Penguins sign Avery Hayes to entry-level contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Thursday that the club has signed right winger Avery Hayes to a two-year, entry-level contract to begin in the 2025-26 season.
Through 44 appearances this season with the AHL affiliated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Hayes has recorded 17 goals and 18 assists to sit fifth in team scoring with 35 points coupled with 31 penalty minutes and a plus-17 rating. In all, Hayes has spent two seasons with the minor-league squad where through 73 total appearances he has tallied 23 goals and 21 assists for 44 points.
An undrafted free agent, Hayes originally signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2023.
A graduate of the Ontario Hockey League, Hayes spent four seasons in the junior circuit underscored by back-to-back J. Ross Robertson Cup championships with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Peterborough Petes. Through 237 OHL appearances, Hayes collected 106 goals and 97 assists for 203 points, highlighted by the 2022-23 campaign where in 65 outings he notched 77 points counting 43 goals and 34 assists to earn a spot on the OHL’s Third All-Star Team.
Hayes also added 26 goals and 28 assists for 54 points through 42 postseason appearances. A two-time participant in the CHL’s year-end Memorial Cup tournament, Hayes registered six goals and two assists for eight points through 10 total appearances.
In 2020, with the OHL on pause due to the global pandemic, Hayes joined HK Levice of the second-tier Slovak league where through 14 games he notched three goals and six assists for nine points. A 22-year-old native of Westland, Mich., Hayes has also seen success in international competition highlighted by a two-point showing through four games with Team USA at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
For the Penguins, on the season the squad sits 26-31-10 and second-to-last in the Eastern Conference with 62 points. In the midst of a two-game winning streak, the Penguins will try for their third consecutive victory when the club returns to the ice Thursday to take on the St. Louis Blues.