Kevin Hayes’ ‘name has to be brought up’ says John Tortorella ahead of the NHL trade deadline

Flyers coach John Tortorella isn’t the one building the roster and trading players — that’s general manager Chuck Fletcher’s job. But on Thursday, Tortorella echoed a similar sentiment to one Fletcher asserted earlier this week regarding the team’s focus on getting younger in an effort to build for the future as the trade deadline approaches.

Fletcher said Tuesday that he’s open to conversations with other teams on just about every player, including 30-year-old forward Kevin Hayes. Tortorella said that he has been upfront with Hayes about his future as a Flyer given “where we are in the process and where he is in his career.”

» READ MORE: Assessing the Flyers’ potential trade chips ahead of Friday’s deadline

“When players are getting up in the 30s, and we’re in this process here [of] trying to get younger but also trying to stay competitive while we’re doing that, his name has to be brought up [and] has to be talked about,” Tortorella said. “I guess that’s the best way of putting it. You have to listen. You have to explore. I’ve been very honest with Kevin as we’ve gone through here.”

Fletcher traded for Hayes’ negotiating rights in 2019, then signed him to a seven-year, $50 million contract ($7.14 million average annual value) which is scheduled to expire following the 2025-26 season. He has 17 goals and 32 assists for 49 points this season and was named a 2022-23 NHL All-Star.

Through two periods Wednesday night against the New York Rangers, winger Owen Tippett racked up 17 minutes, 45 seconds of ice time, a workload some top forwards would bear through 60 minutes.

But every time Tortorella glanced over at Tippett on the bench in the third period, the 24 year old met his gaze as if to say, “I want more.”

Tortorella obliged. Tippett finished the night with a team- and career-high 27:40 of ice time in the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers. Tippett notched a first period power-play goal, created a couple more Grade A chances with his impressive speed and shot, and took the first shift of the overtime period alongside defensemen Ivan Provorov and Cam York.

“It’s a really good form of watching a player earn his ice time, watching a player just go about his business very quietly, pretty quiet kid, and just work at his game,” Tortorella said. “And I think he’s beginning to find himself.”

» READ MORE: Owen Tippett has been one of the biggest positives amid the Flyers’ uneven start

One year ago, Tippett could only dream of managing that kind of workload in the NHL. He arrived in Philadelphia from the Florida Panthers two days before the trade deadline as part of the return for longtime captain Claude Giroux. Despite being the No. 10 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Tippett had yet to carve out a permanent role at the NHL level, stuck behind a logjam of talent in Florida and splitting his time in the AHL.

Now, Tippett is part of the Flyers’ top six and also a fixture on the power play. He has three goals in his last four games for a total of 18 this season, a career high. His 16:23 of average ice time is roughly three minutes higher than his career average.

While Tippett acknowledges he has plenty more growing to do as he aims to become more consistent in every facet of his game, he feels at ease heading into this year’s trade deadline, which is at 3 p.m. Friday.

“For me, being traded in junior and then being traded last year, I kind of know what to prepare for mentally and how things are going to kind of happen,” Tippett said. “Just being a year out, though, I’m happy where I’m at. I’m really happy I got the new opportunity.”

Most recently, Tippett is even getting reps on the penalty kill, as Tortorella aims to improve his play away from the puck. By giving him penalty-kill minutes, Tortorella wants to see Tippett translate that experience to his defensive game at five-on-five. Tortorella saw that work for veteran winger Travis Konecny, who was added to the penalty kill this season for the first time in his career.

» READ MORE: Flyers finally wave white flag, pivot toward a Sixers-like ‘Process’

But even though Tippett is still developing, Tortorella noted that he’s steadily learning how to stand out on a nightly basis for the right reasons, even if he isn’t always on his A-game.

“When he’s not dead on, you still can find him,” Tortorella said. “You still see him. He’s not exactly where you want to be and still hasn’t learned the consistency and all that, but he hasn’t fallen off the cliff. I think that’s a huge improvement for a young man as he tries to find his way.”

The Columbus Blue Jackets traded winger Jake Voracek and a 2023 sixth-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for goalie Jon Gillies on Thursday. Voracek, who played for the Flyers for 10 seasons, has missed most of the season with a concussion, and the future of his NHL career is in doubt. The transaction will help the Coyotes reach the cap floor, as the 33-year-old Voracek carries a $8.25 million cap hit for one more season. ... The Flyers loaned forwards Elliot Desnoyers and Olle Lycksell to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who are in the midst of a push for the playoffs with 19 games remaining in the regular season. The Phantoms would be the fifth seed in the Atlantic division if the playoffs started on Thursday. ... Former Flyer Derick Brassard will play his 1,000th NHL game on Thursday night.