New report suggests Penguins could soon part ways with notable player
Kevin Hayes and Mike Sullivan look headed for a split after the latest Penguins report.
That is the clean read from Josh Yohe's update. Pittsburgh is not expected to bring Hayes back, which turns his summer into one of the more obvious exit files on the roster.
It also does not land like a shock. When a pending unrestricted free agent gets framed this clearly in early May, the organization is usually already leaning away from another deal.
That matters because Hayes was never brought in to be a side story. A veteran center on a team trying to stay competitive always carries pressure, especially in a market that still expects pushback from its older core.
Instead, this now looks like a short run that is ending without much suspense. The Penguins have decisions to make across the roster, and Hayes appears to be one of the easier ones.
That does not always mean the player failed. Sometimes it just means the fit did not hold, the role never fully settled, or the team wants a different mix lower in the lineup.
Still, once this kind of report gets out, it usually tells you something about how the organization views the slot. Hayes no longer sounds like part of the next version of the group.
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Major news just surfaced as the Penguins prepare to move on from a player
That is what makes this worth watching beyond one player. A move like this is rarely only about clearing one veteran. It is usually about what kind of team Pittsburgh wants to be next.
If Hayes is indeed on the way out, the Penguins are choosing flexibility over familiarity. They would be opening up a roster spot, changing the center depth, and likely looking for a different type of support piece.
That could mean younger legs. It could mean a cheaper option. It could mean a player with a more defined special-teams fit or a cleaner matchup role.
For Hayes, the market should still be there. Big veteran forwards who can play center do not stay unemployed long, even when one stop does not last.
But Pittsburgh's side is the more interesting part here. The Penguins are not expected to drag this into a long negotiation or a drawn-out maybe. The signal around this one feels pretty firm.
And that is why the story lands the way it does. Kevin Hayes is not just sitting in routine free-agent uncertainty. He looks like a player the Penguins have already started moving past in their planning.
Once that happens, the ending usually comes fast.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 9, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jackson Blake | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Brock Faber | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Taylor Hall | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Quinn Hughes | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Matthew Boldy | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Bump | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Tyson Foerster | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Christian Dvorak | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Travis Konecny | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Porter Martone | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael McCarron | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||