Does Hayes just suck defensively? I'd imagine a 6'5" C playing the third line would see PK time but he never gets used there.

Anaheims looking for more production out of the bottom 6, taking Hayes isn't the worst idea I've ever seen assuming he can still play.

Totally forgot Philly's eating half his deal, seems more like Pitt would be a fit for him, or another cap strapped team that needs scoring.

I mean he's not a bad 3C, he's just slow and we have other options we could/should slot in the lineup (aka Dean at 4C, maybe Sunny at 3C or Schenn at 3C if we have another 2C ready).

He just wasn't a great fit last year. But at about 3.6 mil, he's not a bad option. And I imagine Blues could get a fairly decent return if half retained again. So a team getting a decent 3C for under 2 mil should net maybe a 2nd or 3rd. Plus he could be a half point per game as well. He's strong along the boards but just overall too slow for our system


And just a edit too for other Blues fans on the Center situation, I wouldn't mind the center depth going Thomas / Schenn / Dean / Sunny. I just have a feeling Dvorsky could crack the lineup and fill that need of a 2C, and if so, MAYBE Dean at 3C. But Schenn would be a good 3C or 2nd line winger at best.

You arent wrong
That said SKA St Petersberg a top 5 team in the KHL pretty much every years without fail.
They chose not to use their drafted pick Michkov more then a single game loaning him to the ARZ Coyotes of the KHL in HK Sochi
Im not convinced he'll be able to make the Jump straight to the NHL if he had 5 Russians and a Russian Coach.
I think either way he starts in the AHL and works his way up cause his game is 100% purely offense alone and nothing else.
No Standout Size or Speed or Defensive Prowess. Cant even call him a Special Teams Players as he's never seen a PK unit as the coaches dont trust him there

Only way i see him making the jump directly is if he was traded to the NYR and Breadman mentored him or to TBL with Kucherov doing the same.
They will assure he pushes himself to levels he's just flat out chosen not to up to this point in time.
If you're an Offensive Stud who cant play Defense and you got size its fine but when you weigh at much as many Female Hockey Players and few mens, thats an issue
If he had the speed and willingness to back check to cover his mistakes he woulda been on his draft club instead of loaned out to a rival they didnt take seriously (for good reason)

Michkov joins the Flyers playing their style at his size and he'll get Lindros'd before he gets a chance to shine

Valid , he is a fit for PIT
Also wouldnt be a bad option for BOS
He fits a need within their cap allowances and is a local boy
I think it could be a good fit as BOS needs him to hit and win Faceoffs basically ,The rest they got covered

Yeah, I'd imagine the Rags, Bruins, Jets, really any cap strapped team in a window would be very interested in Hayes sub 2 million.

Most of Flyers fanbase understands this and kinda wanted him to progress more in KHL, but hes not getting played in SKA soooooo its time to bring him over and teach him a bit ourselves for 1-2 years. Having Torts do that is a nightmare, but what choice do we have...

He was getting played, just not on a contending team for 1 reason, he doesnt listen.
He does what he knows how to at a high level and thats create offense.
But outside that he has no interest in getting better Defensively or learning the Penalty kill or Learning how to improve his skating
You'd need a big swinging D**k Russian to Humble him , someone he respects as a Pro in the Top league for many years such as an Orlov or Romanov makes sense.
But truth be told there's few Russians who have a good reputation as Team guys or Team leaders who are people i'd consider available.
I mean there are a lot from Ovi to Malkin to Kaprizov ,ext but none are available or cheap to acquire

I'd think Romanov and Orlov would be the easiest routes.
Koenechy in a Romanov exchange with lets say Desnoyers and Tysplakov with a appropriate middling picks for balance.
PHI gets a Russian who's settled , who Lays the BOOM! playing that PHI style hockey to help 25 year old Tysplakov and 21 year old Michkov transition
I mean who will be on the ice more to help them then Romanov regardless of what line they're on and he's a 3rd Generation Russian Legacy Player who trained with his Grandfathers AK Barz team since he was a child. Dude's mature beyond his years and if i couldnt have Orlov or any of the other big name Russian Leaders then i gotta go with the Consistently Steady Shut Down Hitter on the blue line Alex Romanov as they guy to help make Michkov ROY

Now maybe my Trades too rich for your blood , its a bit rich for mine.
But given what NYI gave up to get Romanov its foolish to not expect to pay
Thats why Tsyplakov was added as despite just signing to NYI i think if you told him that he & Romanov were going to play with Michkov and Fedetov he'd do back flips.

You want Reliability cause these next few years with Michkov are Crucial
If Romanov's laying the Boom with all eyes on him as teams get irate at his Clean Hits
This creates a ton of space for Michkov at a time he'll need it most to grow into his role at this level given his KHL Tenure.
Lets remember a KHL top 5 team had the #1 pick and said he wasnt good enough 2 straight years then loaned him to a team challenging him to prove them wrong.(he didnt). So Michkov needs a foot in the ass and i think Romanov can do that also at this stage in his career.(but i'd still rather Orlov he's got a good reputation)

Yea its a concern. Id be down for overpaying Orlov to get him on this team for mentorship.