Following his tenure at Boston College, Hayes signed his first professional contract with the New York Rangers in 2014 instead of the Blackhawks. He played five seasons in New York before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Brendan Lemieux and two picks in the 2019 draft. After finishing the 2018–19 NHL season with the Jets, the Flyers acquired Hayes on a seven-year, $50 million contract in 2019. In the first year of his new contract, Hayes was the recipient of the teams' Gene Hart Memorial Award as the player who displays the most "heart".