Former St. Louis Blues forward Kevin Hayes is headed to Russia.
On Tuesday, the KHL announced that Hayes has signed a one-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan. The move comes after a brief stop in St. Louis for the veteran forward, who spent one season with the Blues before moving on.
Hayes’ lone year with the Blues came in 2023-24, when he was acquired in a trade for a sixth-round pick. He appeared in 79 games and finished with 13 goals and 29 points. After that season, he spent two years with the Pittsburgh Penguins before making the jump to the KHL.
Across his NHL career, Hayes played 805 games and produced 185 goals and 446 points. His path through the league included five seasons with the New York Rangers, half a season with the Winnipeg Jets, four seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, one season in St. Louis, and two seasons in Pittsburgh.
Although he never played for the Chicago Blackhawks, they were the team that drafted him in 2010. Hayes instead chose the NCAA route, spending four years at Boston College before signing with the Rangers as a free agent.
Over the course of his NHL career, Hayes was traded four times and earned just under $70 million on contracts.
Ak Bars Kazan’s roster includes several former NHL players and a number of NHL-drafted prospects. The club finished second in its division and third in its conference last season, then fell to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL finals.
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