The Penguins have gotten another prospect signed to an entry-level deal. They announced they’ve signed undrafted free agent forward Avery Hayes to a two-year contract beginning next season, taking him through the 2026-27 campaign. Financial terms were not disclosed.
While Pittsburgh didn’t have Hayes’ exclusive signing rights, he’s not new to the organization. The 5’10” 22-year-old has spent the last two seasons on AHL contracts with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Last year was a tough adjustment to professional hockey coming out of the major junior ranks, limited to 6-3–9 in 29 games and had a brief demotion to ECHL Wheeling.
This season has been a breakout for Hayes, though. The Michigan native, who was initially eligible for the 2021 draft but was passed over multiple times, is tied for fifth on the Baby Pens in scoring with 17-18–35 in 44 games. He leads WBS forwards with a +17 rating. Among the top 100 U23 point-getters in the AHL, he was the only one not technically affiliated with an NHL team – until today.
His sophomore emergence gets rewarded with a two-year commitment from the organization, which now makes him eligible for an NHL recall starting next year. He becomes the 33rd player out of the maximum of 50 on the Pens’ books for 2025-26. He’ll be a restricted free agent when his ELC expires in 2027.
Hayes won two consecutive Ontario Hockey League championships in 2022 and 2023, albeit on two different teams – first the Hamilton Bulldogs, then the Peterborough Petes. The older brother of Blackhawks prospect Gavin Hayes is the third player to sign an ELC with Pittsburgh in the last four days, joining Chase Pietila and Daniel Laatsch.