Bruins reportedly ‘front-runners' in potential trade for Rangers' Kevin Hayes

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Should the Bruins try again with another member of the Dorchester-born and bred Hayes family?

The B's and Rangers have been frequent trade partners over the last couple of seasons, given the strong relationship between Boston general manager Don Sweeney and New York GM Jeff Gorton (an ex-Bruins assistant), and a report from CLNS’ Jimmy Murphy indicated the B’s are “front-runners” for New York winger Kevin Hayes if they miss out on big-ticket rentals like Mark Stone and Artemi Panarin.

It remains to be seen if the Bruins are indeed a potential landing spot for Hayes, given all their options on the table. But a pair of sources close to the B’s indicated to NBC Sports Boston that the Bruins have definitely kicked the tires on the 6-foot-5 center/right wing, who would check a lot of boxes for them.

In terms of Panarin and Stone, Hayes would most definitely come at a cheaper price. There’s also the simple complication with Stone that the Sens may be prefer to trade him to the Western Conference rather than to a divisional rival. It’s part of the reason Ottawa dealt core players Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman to the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division, although Hoffman ended up coming back to the Atlantic Division and the Florida Panthers in a second trade.  

It’s no secret the Rangers are in seller’s mode again, with Hayes and Mats Zuccarello as the most likely trade pieces given that the Rangers haven’t really tried to extend either of them. It’s also clear they have a couple of players that would interest the Bruins in Hayes and Chris Kreider, a couple of big-bodied wingers who can generate offense, score goals and give them a top-6 upgrade over their current group.

Hayes, 26, has 14 goals and 42 points in 50 games for the Rangers this season and could be an option as both a top-6 winger and a center who could finally bring some stability to a third line that’s been in flux all season. Interestingly enough Hayes played on a line with both Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner during his younger days in the Boston area and would be reunited with both of them if he was traded to the Bruins.

The question is really whether the B’s want to get involved with another Hayes after big brother Jimmy flamed out after a couple of seasons, never really living up to expectations. The younger Hayes has only topped 20 goals once in his career and has never even reached 50 points in a season, so the former BC standout would certainly be a lesser alternative to bigger names like Panarin, Stone or even Wayne Simmonds for that matter.

At this point Hayes is no more than another in a ton of forward options for the Bruins at the deadline, and it remains to be seen which direction the Bruins will go as they ride a six-game winning streak moving toward next week’s trade deadline.  

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