New York Rangers: Kevin Hayes Stepping into Key Role

The New York Rangers are in need of some big production from Kevin Hayes this season. Can he deliver with a big year in 2017-18?

Kevin Hayes has been an important piece of the New York Rangers in all three years of his NHL career, but not a vital one. That is until now.

With the departure of former No. 1 center Derek Stepan and no signs of someone coming in to replace him yet, it is obvious the Rangers are ready to put more weight on Hayes’ shoulders. He

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now immediately steps into the broadway spotlight as a key player in the Rangers No. 2 center.

About one year ago, it was a big question as to whether the Rangers would trade or even re-sign Hayes as his entry-level contract had come to an end after the 2015-16 season.

Hayes hit the ground running his rookie year posting 45 points, but hit a sophomore slump the following year where he fell short of that only posting 36 points and had been scratched a couple times midway through the year.

The gripes about Hayes’ play was that despite his offensive potential, he was too slow and wasn’t much of a two-way player. Due to Hayes’ impact performance in his rookie year, the expectations for him were raised to a much higher level than the average rookie for his second NHL season.

Luckily enough, the Rangers kept faith in Hayes and went on to re-sign him to a two-year deal. He made sure to silence his critics straight from the get-go.

Hayes lost 20 pounds heading into this past season and it showed come October as he was the leading point scorer on the team until Christmas time. He was a key part of the radioactive hot start the Rangers had last year when they were decimating the league until they came back down to earth.

He showed improvements in needed areas such as increased speed and better defensive efforts. Hayes finished the season with a career best of 49 points, which was the fifth most on the roster.

He also had drastic improvements in the face-off circle finishing the year with a FOW% (face-off win percentage) of 45.7 percent, which is 10 percent better than his season prior. His face-off

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success can only increase from here, which is an asset the Rangers seriously need.

It is exciting to see what Hayes can now bring to the table as an official top six forward on the team. He has shown bursts of brilliance in his few years in the league. I think he has surpassed the growing pains and is ready to become a reliable offensive threat in the Rangers lineup. He is a rare kind of player in the way that he has a big body frame with great hands and playmaking abilities.

He has been compared to Joe Thornton in his size, long reach and how he’s strong on the puck. With these tools, Hayes has the ability to create his own scoring opportunities in the NHL, which will make him a truly coveted player once he hits the peak of his prime.

Although it could be argued Hayes has been already ready to play a top six forward role, due to the offensive depth of the Rangers lineup in recent years and a skeptical Alain Vigneault, he has spent the better part of his career as a third liner and has been comfortable there. He gained Vigneault’s trust last season earning 16:52 in TOI/GP (time on ice per game), which was 8th on the roster and 72nd in the league.

The only reservation is that he does not get the time window to ease into his new key role and instead will be thrown into it right away with no safety net beneath him. Not to mention this is New York, a place where people call for you to be traded after one bad game.

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We will have to count this past season as his preparation year and hope he is ready to perform at an elite level consistently. It is time for Kevin Hayes to enter his prime, and if his pattern of success continues to elevate in his new role, he is going to make some real noise amongst the NHL.