One of the most significant NHL-to-KHL transfers this offseason has occurred. AK Bars Kazan of the KHL has signed veteran Kevin Hayes to a one-year contract for the 2026-27 season, according to a league announcement.

Russia will likely be the last stop on Hayes’ professional career. After a disappointing, injury-riddled season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hayes failed to gain any traction on the unrestricted free agent market this summer.

Hayes, 34, started his professional career in 2010 as a first-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks. He played for the Boston College Eagles, winning the National Championship as a sophomore during the 2011-12 season, and finishing with an impressive 27 goals and 65 points in 40 games during his senior campaign in 2013-14. Failing to agree to an entry-level contract with the Blackhawks, Hayes signed with the New York Rangers the following season.

Having never played in the AHL, Hayes transitioned directly to the NHL with the Rangers, where he enjoyed several years of consistent success. In his four-and-a-half seasons with the Rangers, Hayes scored 87 goals and 216 points in 361 games, with a +31 rating, while averaging 15:44 of ice time per game.

After realizing they would not qualify for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs and that they couldn’t extend Hayes, the Rangers traded him to the Winnipeg Jets. In return, they received a first-round pick in the 2019 draft (which became Ville Heinola) and Brendan Lemieux. Additionally, the Rangers acquired a conditional fourth-round pick for 2022, but the conditions were never met. Hayes finished the season scoring five goals and 13 points in 20 games for the Jets, and additionally registered two goals and one assist in six postseason contests.

Nearly a month before he would have hit the free-agent market for the second time in his career, the Jets traded Hayes’ signing rights to the Philadelphia Flyers, where he would eventually sign a seven-year, $50MM ($7.14MM AAV) contract. The move to Philadelphia reunited Hayes with his former coach, Alain Vigneault, whom the Rangers fired after the 2017-18 season.

His first season with the Flyers went relatively well, scoring 23 goals and 41 points in 69 games with a -6 rating. In the postseason, Kayes helped Philadelphia reach the Second Round, registering four goals and 13 points in 16 games with a +7 rating. Unfortunately, that would be the last time Hayes would ever play in a postseason contest.

After that playoff trip, Hayes’ play began to decline. Throughout the 2020-21 season, Hayes finished with 12 goals and 31 points in 55 games with a -2 rating. Tragically, a few weeks before preseason action kicked off for the 2021-22 season, Hayes lost his brother, Jimmy Hayes, to an overdose. He ended the 2021-22 season with 10 goals and 31 points in 48 games with a -20 rating.

After returning to health for the 2023-24 season, Hayes had an impressive rebound year, scoring 18 goals and totaling 54 points in 81 games, with an average of 17:34 ice time per game. Eventually, as they began their rebuild, the Flyers traded Hayes to the St. Louis Blues for a sixth-round pick. Again, Hayes was hit with another tragic loss in his personal life, as Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau were struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver, nearly three years to the day after Hayes lost his brother. Hayes served as a pallbearer at Johnny’s funeral.

Hayes spent one year with the Blues before returning to Pennsylvania for the 2024-25 season, this time with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Hayes spent the last two years with the Penguins, scoring 17 goals and 31 points in 92 games. He’ll join a quality team in the KHL, as AK Bars Kazan finished third in the Eastern Conference during the regular season and advanced to the 2026 Gagarin Cup Final before losing to the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in six games.