Here Today, Retired Tomorrow

There have been lots of players who left the NHL for the KHL for an opportunity to extend their careers. Some have found success doing that and have extended their professional hockey careers by years while others lasted a handful of games before realizing that the KHL may not be their cups of tea. Kevin Hayes, pictured to the left, will now fall into the latter category after he announced his retirement from hockey today after playing just five games with Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL. The former NHL forward wasn't playing for the money after earning $50 million over the last seven years, but he reportedly went to Russia this season after his wife, Katya Vasilyev, urged him to play in her homeland.

I'm not here to make jokes at Kevin Hayes' expense. His announcement today is a surprise considering he signed a one-year deal in Kazan, but it was also a surprise when Kazan announced his signing in knowing that he only scored more than 50 points once and more than 20 goals twice in his NHL career. It wasn't like they were getting an over-the-hill NHLer who wanted to keep playing, but the 34 year-old wasn't getting any younger so perhaps Kazan was looking to squeeze whatever they could out of his remaining hockey talents.

After five games, however, Hayes is now done. He was averaging 15:00 of ice time with the Snow Leopards, but he has no points and ended his five-game run with a -1 rating. The team went 1-2-1-1 in those five games with each game decided by one goal, and Hayes recorded six shots in those five games with his -1 coming in a 3-2 shootout loss to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He was 17/34 at the face-off dot, saw time on the power-play in each game, and three hits. Nothing stands out, but Hayes was competing in each game.

And perhaps that was the reason - nothing stood out to Hayes in terms of how he was playing. His comments on Twitter reflected that, stating, "I have decided to end my hockey career. I can no longer play at the level I am capable of because my body does not allow me to perform at my best. And I cannot accept not being in top form."

My hope is that Kevin Hayes can look back on his twelve seasons of NHL hockey and be happy with his accomplishments. He skated in 805 NHL games with the New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, and Pittsburgh Penguins where he scored 185 goals and 261 assists. His first NHL goal came against the San Jose Sharks on October 19, 2014, and his first playoff point came on an overtime goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2-1 win in Game Four of the opening round on April 22, 1995 to put the Rangers up 3-1 in the series. He certainly had some memorable moments.

With his announcement today, Hayes can now move into a more full-time family role with his wife Kayla and their son. That adventure will likely keep him just as busy as a hockey season would, and I imagine it will be just as rewarding as memories are made. Yes, it didn't work in Russia for Hayes, but he figured out that it was time to turn the page. There's no shame in that ending because it simply starts a fresh page in a new volume of Kevin Hayes' life.

Where that story now takes him is totally up to him and his family.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!