As the trade deadline wound down for the Blue Jackets following the moves of Nyquist, Korpisalo and Gavrikov, an interesting rumor popped up. Kevin Hayes, the much-maligned forward floating in and out of John Tortorella’s doghouse, was not only linked to Columbus, but details about what a potential move could look like emerged as well. Now, in the world of the NHL, trade details typically don’t ever become public until the trade is finalized. The context surrounding these reports seemed to imply that a move is all but likely. Given this presumption, let’s look at the player and what he could bring to the Blue Jackets.
Before diving in on the player, what is the reason the Jackets are even considering another forward? For starters, the Jackets are known to be looking to add to their lacking veteran presence and experience on the team. Hayes is no stranger to the playoffs having played in north of 50 playoff games for 3 different teams. Additionally, although he is known for being a winger, he has experience at center which the Jackets are known to be looking for as well.
Something else that can’t be overlooked is that Hayes has a well-documented relationship with the Jackets new superstar, Johnny Gaudreau, as well as a relationship with current assistant GM Rick Nash from their time together with the Rangers.
What could a potential trade look like? It’s important to understand that the Flyers are in a position to be motivated to move Hayes despite his second highest scoring season of his career with an albatross of a contract, 3 years remaining with a $7.1 million dollar contract. The Flyers are attempting to get younger and coupled with Hayes issues with their new coach, he doesn’t fit what they want to do. In fact, the rumors that emerged suggested the Flyers would be willing to eat 33% of Hayes contract for the Jackets (or any other interested team) to take him off their hands. This would take Hayes’ contract down to a much more manageable $4.7 million which, intriguingly, is less than a million dollars more than a forward the Jackets are rumored to possibly be looking to move themselves, Jack Roslovic.
This all sounds great and without any further analysis, this would seem like a perfect fit. However, there is one more aspect to this picture that needs to be analyzed. The reality is that the Jackets depth chart is incredibly crowded. If you were to say that Hayes is better suited to line up as winger, he would at best be lining up on the 3rd line with so many more skilled and/or younger players projected to play higher in the lineup. On the other hand, if Hayes projects more as a center with the Jackets, where do you play him? The Jackets don’t have a need for another middle 6 center, they’re already trying to trade one, the previously mentioned Roslovic and even then, the battle for middle 6 forward spots in camp seems destined to be a bloodbath. Could he be a temporary placeholder on the top line? That is really where the only undetermined forward spot would seem to be, at least for now. And this doesn’t take into account the very real possibility that the Jackets may draft a high-end center prospect with their top 4 draft pick.
Yet, while it doesn’t seem like there is an obvious spot in the lineup for Hayes, this deal does seem relatively likely to happen. The Jackets covet the veteran leadership to help develop the young prospects who are rapidly beginning to take hold in the roster and the acquisition cost appears to be minimal in comparison. A likely deal would follow the framework of:
Hayes (33% retained) + Pick for Roslovic + Pick
This is something the Jackets can more than afford to do especially with Voracek’s deal coming off the books by the deadline. Unless another option shows up (Elias Lindholm anyone?), this deal seems more likely than not to occur.
Comments
Post a Comment