Kevin Hayes is not one of the NHL's three finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.
The winner, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, will come from the trio of Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (39 points), Ottawa Senators winger Mark Stone (64 points), and Hayes' former Boston College teammate, winger Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames (64 points).
"I hope it's Johnny," a smiling Hayes said Thursday of Gaudreau, with whom he chats about an hour per day on his iPhone's Facetime app.
All three Calder finalists were deserving of a vote, and so was Nashville winger Filip Forsberg, snubbed despite leading the Predators in scoring (63 points).