Kevin Hayes Traded to Blues from Flyers for 2024 6th-Round NHL Draft Pick

Kevin Hayes is off to St. Louis.

The Philadelphia Flyers are trading Hayes to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, the team announced Tuesday.

The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported the Flyers will retain 50 percent of Hayes' salary in the deal.

Hayes is under contract through the 2025-26 season worth $7.1 million annually.

The Flyers were initially reported to be sending Hayes, with salary retained, and defenseman Travis Sanheim to St. Louis in exchange for a first-round pick and an unnamed Blues defenseman, per The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor and Jeremy Rutherford.

However, the Blues defenseman was reportedly unwilling to waive his no-trade clause in the deal, so it appears Philadelphia had to pivot and accept what it could get for Hayes, who had been included in various trade rumors since last season.

The Flyers are currently in the midst of a major rebuild and Hayes is the second major casualty of the team's teardown after it traded defenseman Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a three-team deal on June 6.

Hayes spent the last four seasons of his career with the Flyers and was a major role player on offense, tallying 63 goals and 94 assists for 157 points in 253 games. His best season came in 2022-23 when he notched 18 goals and 36 assists for 54 points in 81 games.

Prior to joining the Flyers, Hayes began his career with the New York Rangers in 2014 and he also spent half a season with the Winnipeg Jets during the 2018-19 campaign. He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the 2010 draft but never played a game for the franchise.

In 634 games across nine seasons, Hayes has tallied 155 goals and 231 assists for 386 points.

After trading Ryan O'Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, the Blues needed to bring in another veteran center this summer in an attempt to fill the void, and Hayes figures to play a key role in the team's offense alongside Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.

After finishing the 2022-23 season with a 37-38-7 record and missing the postseason, the Blues are bringing in Hayes with the hope that he can help the franchise better contend fro a playoff spot over the next several seasons.

As for the Flyers, new general manager Daniel Brière is expected to continue offloading assets this summer with eyes toward the future.

Sanheim, Scott Laughton and Tony DeAngelo have been mentioned as players that could be traded ahead of the 2023-24 season, according to Andy Strickland of Bally Sports. Goaltender Carter Hart has also been floated as a trade candidate.