Shortly after the end of his Pittsburgh Penguins’ tenure, a former NHL forward has decided to call it a career.
After playing in just five KHL games and registering no points to begin the 2026-27 season, former Penguins’ forward Kevin Hayes announced his retirement from professional hockey. The 34-year-old center signed a free agent deal with KHL team Ak Bars Kazan this offseason after failing to secure an NHL contract in light of his previous seven-year deal expiring at the end of last season.
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The 6-foot-3, 217-pound Hayes registered 185 goals and 446 points in 805 career NHL games, including 17 goals and 31 points in 92 games with the Penguins from 2024-26.
“I have decided to end my hockey career,” Hayes said in a statement. “I can no longer play at the level I am capable of because my body does not allow me to perform at my best. And I cannot accept not being in top form.”
Throughout his Penguins’ tenure – and especially during the 2025-26 season in which Pittsburgh made the playoffs – Hayes often found himself on the outside looking in, frequently a healthy scratch and playing in just 28 games last season. He was acquired on Jun. 29, 2024, along with a second-round pick and 50 percent retention by his previous team in the Philadelphia Flyers, from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for future considerations.
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Although the former All-Star could not get the on-ice results he wanted in Pittsburgh, he was a revered teammate and was loved by just about every guy in the locker room.
“Oh, he was an amazing person. Obviously, an amazing teammate,” defenseman Kris Letang told Pittsburgh media after Monday’s morning skate ahead of the team’s first pre-season tilt. “A guy that everybody wants to hang around. He loves talking, loved to be in the dressing room. And just the stories after stories, it’s just fun to be around him.”
Hayes began his NHL career with the New York Rangers during the 2014-15 season and spent parts of five seasons there before being dealt to the Winnipeg Jets during the 2018-19 campaign. He was traded to Philadelphia the summer after and signed his seven-year extension worth $7.14 million per year there, and he was an All-Star in a career-best 2022-23 season. He spent one season in St. Louis after yet another trade before coming to Pittsburgh.
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And he left an impression on just about everyone in the room, including the coaching staff – especially given his situation in Pittsburgh.
“What an incredible career,” head coach Dan Muse said after Monday’s skate. “What an incredible person, too. There’s certain people that will always stand out in your mind when you’re a coach, and he’s definitely going to be one that I remember throughout the rest of my career.
“Just the way he handled himself last year, the teammate that he is, the person that he is. It was a real honor just to be around him for a year.”
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