games. Hayes returned to the Eagles for a modest but successful 2011–12 season. He made an assist against the Air Force Falcons in the Northeast Regional semifinals of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, and scored a goal against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the national semifinals. Boston College won the NCAA tournament, and Hayes finished the season with 28 points. Despite recording six goals and 19 assists, Hayes had a beleaguered 2012–13 season. After recording 24 points with the Eagles, he received a suspension for a violation of team rules. Eagles head coach Jerry York said the duration of the suspension would depend on how Hayes responded. Then, in a February 26, 2013 match against UMass Lowell River Hawks, Hayes sustained an injury to a leg and lost consciousness in the locker room. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with compartment syndrome. He underwent four emergency surgeries on his left quadriceps femoris muscle and was hospitalized for 22 days. Hayes was told that his condition had been two hours from amputation had he not been treated, and there was doubt whether he would be able to return to hockey. When he was allowed to return to play, Hayes' experience with compartment syndrome changed his outlook on hockey. He told the Boston Herald, "I think I always knew how important the game was to me, but I think I had to somewhat grow up a bit and take my body serious, take my school serious, take my strength and conditioning serious, and just a mixture of those three kind of allowed me to be the player I am today." Hayes returned his senior year on the Eagles' top line with Bill Arnold and Johnny Gaudreau, scoring 65 points (27 goals and 38 assists) in the 2013–14 NCAA season, and ending the season with 1.62 points per game, the second-highest in the country. Hayes was named the MVP of the 2014 Beanpot tournament and selected for the AHCA East First-Team All-American. Professional New York Rangers Hayes and the Blackhawks could not agree on a contract by the August 15 NHL deadline for college graduates, and Hayes became an unrestricted free agent in 2014. Less than a week later, the New York Rangers signed him to an entry-level contract with a base salary of $925,000 per season at the NHL level. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, received a second-round compensatory pick in