Before the season even began, Kevin Hayes was hit with an unfathomable tragedy. Being around the team made things a bit easier after the tragic passing of his brother, Jimmy, but even that has been a struggle this season. Hayes has only been able to appear in 20 games for the Flyers this season.
He missed the beginning of the year after a second core muscle surgery was needed right before training camp. After returning on November 13th, he was only able to play in two games before he was sidelined once again, this time for six games. He returned in the beginning of December and stuck in the Flyers lineup for over a month.
Hayes ended up needing a procedure in his adductor region to drain fluid and he has been sidelined since his last game on January 17th. When Chuck Fletcher last spoke, there was thought that Hayes could need a surgery that would’ve ended his season. But he has been partaking in rehab skates recently and could actually make a return to the lineup very soon.
"“I think there’s a good chance we could see Kevin in the lineup. I know he had a real positive MRI, real positive doctor’s appointment. They gave him some good news.” Mike Yeo said after Thursday’s practice.”We want to be careful here, want to put him in a good position. If he is gonna return to play, we want to make sure that he’s fully ready. But I would say that that is a possibility, whether that’s later next week. I think there is a possibility of him returning to the lineup.”"
The decision has not been taken lightly as both Hayes and the team are committed to each other and have his best interest in mind for the future. After this season, Hayes has four years remaining on a seven-year contract that he signed during the summer of 2019. He will have a modified no-trade clause kick in this summer.
Hayes plays an important role on this team and could help ease other duties on some other players if he is able to return on a full-time basis. He will add much needed center depth to a team that has already lost Sean Couturier for the remainder of the season.
There is some concern on if returning this season could further hinder him down the line. So this decision will not be an easy one as Hayes especially does not want to jeopardize anything. There have been multiple discussion with doctors and medical professionals on if needing another surgery is a possibility.
If they say that surgery is not a necessity and that coming back to play can actually help him further, than Hayes will, of course, return if at all possible. It’s a complicated process and one that originally could’ve take more time. Originally, Yeo had said they would make a decision on Hayes at the beginning of March.
With this new news, that timeline appears to be on track. The Flyers play on March 1st, 3rd, and 5th. It doesn’t necessarily sound like Tuesday’s game is the target. But the latter two games seem to be a real possibility. If the Flyers can get another injured player back, it will be a huge boost.