The Philadelphia Flyers signed center Kevin Hayes to a $50 million, seven-year contract.
Hayes becomes the Flyers’ third-highest paid player with a deal worth $7.14 million per season and should step in as their new No. 2 center behind Sean Couturier. General manager Chuck Fletcher announced the signing Wednesday, saying the 6-foot-5, 216-pound Hayes “plays a smart, two-way game and is just entering the prime of his career.”
The Flyers acquired Hayes’ negotiating rights from Winnipeg for a fifth-round pick during the Stanley Cup Final. The Jets got him from the New York Rangers at the trade deadline in February.
Hayes recorded a career-high 55 points in 71 games last season with the Rangers and Jets. He has 92 goals and 137 assists for 229 points in 381 regular-season NHL games.
The Boston College product reunites with new Flyers coach Alain Vigneault, his coach for four seasons with the Rangers.
Draft returning to Montreal
The NHL Draft is returning to Montreal for the 27th time and first since 2009.
The league announced the Canadiens will host next year’s draft, which will be held June 26-27. The announcement was made as the NHL holds its annual awards ceremonies in Las Vegas and prepares to hold the draft in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Friday and Saturday.
Montreal hosted the first 22 drafts, starting in 1963 before it was held in Toronto in 1985. Though Montreal also hosted the draft in 1986, ‘88 and ‘92, the NHL then began shifting the event’s location to make it more accessible to fans.
Perry, Ducks part ways
The Anaheim Ducks bought out the contract of former NHL MVP Corey Perry after 14 seasons with the franchise.
General manager Bob Murray called the mover “one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in my 44 years in the NHL.”
Perry has spent his entire career with the Ducks, and he is the franchise leader with 988 games played — four more than Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf, his teammate and frequent linemate throughout their intertwined careers. The Ducks’ decision to part ways with Perry while keeping Getzlaf ends one of the most durable partnerships in recent hockey history.
Perry had two seasons left on his contract with an annual salary cap hit of $8.625 million, but his scoring production has declined in recent seasons while Getzlaf is still going strong.
Perry and Getzlaf won the Stanley Cup together in 2007 and signed similar eight-year contract extensions in March 2013.
Sabres issue qualfying offers
The Buffalo Sabres issued qualifying offers to their most high-profile restricted free agents, including forwards Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson, a person with direct knowledge of the decisions told the AP.
The Sabres also issued offers to retain the rights of defensemen Jake McCabe, goalie Linus Ullmark, and forwards Evan Rodrigues and C.J. Smith, the person said only on the condition of anonymity because the team had not released this information.
Larsson has six seasons of experience with the Sabres, and Girgensons was Buffalo’s second of two first-round picks in 2012. Both have been used in secondary roles.
