New York Rangers Report Card: Kevin Hayes

Destined to be traded  by the New York Rangers after signing a one year extension last summer, Kevin Hayes excelled as the team’s second line center.

Kevin Hayes: Grade A

Now that we have finished grading the current New York Rangers it’s a time to look at the players who were traded away.  Today we take a look at Kevin Hayes and the value he brought to the Blueshirts this past season.

His season

The New York Rangers snagged Kevin Hayes as an unrestricted free agent when he refused to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks after being drafted by the team with the 24th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Hayes opted to finish his college career at Boston College and then sign an entry-level contract with Rangers in August of 2014. That signing cost the Rangers a second round pick in the 2015 draft as compensation.

After three seasons with the Rangers that were full of ups and downs, the Rangers signed Hayes to a one year contact extension in the summer of 2018. That deal showed a real lack of commitment on part of the Rangers to lock Hayes up for the long-term. Instead, it gave the team some flexibility with Hayes during a rebuilding year.

If Hayes proved to be a valuable member of the team, the Rangers could revisit contract talks with the young center or they could decide to get the best return possible for him at the trade deadline.

Obviously the latter was ultimately the decision, despite the fact that Hayes showed that he could very well play a big part in the teams rebuild.

Hayes had by far his best year on the ice for the Rangers despite missing almost the entire month of January with a lower body injury. With 42 points in 51 games, he had the highest points per game average of his career (0.82).  His advanced stats were excellent, as he led the team in a positive Corsi with 51.2%.  In a shortened season, he still finished second on the team in assists and third in points.

There were stretches during the season where he was clearly the best player on the ice for the team. There were even games where Hayes was clearly the best player on the ice for either team, but instead of looking at him as a vital piece of the rebuilding puzzle, Jeff Gorton decided that the best course of action for the team was to grab a first round pick in 2019 and Brendan Lemieux from the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline.

It’s possible the Rangers just did not buy into Kevin Hayes the player, but it is more likely that the decision to move on without him was a confluence of many factors facing the team during this rebuilding period.

Why the grade

The grade is based simply on what the Rangers got in return for Kevin Hayes. His stats have no significance other than what value the Jets placed on them leading up to the trade deadline deal.

Clearly they were worth something because the Rangers walked away with a pretty good haul.

The first round pick will be the 20th in the upcoming draft, while Brendan Lemieux seems to be a pretty good fit for the Rangers, playing a style of hockey that is very much appreciated by head coach David Quinn. Lemieux himself was the 31st pick in the 2014 draft, the first player selected in the second round, a virtual first rounder.

In addition, the Rangers walk away from a long-term deal that would have cost them significant cap space, and free up the middle of the ice for the younger players that they really want to develop.

Taking all this into consideration, Hayes gets the A, but the grade should really go to Gorton.

The Numbers

Games: 51
Goals:  14
Assists: 28
Points: 42
Points per game: .82
Powerplay points: 11
Corsi for:  51.2%
Plus/Minus: +1
PIM: 10
ATOI: 19:27
Faceoff percentage: 48.6%
Hits: 51

Next Report Card:  Cody McLeod