PHILADELPHIA — The St. Louis Blues have acquired center Kevin Hayes from the Philadelphia Flyers for a sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft.

The teams announced the trade the day before the first round of the draft. The Flyers are retaining half of Hayes’ $7.14 million salary cap hit for the next three years.

Hayes gives the retooling Blues depth down the middle as they try to return to the playoffs next season. The 31-year-old is a veteran of nearly 700 NHL games and brings more winning experience to a team that is four seasons removed from winning the Stanley Cup.

Hayes signed a $50 million, seven-year contract with the Flyers in 2019 and became an instant fan favorite over his four seasons. He scored 23 goals in his first season with the Flyers and was an All-Star this past season, when he fell one shy of his career high with 54 points.

AVALANCHE-CANADIENS: The Colorado Avalanche traded young forward Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens for a late first- and an early second-round pick, plus a minor-leaguer.

Colorado got the 31st and 37th picks in this week’s draft and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother from Montreal. The move clears potential salary cap space to try to keep pending free-agent center J.T. Compher, after the Avalanche acquired Ryan Johansen from Nashville over the weekend.

KINGS-JETS: The Los Angeles Kings acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois in a major sign-and-trade deal with the Winnipeg Jets.

The 25-year-old center was a restricted free agent but told the Jets this month that he didn’t plan on re-signing with them. Dubois agreed to an eight-year extension worth $8.5 million annually in agreeing to the trade.

Winnipeg will get center Gabriel Vilardi, forwards Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round pick in 2024.

Dubois scored a career-high 63 points last season, including 36 assists. He has at least 27 goals in three of his six NHL seasons.

SHARKS-DEVILS: While the San Jose Sharks have acquired a goaltender, they’re still looking to trade their best player.

The Sharks acquired goalie Mackenzie Blackwood from the New Jersey Devils and are still looking to deal Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson to a contender.

GM Mike Grier has talked to colleagues about Karlsson since before the trade deadline this past season, but it’s a difficult maneuver to pull off. Karlsson is 33 and under contract for four more seasons at the fifth-highest cap hit in the NHL: $11.5 million.

DEVILS-FLAMES: The New Jersey Devils acquired veteran forward Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames for forward Yegor Sharangovich and a draft pick they recently acquired in a deal with Columbus.

The Devils will give the Flames the third-round pick they got from the Blue Jackets in the sign-and-trade deal that sent defenseman Damon Severson to Columbus.

SCHEDULE: The 2023-24 NHL season opens on Oct. 10 with a tripleheader headlined by the Vegas Golden Knights raising their first Stanley Cup banner.

The league and its 32 clubs released the 1,312-game regular-season schedule.

The puck drops again with the Nashville Predators facing off against the Tampa Bay Lightning, followed by the potential debut of presumptive No. 1 pick Connor Bedard when he and the Chicago Blackhawks visit Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. One-hundred-twenty days after winning the Cup, the Golden Knights will begin their title defense against the Seattle Kraken in a preview of the Winter Classic.

The Boston Bruins open their season at home on Oct. 11 against the Blackhawks.

DUCKS: Former captain Ryan Getzlaf, who played 17 games for the AHL Portland Pirates during the 2005-2006 season, is now the player development coordinator for the Anaheim Ducks.

Getzlaf served as Anaheim’s captain for 12 seasons (2010-22). He is also the all-time leading scorer in franchise history with 1,019 points, including 737 assists, and played in a team-record 1,157 games.

In his new role, Getzlaf will assist Director of Player Development Jim Johnson in preparing prospects in Anaheim’s system for a career in professional hockey.

STARS: The Dallas Stars signed forward Evgenii Dadonov to a $4.5 million, two-year contract.

Dadonov appeared in 23 regular-season games and 16 playoff games for the Stars after being acquired from Montreal in a trade on Feb. 26. He could have become an unrestricted free agent.

DIVERSITY: The NHL and NHLPA launched a new inclusion committee that is made up of current and former men’s and women’s players, with minority and LGBTQ+ representation, aimed at diversifying hockey and making the sport more welcoming.

The NHL Player Inclusion Coalition is the latest step in a process started in the summer of 2020, when the police killing of George Floyd led to a worldwide reckoning on matters of race and racism. It comes on the heels of Pride night incidents around the league, when a handful of players refused to wear rainbow-colored jerseys for warm-ups, leading the league to decide against teams wearing any themed uniforms next season.