Reports: Rangers ship Hayes to Jets for Lemieux

NHL

The New York Rangers have traded center Kevin Hayes to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2019 first-round draft pick, winger Brendan Lemieux and a conditional pick, according to multiple reports.

Hayes is expected to plug in on Winnipeg’s second line alongside Patrik Laine; this is the second consecutive year the Jets have secured a second-line center at the trade deadline. In 2018, Winnipeg acquired Paul Stastny from the St. Louis Blues – a move that helped the Jets reach the Western Conference Finals.

Lemieux, 22, is the son of longtime NHL player Claude Lemieux. He has nine goals and two assists in 44 games this season.

The Jets were believed to be in on Ottawa Senator center Mark Stone, but the price tag was too high.

Hayes, 26, has 14 goals and 28 assists for 42 points in 51 games this season while averaging a career-high 19:27 a night. He has been a regular in the New York lineup since 2014-15. Hayes has two goals and eight assists in 34 playoff games.

It’s another step forward in the Rangers’ rebuild. They also traded scoring winger Mats Zuccarello to the Dallas Stars over the weekend. At last year’s trade deadline, the Rangers sent an open letter to their fans indicating they were retooling the team and some familiar faces could be leaving. Rick Nash, Ryan McDonough, Dan Girardi, J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner soon hit the road.

Hayes signed a one-year, $5.175 million contract last summer. The Rangers now have the Jets first-round pick, the Stars’ second-round pick as well as the Lightning’s’ second-round pick in June’s draft. If Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup this season, that second-round pick will become a first-round pick.

Hayes scored a career-high 25 goals last season.

With the Rangers hovering around .500 this season and well out of playoff position, tearing down makes some sense; New York should also have considerable cap space this summer and could try to make one last run with 36-year-old franchise goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

The Jets are in first place in the Central Division with 78 points through 62 games.

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