Avery Hayes knows he’s not here to replace Sidney Crosby.
He wouldn’t dare even consider that outrageous suggestion.
And how could he?
“He’s a childhood hero of mine,” the 23-year-old rookie said of the 38-year-old captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But he is here on the NHL roster because Crosby might not be, at least with regard to the lineup, as he may be sidelined by a suspected right leg injury he suffered while skating for Canada in the Olympics.
On Monday, Hayes was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) and joined the NHL club for practice in Cranberry as something of a contingency measure should Crosby miss any NHL contests.
And Hayes was given a pretty prominent assignment, skating on the left wing of a line with Crosby’s typical linemates, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell (the latter of whom moved from the left wing to center to fill in for Crosby).
“They’re great players,” Hayes said of his would-be linemates. “So, I just have to do my job and play hard.”
Hayes has done that quite emphatically with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as of late. In his past 10 AHL games, he has 10 goals.
A pair of hat tricks over that span buoyed that offensive outburst.
Hayesy scores his 17th of the year to tie us up! pic.twitter.com/bwusC1rRfV
— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) February 19, 2026
Those figures might have been more prolific had it not been taken out of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lineup in order to make NHL debut Feb. 5. That night, Hayes scored a pair of goals in a 5-2 road win against the Buffalo Sabres.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 6, 2026
“You can’t make up a better debut, really,” Penguins defenseman Brett Kulak said. “That’s huge. It’s hard to build confidence in this league and it takes time. So, for him and contribute the way he did, I’m sure that’s huge for him to just start building off that.”
While seemingly every puck Hayes touches has been going into the net in recent weeks, his season hasn’t been without impediments in the form of injuries.
An unspecified ailment sidelined him for six games in November. Then a facial injury waylaid him over nine contests throughout late December into January.
But given Hayes’ hard scrabble style, he’s no stranger to managing maladies.
“I’ve dealt with injuries in the past,” Hayes said. “So I kind of know how to come back from them. A bunch of ups and downs, but so far so good.”
His offensive figures have been up. Despite having only played in 36 of a possible 53 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, he is that team’s leader with 19 goals (to go along with 11 assists).
But he has almost been exclusively deployed on the right wing with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In fact, he has started all 36 of his contests this season on the starboard side.
If he is used as a left winger, as was the case during Monday’s practice session, Hayes professed ease at that station.
“It’s not too much of an adjustment,” the right-handed Hayes said. “I mean, you kind of come back into the (defensive) zone, whoever is back first, you kind of sort it out from there. So, it’s not too big of a deal. If you’re playing with good players, it makes it pretty easy.”
Rust could be labeled as a good player and he likes what he sees with his potential new linemate.
“He works extremely hard,” Rust said. “He gets in on the forecheck, he wins battles, he focuses on little details, getting pucks in and out of the zones, blocking shots, playing the right way. Been given nothing and earned absolutely everything.
“You don’t do that without playing the game hard and doing it the right way.”
Hayes largely did all of those things during the preseason and came reasonably close to making the NHL roster out of training camp. In four preseason contests, he had three points (one goal, two assists).
And in one of those games, he displayed his skillset while skating on a line with his childhood hero.
During a 4-1 home win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sept. 27 — an evening primarily remembered as a spectacular send-off for beloved goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury — Hayes set up the Penguins’ first goal by deftly tapping a backhand pass from near the home bench to an onrushing Crosby who ripped a wrister into the cage.
Sid gets the @penguins on the board on Flower's special night ???? pic.twitter.com/Uaa1geXn8g
— NHL (@NHL) September 28, 2025
That moment served as something of a springboard to the success Hayes has enjoyed this season.
“It was really cool and just to be on a line with him,” Hayes said. “Kind of see all of his nuances and whatnot. And learned from him. Overall, it just gave me confidence.”
Note: The NHL’s freeze on trades for the Olympic break expired at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
