The Kevin Hayes trade to the St. Louis Blues ended up being a lot less eventful than most expected. Prior to the day of the official trade, speculation was flying about the move involving multiple roster players, Travis Sanheim and Scott Laughton among them. Then it was rumored that Jordan Kyrou could have been involved. After that, it came down to a Blues defenseman’s no-trade clause holding things up; that was eventually revealed to be Torey Krug. The end result of all of this? A 2024 sixth-round pick for three years of 50% retention.
Although Hayes was signed to a bloated contract relative to his actual abilities, it’s hard not to feel like the Philadelphia Flyers should have gotten more. After the Nashville Predators sent Ryan Johansen at retained money to the Colorado Avalanche for Alex Galchenyuk, who was subsequently let go, Daniel Briere’s hands were tied.
I miss watching Kevin Hayes score SHGs. pic.twitter.com/f02A1sfDsX
— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) September 8, 2021
This is a classic case of failing upwards, though. This is a move that the Philadelphia Flyers really should have had done the minute the offseason started, and as a result, they let other teams (Nashville and Colorado) determine the market. The NHL didn’t raise the cap ceiling all that much this year, and John Tortorella continues to fail to keep his beef with players away from the public eye.
In short, it was a recipe for disaster for Philly as the Flyers lost all leverage they might have had in a trade months ago. This wouldn’t be the last time Tortorella would cost the Flyers trade value this offseason, either.
Grade: D-