The 12-year NHL veteran shuns potential training camp invites to launch a Russian chapter, trading North American free agency for a million-dollar role in Kazan.
Another name is off the free agent board, with the announcement that Kevin Hayes has decided to head overseas and sign a one-year deal in the KHL.
The news broke yesterday that the 12-year NHL veteran is signing with Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL. Which is pretty significant, as most NHL analysts felt he would be a PTO signing in the next coming weeks. However, now he is off the board and preparing for his next chapter in Russia.
The 34-year-old veteran played in over 805 career NHL games with the New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins after being drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010. In those 805 career games, he scored 185 goals and 261 assists for 446 career points.
Now, he heads overseas to Ak Bars Kazan on a one-year deal that is reportedly worth around $1 million.
Hayes is the first of many free agents that could find themselves a new home in Russia or in other leagues overseas. At this point, there hasn't been a ton of movement with the remaining free agents. However, things could heat up over the next few weeks as we push towards the start of NHL training camp.
