Vigneault said Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher consulted with him prior to acquiring Hayes in a trade with the Jets for a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft on June 3. In the days between the trade and the signing, Vigneault said he spoke with Hayes to help sell the Flyers as his best option; Hayes could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
"I talked to him a couple times," Vigneault said. "I'm new to Philly too, but to give him my perspective. One thing about Kevin, when we were talking about this whole thing was his willingness to go somewhere he had a place to win. He felt that way about Philly."
The Flyers also reshaped their defense in two trades, acquiring defenseman Matt Niskanen from the Washington Capitals for defenseman Radko Gudas on June 14, and defenseman Justin Braun from the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday for a second-round pick in the 2019 draft and a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Niskanen and Braun each shoot right-handed, which is an area the Flyers were hoping to address. Gudas had been the only right-shot defenseman to play more than 30 games in a season for the Flyers during the past four seasons.
"That's something, when I first talked with Chuck (prior to being hired) that he was looking at seeing what we could do to bring in at least one right-handed defensemen, and he brought in two," Vigneault said. "I like right now our whole depth on [defense], what we have and the guys are going to fight for ice time. That good internal competition is what you need."