Hartnett: The New Kevin Hayes Has Transformed Into A 3-Zone Monster For Rangers

By Sean Hartnett
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The road to NHL stardom is a smoothly paved ride in only the rarest of circumstances. For most players, rough patches and trials along the way will serve as tests of character and an individual's ability to persevere. Rangers center Kevin Hayes endured the biggest challenge of his young career last December when head coach Alain Vigneault unleashed a scathing criticism.

"In Kevin's case, I think we made it clear our expectations about him and what we felt he could do were very high," Vigneault said at the time. "Obviously, he hasn't lived up to that. Did we overestimate his possibilities? I don't know. Time will tell. But I do know that what I'm seeing now and what we're seeing now is not good enough. I think we all have our tipping points, and I think Kevin has had an extra long leash. But there's just nothing going on. At the end of the day, we're at the point now where we have to make some decisions in the best interests of the team."

In February, Vigneault outlined how the Dorchester, Massachusetts, native needed to improve his off-ice preparation.

"Every player has to go through the process of development, understanding what it takes to be a professional on a day-in, day-out fashion," Vigneault said then. "What he needs to do as far as getting himself ready to practice, getting himself ready to play, the nutrition, the conditioning – he's just going through that and understanding that."

The writing on the wall was clear for all to see when Hayes was scratched for the final two games of the Rangers' first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins last playoffs. With his career in danger of veering in the wrong direction, the 24-year-old forward has taken Vigneault's words and lessons to heart.

Into his third professional season, Hayes has grabbed the bull by the horns to take control of his situation and earned back his coach's trust. Coaches and teammates are noticing a tremendous difference. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound center has transformed into a three-zone beast this season.

"The big thing is that he's playing such a good 200-foot game," linemate J.T. Miller said. "It's been coming with time. He came into the league with so much skill and poise. He really made it look easy. Now, he's learning how to play in his own end. He's a real threat in all three zones, as opposed to just one or two. He's gotten much better at winning faceoffs. The best is yet to come for him."

Vigneault now trusts Hayes to take defensive zone faceoffs and is assigning him important shorthanded minutes. Last season, Hayes skated for a regular season total of one minute and 55 seconds (an average of one second per game) on the penalty kill. He is averaging 1:19 shorthanded TOI per game this season. His faceoff percentage has jumped from 35.9 percent last season to an even 50 percent this campaign.

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"He's really coming along as a player," Vigneault said. "I've been setting him specific assignments. He's not only doing those assignments, but he's playing right now at both ends – power play and penalty killing, keeping his shifts at the right length. I really like a lot of things that I'm seeing about him. A very young player, still has a lot of room to improve, and that's our job to do that with him."

Through nine games, Hayes has recorded six points (two goals, four assists). His TOI per game has received a healthy bump from 13:39 last season to 16:14 this year. On Sunday night, he was on ice for four goals in the Rangers' 6-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning and finished the game with three assists. Vigneault leaned on him in special teams situations, deploying Hayes for 2:49 power play TOI and 2:07 shorthanded TOI.

When Hayes was a rookie, Rangers alternate captain Marc Staal remarked that he could "stickhandle in a phone booth" and ex-Blueshirt Derick Brassard compared his reach and strength on the puck to a young Joe Thornton. The size, the strength, the poise, the vision, the stickhandling ability – Hayes always possessed the offensive gifts to become an impact player in this league.

At the still tender age of 24, Hayes is already blossoming into a valuable three-zone contributor. His future has been rectified to the right track. The question is no longer, "When will he figure it all out?" It's been replaced with, "How good is this kid going to be in his prime years?"

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey