Kevin Hayes was a first-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 NHL Draft. He would spend time with multiple franchises in his NHL career, playing the past two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins announced at the end of last season that they would not re-sign Hayes.

Now Hayes, who spent five games with AK Bars Kazan of the KHL, has decided to call it a career, according to a release from the NHL.

“I have decided to end my hockey career,” Hayes said in a statement issued by the KHL. “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.”

Hayes never played for the team that drafted him, after failing to come to an agreement with the Blackhawks following his four years at Boston College. He signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent in 2014 and broke into the NHL in the 2014-15 season. He played four full seasons with the Rangers before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets during the 2018-19 season. As a restricted free agent, his rights were traded to the Philadelphia Flyers ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

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Hayes would play with the Flyers through the 2022-23 season before spending one year with the St. Louis Blues and two campaigns with the Penguins. Overall, he played in 805 NHL games, scoring 185 goals and adding 261 assists.

“What an incredible career, what an incredible person, too,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “There's certain people that will always stand out in your mind when you're a coach, and he's definitely going to be one that I remember throughout the rest of my career. Just the way he handled himself last year, the teammate that he is, the person that he is. It was a real honor to just be around him for a year.”

Hayes finished his career by being selected to one All-Star Game back in 2023, while also winning the Gene Hart Memorial Trophy in 2020.