Kevin Hayes will undergo sports hernia surgery next week in Philadelphia, according to a source.
Players can typically resume full activities six weeks after such a procedure.
"It's going to be a minor surgery," Hayes said May 11 in his end-of-the-season press conference. "Something that we'll fix and we'll be fine."
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The Flyers' 29-year-old center had 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists), a minus-2 rating and 127 shots (second on the team) over 55 games this season. Last season, Hayes had 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists), a minus-11 rating and 136 shots through 55 games. He finished 2019-20 with 41 points and was on pace to break his career high of 25 goals (he had 23 in 69 games) before the season was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2020-21, as the Flyers surrendered the NHL's most goals per game at 3.52, Hayes admitted he wasn't pleased with his defensive consistency. One would think the hernia issue started to hinder his game, although Hayes didn't pin anything on the injury.
"I just think it was kind of a mix of everything, the type of season the team had, the type of season the league had, a bunch of different factors," Hayes said. "I felt like my first year in Philly was amazing, it was a great start to my career here, and this year was kind of a little hiccup, not the way I wanted it to go obviously. I want to be a guy that's relied on every single night and a guy that plays the right way, 200-foot game. This year, I can't honestly say that that was the case. I'm kind of going to get away from the rink for a little bit and then get back after I feel better. Get back to work and start working toward next season."
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