Kevin Hayes adjusting to new teammates, a different position and the Penguins’ preferred pace

Matt Vensel / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CALGARY, Alberta — Kevin Hayes seems to be a man who has no problem getting comfortable, with new teams, new schemes, new people or new surroundings.

Hayes is a very popular player around the NHL, evidenced by the fact that Vincent Trocheck is letting the new Penguins winger live at his house back in Wexford.

And while he’s bounced around the league a bit in his career, the 32-year-old has still been able to produce above a 40-point average pace over the past decade.

Still, in his first few weeks with the Penguins, Hayes finds himself in unchartered territory. He is adjusting to playing the wing for the first time as a professional.

“It hasn’t been that big of a change,” he said Monday at the Scotiabank Saddledome, where the team practiced ahead of Tuesday’s game versus the Calgary Flames.

Hayes was a little surprised when coach Mike Sullivan told him before the start of training camp that the Penguins planned to move him to the wing. However, he understood. Pittsburgh had a bunch of natural centers on its roster. That included Noel Acciari and Cody Glass, who were his linemates for the season opener.

“I think I just kind of fell into it, to be honest,” the big lug from Boston shrugged. “I don’t think it’s a big deal. It’s still a very instinctual game. I’m trying to work on it.”

Generally speaking, the most challenging aspects of the switch from center to the wing are learning different defensive duties and getting accustomed to a new role on breakouts — instead of carrying the puck into the neutral zone and being more of a distributor, a winger must instead move into position to receive a pass.

While there have been plenty of shifts in his 11 seasons on which he temporarily wound up on the wing because the action dictated that, Hayes said he is still trying to get a grasp on what the Penguins are asking him to do in the defensive zone.

“So far, I’ve scored a little bit, but I’ve been on the ice for too many goals against,” he said. “Some of them were my fault. Some of them weren’t. But going forward, I am just going to try to make sure my defensive game is where it needs to be.”

It is true that Hayes has been on the ice for seven goals against at 5-on-5. That’s one of the highest totals on the team. He has a minus-5 rating in seven games.

However, the Penguins generated 73.1% of the high-danger scoring chances that occurred when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. The main issue has been that their goalies have just a .759 save percentage in his minutes.

Sullivan said he believes Hayes is adjusting well to the new position and the way the Penguins want to play, which has a higher tempo than he is accustomed to.

“Playing on the wing certainly helps with [his subpar top-end speed]. We’re not asking him to play goal line to goal line,” the coach said. “I think Hayesy, what he might lack in foot speed, he makes up for it with his smarts. He’s a high IQ guy.”

And the Penguins so far have liked what Hayes has provided offensively, bringing much-needed playmaking and some scoring touch to Pittsburgh’s fourth line.

Hayes has scored three goals so far, including the winner last week in Montreal.

Sullivan described Hayes as a “pretty opportunistic” scorer, a “deceptive” offensive threat and a “conscientious player” overall. He added that he is liking what Hayes brings to the second power-play unit. He scored in Sunday’s loss in Winnipeg.

Hayes acknowledges that he is hardly a blazer out there on the ice. But somehow, as the NHL gets faster and faster every year, he has managed to remain productive.

“I think the way I skate makes it look a little lazy and not that fast,” Hayes said. “Obviously, I’m not as fast as some of the other guys in the league or even on this team. But I’ve been in the league a long time, and I wouldn’t say I’ve lost a step.”

Hayes had 13 goals and 29 points last season as the St. Louis Blues used him in more of a defensive role. The year prior, he put up 18 goals and 54 points for the Philadelphia Flyers — and represented them at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game.

He says he has learned to use his 6-foot-5, 216-pound frame to protect the puck, initiate contact and hopefully slow hard-charging defenders down to his speed.

“It’s not the prettiest style of play, but I think I’ve used my size to my advantage,” he said. “I try to put them in spots where they can’t use their speed against me.”

One thing no one can question is how quickly he can fit within a dressing room.

It helped that Hayes already had ties with a few Penguins players — largely due to Boston ties. He has known Acciari and Matt Grzelcyk for much of their lives. Plus, he belongs to the same country club as Ryan Shea, another Massachusetts guy.

And teammates he didn’t already know? Well, they warmed up to him in a hurry.

“It’s an easy locker room to come in to, a little bit of an older locker room,” Hayes said. “Knowing some people before I got here was pretty nice. It’s been smooth.”