When the Penguins acquired forward Kevin Hayes from the St. Louis Blues a few seasons ago in an offseason trade, general manager Kyle Dubas might have seen some potential to be had. But fast forward to the Penguins being without centers Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte, and that potential is gone.
Hayes is being iced on the second or third lines on a regular basis and it is becoming a very hard watch. He is in his 30s and has been slowing down for a bit now and it has been evident this season in particular.
Hayes just looks really slow when he is on the ice and cannot keep pace with other players and is usually trying to get back on defense a lot. He also does not provide a lot of offensive value. Yes, he is a veteran and did have a scoring touch before, but it seems that is gone as well.
He is somebody that can be replaced in the lineup even without Malkin and Lizotte being available as they are on IR with injuries. The Penguins have a center prospect playing usually top line minutes with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. His name is Tristan Broz and he deserves more of an opportunity.
Even with the absences of Malkin and Lizotte, Broz could slot right in for Hayes. Broz can really help drive play especially if he has guys that are young and fast and can help him offensively. He was used to playing with guys like Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty among others in Wilkes-Barre.
But if the Penguins and Dan Muse are serious about trying to find a solution to the Hayes problem, bringing Broz up and slotting him in is the way to go. It is becoming tougher as each day goes along to keep watching Hayes in a Penguins uniform.
Yes, getting a free second-round pick to take Hayes at the time was a good idea, but does not seem like a great idea now outside of the premium draft pick. Muse and general manager Kyle Dubas need to fix this problem and soon.