistry with teammate Mike Hoffman and was able to rebound. He ended the season with 59 points, an increase from 41 the season before.
Duchene is skilled offensively, and averages above 50 percent in the faceoff circle. These are two valuable skills for an NHL team to have at center.
While Avalanche GM Joe Sakic reportedly wanted a “big name” defenseman for Duchene, he ended up with a decent haul for one of his star forwards. And now Ottawa has a center to stay on board while they lose other forwards like Hoffman and maybe Bobby Ryan.
If Duchene continues to play the way he is known for, he could get an even bigger deal from Ottawa or another team in free agency.
Ryan O’Reilly
Ryan O’Reilly is another center that was recently traded. There are many similarities to Duchene, as O’Reilly is the same age and spent a large portion of his career in Colorado.
O’Reilly is only entering the third year of a seven year, $52.5 million contract. That is an AAV of $7.5 million.
This summer, the Buffalo Sabres traded O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues in a blockbuster deal. In return for him the Sabres received a first round pick, a second round pick, Tage Thompson, Vladimir Sobotka and Patrik Berglund. All three of those forwards could impact the Sabres starting next season.
This season was close to a career high for O’Reilly. His performance earned him a second place finish for the Lady Byng award behind Las Vegas’ William Karlsson.
What makes O’Reilly valuable, in addition to his offensive skill, is his size. He is over six feet tall and over 200 pounds. He also has a strong defensive side to his game and is over 50% in faceoffs.
There is also the leadership factor. On both Colorado and Buffalo, O’Reilly played key leadership roles.
These skills all make Ryan O’Reilly great, and help him earn that big contract as well as a big price tag in a trade.
David Krejci
David Krejci is the oldest on this comparables list at 32 years old. He is a Stanely Cup Champion from 2011 with the Boston Bruins.
As the second line center behind Patrice Bergeron, Krejci has earned 50+ points in seven out of his 11 career seasons. In two of the other seasons, he only played in 47 games, but still earned over 30 points.
Krejci is entering the fourth year of a six-year contract with an AAV of $7.25 million.
The Bruins have been a very successful team for years. Krejci has been one of the key players in the team’s successes.
Most of his points come from assists, and the Bruins have depth on the wing. Especially with rising stars like Jake DeBrusk and Ryan Donato now in the mix.
The Bruins and Krejci are a perfect example of how center depth is key for success in the NHL today and why centers are valued so highly.
Logan Couture
This summer is going well for Logan Couture. He just signed an eight-year, $64 million extension with the San Jose Sharks where he is an alternate captain.
Before his new contract, Couture is entering the last year of a 5-year, $30 million deal (AAV $6 million).
Couture scored a career high 34 goals this season. He is one of only 15 players in the league to have recorded seven or more seasons of 20-plus goals since 2010-11.
He isn’t as strong in face-offs as some other centers, but his offensive skills and his leadership abilities make him one of the key players for the Sharks.
Couture has had multiple 50+ and 60+ point seasons. He is quietly one of the top centers in the league and has played nine NHL seasons.
Couture’s extension follows the trend of centers getting paid more and more as the years go by. He is a valuable asset to his team and they are paying him as such.
Comparing to Kevin Hayes
This comparison is not to say that Kevin Hayes is on the level of these other centers. Yet.
Hayes scored 25 goals last season, a career high. His 44 points were close to his career high of 45. His faceoff percentage also drastically improved last season.
Hayes already proved he is skilled offensively and he is building his two-way game. If he continues on this path, he could potentially reach the levels of the four centers that were just discussed.
The other side of things is the possibility of the Rangers trading him. The returns the Avalanche and Sabres received for Duchene and O’Reilly should be positive signs for the Rangers. Clearly they had this in mind when signing Hayes only to a one-year deal.
Next. Five remaining free agents that must be avoided. dark
The final consensus is that $5 million is a decent price for Kevin Hayes considering the comparables around the league and the potential for a large return at the trade deadline for him. His value will be even further solidified if he has another 40-point or even 50-point season.