Penguins activate former All-Star Kevin Hayes

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they’ve activated veteran forward Kevin Hayes from the injured reserve. In a corresponding roster move, the team has placed Filip Hallander on the IR, who was diagnosed with a blood clot Friday.

It’s been nearly seven months since Hayes last skated in an NHL contest. The 11-year veteran has been dealing with an upper-body injury since training camp, and initially garnered an expected return date in mid-October. Obviously, the injury kept him out a few weeks past the scheduled recovery timeline.

The belief is that Hayes will return to a familiar role this evening, centering Pittsburgh’s third line between Ville Koivunen and one other forward, given that Philip Tomasino has been scratched from the lineup. That spot was held by recently recalled Danton Heinen for the team’s last contest, who went scoreless while earning a -1 rating.

At his best, Hayes is a quality second-line center who’s two years removed from scoring 18 goals and 54 points with the Philadelphia Flyers, along with earning a spot in the All-Star Game. Unfortunately, Hayes has failed to match his 2022-23 scoring output in two years split between the St. Louis Blues and the Penguins. Over that stretch, he’s registered 26 goals and 52 points in 143 games with a -15 rating, averaging 13:23 of ice time per game.

Still, although his defensive metrics took a hit during his first year in Pittsburgh, Hayes is a capable third-line middleman with the capacity to average a 55.0% success rate in the faceoff dot. Further, he deepens the unexpectedly competitive Penguins down the middle behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Meanwhile, as noted Friday, it’ll be some time before Hallander returns to the Penguins roster. Given the seriousness of the ailment, Hallander is expected to miss the next three months, which would position him for a return in early February. The 25-year-old former second-round pick scored one goal and four points through his first 13 games this season.