Kevin Hayes Announces Retirement

According to the KHL, Kevin Hayes is officially retiring from the sport of hockey.

This announcement comes shortly after the NHL-to-KHL transfer that saw Hayes sign with AK Bars Kazan of the KHL back in late August. Russia was looking like the last stop for Hayes’ professional career. It was a very short stint in the KHL; Hayes appeared in just five games for 2026-27.

“I have decided to end my hockey career. I can no longer play at the level I am capable of because my body does not allow me to perform at my best. And I cannot accept not being in top form.” 

After a downturn of an injury-riddled 2025-26 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hayes failed to gain any traction on the unrestricted free agent market this summer. He played just 28 games last season, scoring 4 goals for 8 points in the last season of a seven-year, $50MM contract signed back in 2019 with the Philadelphia Flyers. In Pittsburgh, Hayes began to fall to bottom-six duties in his first season as an aging player who was losing his footspeed. For the Penguins, several younger players stepped into the lineup and earned Hayes’s playing time.

The 34-year-old began his professional career in 2010, earning himself a first-round selection by the Chicago Blackhawks. After dominant U18 performances, Hayes transitioned to Boston College, winning Hockey East in his freshman season, adding a second conference title as well as a  National Championship in his sophomore season during the 2011-12 campaign. He finished with an impressive 27 goals and 65 points in 40 games in his senior campaign in 2013-14. He ended up not agreeing to an entry-level contract with the Blackhawks, and Hayes signed with the New York Rangers the following season.

In New York, he quickly established his ability to produce in the NHL, finishing seventh in the Calder Trophy voting in 2014-15. In four-and-a-half seasons with the Rangers, he scored 87 goals and 216 points in 361 games, with a +31 rating, while averaging 15:44 of ice time per game. Across that time, he played on his entry-level contract as well as two more deals within his RFA years. His last, a one-year $5.175MM contract, saw that half-season that didn’t extend to a fifth, as the Rangers dealt him in 2019 to the Winnipeg Jets for Brendan Lemieux and two draft picks, one of them, a first-rounder in 2019 (where Ville Heinola was selected). Hayes finished the season scoring five goals and 13 points in 20 games for the Jets, and added two goals and one assist in six postseason contests.

Just before Hayes hit the free-agent market for the second time in his career, the Jets traded his signing rights to the Philadelphia Flyers, where he would eventually ink the seven-year, $50MM ($7.14MM AAV) contract that he finished last season. The move to Philadelphia reunited Hayes with his former coach, Alain Vigneault, whom the Rangers fired after the 2017-18 season.