Flyers, Blue Jackets had 'soft talks' on Kevin Hayes before deadline

Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek were on Sportsnet’s '32 Thoughts' podcast (20:00 mark) and had some interesting tidbits about deals that did not happen prior to the NHL's trade deadline on Friday. One of the more intriguing was that the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets apparently talked in brief about a deal which would have sent Kevin Hayes to Columbus.

Hayes, 30, has three more years left on his contract with a cap hit just north of $7MM. Though he is having a productive season with 49 points in 61 games played, he drew the ire of head coach John Tortorella earlier in the campaign and was made a healthy scratch ahead of a mid-December game against the Rangers. 

Marek said the two teams engaged in “soft talks” before the deadline and that he would not be surprised if a possible Hayes move was brought up once more between the outfits this summer. Friedman also mentioned that he could see negotiations ramping up around the NHL Draft.

The Blue Jackets cleared plenty of cap space for next season when they traded Jakub Voracek to the Arizona Coyotes. Voracek and sixth-round pick were swapped for goaltender Jon Gillies which gives the Blue Jackets $8.25MM more cap space in 2023-24. That is more than enough to bring in Hayes, who has a cap hit just north of $7MM. Hayes has three years remaining on his current contract.

These talks were only preliminary, but it would be interesting to see Hayes and former Boston College teammate Johnny Gaudreau reunited at the NHL level. Definitely something worth keeping an eye on in the offseason.