Morning Flurries: Kevin Hayes off the market?

As we get closer and closer to the opening of free agency, it appears as though one of the big names might be off the market. In their quest to build a legitimate second line, many believed that the Colorado Avalanche would make a push to sign Kevin Hayes this summer. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Flyers beat everyone to the punch as they have acquired the negotiating rights to the 27-year old center. No contract has been signed but reports are that the two sides are working on a long terms contract in the $6m a season range.

If the Flyers are able to get Hayes signed before July 1, it will be a big name off the wish list for Joe Sakic and the Avalanche. With Jeff Skinner off the board as well, it seems as though the Avalanche might need to look at trade possibilities if they want to add a top-6 forward this summer.

One name to keep an eye on: William Karlsson.

Oh yeah, there is sill hockey being played.

Last night the St. Louis Blues evened up the Stanley Cup final with a 4-2 victory against the Bruins. Ryan O’Reilly was the driving force for the Blues as he opened the scoring in the first minute of the game. He then scored the game winner in the third period to send the series back to Boston tied 2-2.

As far as celebrity super fans go, Jon Hamm has to be pretty high up on the list.

Here’s a pretty awesome exchange from the post-game press conference:

Back to offseason talk; Taylor Hall becomes eligible to sign a new on July 1st, unfortunately for the New Jersey Devils, it appears as though their star winger has no desire to talk about an extension. According to reports, the 2018 Hart Trophy winner is content to wait things out in order to hit the free agent market in the summer of 2020. If Hall let’s the Devils know that he won’t be returning after this season, it makes sense that Ray Shero would start to shop the 27-year old. With the addition of Jack Hughes later this month, it would make sense for the Devils to trade Hall. A deal would garner a big return and could set the team up to build around a core of Hughes and Nico Hischier. If nothing else, Sakic and the Avs should be calling to gauge the asking price for Hall.

If you want to feel old, all you have to do is listen to the 2019 draft prospects.

Mitch Marner is 13 years younger than me and Kirby Dach “grew up” idolizing him. Yikes!

While he’s quite a lot bigger than him, comparing Dach’s game to Marner’s isn’t that far off. They both had the stigma of “not the fastest” skater going into their draft but both play with a creativity that is among the best in their class. Like Marner, Dach is a high-end playmaker that loves to have the puck on his stick and has the skills to create offense for himself as well as his teammates.

Maybe Dach ends up being selected 4th overall as well...

SB Nation Mock Draft

1. New Jersey Devils - Jack Hughes
2. New York Rangers - Kaapo Kakko
3. Chicago Blackhawks - Alex Turcotte
4. Colorado Avalanche - Kirby Dach
5. Los Angeles Kings - Dylan Cozens
6. Detroit Red Wings - Bowen Byram
7. Buffalo Sabres - Cole Caufield
8. Edmonton Oilers - Peyton Krebs
9. Anaheim Ducks - Trevor Zegras
10. Vancouver Canucks - Matthew Boldy
11. Philadelphia Flyers - Alex Newhook
12. Minnesota Wild - Vasili Podkolzin
13. Florida Panthers - Philip Broberg
14. Arizona Coyotes - Victor Soderstrom