Offseason trade? Hayes doubts his fit as Tortorella, Flyers make things clear

VOORHEES, N.J. — Kevin Hayes didn't need a psychic to help him decipher the signs.

The writing had been on the wall since February, when the Flyers' season went off track and essentially into rebuild mode.

Then in March, a week after the trade deadline, the general manager that brought Hayes to Philadelphia was fired.

The All-Star's minutes started to dip. His linemates were changing. His position yo-yoed.

The Flyers' sole focus had become the future and Hayes was no longer looking like a key part of it.

"I picked up the message that was sent months ago," he said Friday at his end-of-the-season press conference. "I'm OK with it. It's their decision."

The Flyers' offseason has arrived following the club's third straight year of missing the playoffs. On Friday, Hayes seemed resorted to the possible reality of being traded. He turns 31 years old next month and, despite some not-so-favorable circumstances, finished a point shy from matching his career high of 55. He's a 6-foot-5 center in his prime with term (three more years) and bigger dollars ($7-plus million cap hit) on his contract. Meanwhile, the Flyers want to get younger and don't know when they'll be contending again.

"I don't want to say I'm suited for a contender, because I think I'm suited for anyone, to be honest," Hayes said. "But, yeah, we'll see how that unfolds. Their decisions have probably already been made. We don't know them yet. I'm sure I'll find out around the draft.

"It looks like younger guys are playing. I don't know if they want a guy that's making the money that I'm making playing nine, 10 minutes a night. I don't make those decisions; they do. And I'm sure they have to make them pretty quickly; draft's coming up."

The NHL entry draft is June 28-29. Hockey trades are typically made leading up to and during the draft as teams try to significantly change their rosters before free agency.

Hayes was acquired by Chuck Fletcher in June 2019. It reunited Hayes with Alain Vigneault, who coached him in New York. After coming a win shy of the Eastern Conference Final in the 2020 bubbled playoffs, the Flyers have dropped off considerably and gone through major change. Vigneault was fired last season in December and Fletcher was relieved over a month ago.

With Danny Briere now interim GM and head coach John Tortorella making his imprint, Hayes' future in Philly has gone directly up in the air.

"I think you guys know how much I love it here," Hayes said. "I signed here seven years, absolutely love this organization. I thought Chuck was great. I loved A.V. I know they both caught a lot of flack here from fans and media. Danny B's great. And the city's awesome, it's a sports town.

"They need to go younger here if they want to win. That's how you win in this league, you've got to rebuild and that's what they're in now. As much as I would love to stay and help it out, I have no idea if that's going to be the case."

Ahead of the March 3 trade deadline, Tortorella was honest about where Hayes stood in the head coach's eyes.

"When players are getting up in the 30s and we're in this process here — trying to get younger, but also try to stay competitive while we're doing that — his name has to be brought up, has to be talked about," Tortorella said.

For some reason, in Year 1 together, Tortorella never really grew fond of Hayes' game. He highlighted defensive struggles for why he moved Hayes from center to winger at the end of November. He benched him for a full third period twice and a full game once. And Hayes didn't kill penalties this year like he had in past seasons with the Flyers.

"Ups and downs, for sure," Hayes said. "It's weird, I had almost a career year and I was an All-Star. Never really felt like that throughout the whole season, to be honest."

By the All-Star break in early February, Hayes had 45 points (15 goals, 30 assists) over 50 games and was playing 18:02 minutes per game. After the All-Star break, he had nine points (three goals, six assists) in 31 games and played 16:48 minutes per game.

He opened March on the third line. The Flyers were focused on putting their youngsters in more situations, particularly late in games.

"I was an All-Star earlier in the year and then I don't think I was given the same opportunity late in the year as I was early on, playing with certain players and stuff, but it is what it is," Hayes said.

"I've been in that situation where I was young, not playing a lot, and then all of a sudden, I'm leading the team in minutes. I was 25 years old, it was a blast. It's awesome to see those guys do that.

"I just focus on being the best teammate. That's what I've been trying to do. My brother taught me that. It's something that I wear on my sleeve, is making sure that everyone in that room feels comfortable every night and can be in the best headspace that they should be in. It's tough when you're getting 22 minutes a night and leading the team in points, and then you wake up, you get back from the All-Star break, and you're playing eight minutes a night and playing with different players. Like I said, it is what it is."

Hayes is beloved in the Flyers' locker room.

"It's just so deep," Travis Konecny said Friday. "Every single guy loves Hayesy and what he brings to the table."

Hayes expressed happiness for his younger teammates who had developed their games in larger roles down the stretch.

Whether he'll be playing with them again next season is in real doubt. The Flyers have fallen so hard that an All-Star center with leadership qualities appears to somehow no longer fit.

"I don't really think there's enough good things I could say about Hayesy," Joel Farabee said Friday. "He's one of my best friends. From the first day I got here as a 19-year-old, he kind of took me under his wing. Same with guys like Scott Laughton, Michael Raffl, the list kind of goes on.

"Hayesy, he's always been so good to me, just leading me in the right direction when whatever the case might be. I think he's just a terrific pro. Whatever happens, happens. That's kind of out of the player's control. But he's been so good to me and I really feel loyal to him forever."

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