Hayes out for start of season for Flyers with abdominal injury

Kevin Hayes will need up to eight weeks to recover from abdominal surgery he had Tuesday, which will cause him to miss Philadelphia Flyers training camp and the start of the NHL season.

"Kevin was skating yesterday with his teammates and he felt something in his groin, had an MRI and this morning got operated on," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We expect him to be out anywhere from 6-8 weeks from his point. This brings us nine, 10 games into the regular season. So he'll be out for a while."
The Flyers host the Vancouver Canucks in their regular-season opener Oct. 15.
Hayes was scratched for a 5-3 loss against the New Jersey Devils on April 29 last season. Vigneault said he wasn't pleased with Hayes' play at the time even though he wasn't 100 percent.
Hayes had core muscle surgery in May but was expected to be ready for the start of the season.
"This happened yesterday and he got operated on this morning so I'm not sure if it's related to what happened last year," Vigneault said. "… Injuries are part of the game, you have to expect them, that's why you have depth. That's why you need players to be ready at all times."

Hayes scored 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 55 games last season and has scored 72 points (35 goals, 37 assists) in 124 games for the Flyers. He was acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on June 3, 2019, and signed a seven-year, $50 million contract ($7.14 million average annual value) with Philadelphia on June 19, 2019.
He has scored 301 points (127 goals, 174 assists) in 505 regular-season games for the New York Rangers, Jets and Flyers, and 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 56 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Flyers defenseman Samuel Morin will need 6-8 weeks to recover after having right-knee surgery Sept. 10. Morin scored one goal in 20 games last season and has played 29 games with the Flyers over the past five seasons.
Forward Wade Allison is out indefinitely with a right ankle sprain. Allison scored seven points (four goals, three assists) in 14 games with the Flyers last season.
NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report