Jimmy Hayes dies at age 31

NHL: New Jersey Devils at Arizona Coyotes

Former National Hockey League player Jimmy Hayes of Boston, MA passed away on Monday at the age of 31 according to Josh Elliott of Global News. The cause of death at this time is not given. What we do know is Hayes died in his home in Massachusetts.

Hayes played 334 games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils from 2011 to 2018. He had 54 goals and 55 assists for 109 points. Hayes was a -29 with 149 penalty minutes, 23 power play points, six game-winning goals, 530 shots on goal, 86 faceoff wins, 77 blocked shots, 575 hits, 104 takeaways, and 74 giveaways.

Hayes’ finest season was with the Panthers in 2014-15. That year he had 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points in 72 games. He was a -4 with 20 penalty minutes, 11 power-play points, three game-winning goals, 166 shots on goal, four faceoff wins, 12 blocked shots, 147 hits, 22 takeaways, and 19 giveaways. Hayes had career highs in goals, points, power-play goals (four), power-play assists (seven), power-play points (11), game-winning goals (three), shots on goal, and hits. Hayes’ assists total of 16 in 2014-15 was matched the next season while in Boston.

Hayes had one hat trick in his NHL career. It came with the Bruins on December 29, 2015 in a 7-3 Bruins win over the Ottawa Senators.

Despite playing 334 regular season games over seven seasons with some very good teams, Hayes only played two postseason games. Those were with the Blackhawks in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In 2018, Hayes signed with the Penguins, however, he never played for Pittsburgh in the NHL, and played with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League instead.

Jimmy Hayes was initially drafted in the second round, 60th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2008 NHL Draft. He never played for the Maple Leafs either as he was traded to the Blackhawks for a draft pick. Jimmy Hayes is the brother of Kevin Hayes of the Philadelphia Flyers.

 

Arrow to top