Former Rangers forward Kevin Hayes has brought his hockey career to a close, ending a run that stretched from Madison Square Garden to the KHL and back again. The 34-year-old said Monday that health problems left him unable to keep performing the way he expects of himself.
“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.”
Hayes had just signed with Ak Bars Kazan in late August, but his stint in Russia never got off the ground. He went scoreless in five games before announcing his retirement. The KHL also noted that he finished with 861 games in the NHL and five in the KHL.
His final season in North America was a tough one. Hayes played only 28 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2025-26 and finished with eight points, all while dealing with a major upper-body injury that hit on the first day of training camp.
He did not dress for the playoffs, and the Penguins were eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round. With no NHL offers coming this summer, he turned to Ak Bars before deciding to step away.
Across his NHL career, Hayes posted 446 points, including 185 goals and 261 assists, while suiting up for the Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Flyers, St. Louis Blues and Penguins.
He was a two-time 20-goal scorer and reached his personal best of 25 goals with the Rangers in 2017-18. His top scoring total came the next season, when he finished with 55 points, including 19 goals and 36 assists.
That year included 14 goals and 42 points with the Rangers before they moved him to the Jets on Feb. 25, 2019.
His strongest single season with one club came later in Philadelphia, where he put up 54 points with 18 goals and 36 assists in 2022-23. The last three seasons, though, produced just 30 goals and 60 points combined with the Blues and Penguins.
Hayes’ NHL path began with the Rangers after he chose not to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, who picked him No. 24 overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. After finishing at Boston College, he became a free agent and signed with New York in August 2014.
He made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2014-15, playing 79 games and helping the Rangers win the Presidents’ Trophy. Hayes finished with 17 goals and 45 points, tying for fifth on the team in goals and placing seventh in Calder Trophy voting.
The Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Final that spring, where they lost Game 7 at home to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hayes had two goals and seven points in 19 playoff games that year.
Over five seasons with the Rangers, he became a reliable, well-liked presence rather than a headline-grabbing star. In 361 games with New York, he scored 87 goals and collected 216 points, while posting a plus-31 rating and averaging 15:44 of ice time.
After leaving New York, Hayes signed a seven-year, $50 million deal with the Flyers in the summer of 2019. He scored 23 goals in 2019-20, later represented Philadelphia at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game, and was traded twice more before his contract ran out at the end of last season.
Hayes was also a finalist for the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2021-22 after returning to the ice following the death of his brother, Jimmy, in August 2021. Jimmy Hayes played 334 NHL games with the Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils.
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