Pittsburgh Hockey Insider has no direct affiliation to the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL or NHLPA
Penguins make smart roster move sending Avery Hayes to AHL for real development
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Penguins sent Avery Hayes, 23, back to Wilkes, and the $830,000 winger leaves his NHL stint with 2 goals and a better path to real minutes.
Pittsburgh made the move, and the timing tells the story. Hayes is undrafted, waiver-exempt, and signed through 2026-27 on a two-year entry-level deal with no clauses to complicate movement.
That is not paperwork for the sake of paperwork. It is roster construction, clean and simple.
Hayes gave Pittsburgh energy in limited work. As of March 19, he had 2-0-2 in 11 NHL games and 19-11-30 in 36 AHL games.
His game makes sense when he is attacking downhill, jumping into soft ice, and getting touches around the slot. Ten sheltered NHL minutes do not unlock that version.
You can see the logic in the post, a scorer moving down so Pittsburgh keeps every forward option live for the next call.
For the next Penguins game, this likely means a veteran-heavy bottom six again. For Hayes, it means top-six AHL usage and power-play reps instead of survival shifts.
Avery Hayes gives Pittsburgh Penguins flexibility
As a fan, this reads more like smart asset handling than a demotion.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is also playing for something real. The club is essentially on the doorstep of a playoff berth and still chasing seeding, so Hayes is not disappearing into dead minutes.
That ripple effect matters. Pittsburgh protects depth up top while keeping a scorer sharp below.
The contract is cheap, but the bigger value is control. Hayes can move without waiver risk, return quickly, and fill in when injuries or a cold bottom six reopen a lane.
Pittsburgh did not close the door on Avery Hayes, it kept him in rhythm for the next time the door actually opens.
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
Sidney Crosby chirping fans from the penalty box shows Penguins still run through him
Sidney Crosby chirping fans from the penalty box shows Penguins still run through him
| POLL | ||
MARS 19|128 ANSWERS Penguins make smart roster move sending Avery Hayes to AHL for real development Was re-assigning Avery Hayes the right move for Pittsburgh? | ||
| Yes | 108 | 84.4 % |
| No | 20 | 15.6 % |
| List of polls | ||