Hayden gears up for fresh start with Devils, close to home

Yale product John Hayden was traded from Chicago to New Jersey on June 22. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

John Hayden was hanging out on June 22 with some buddies from his home state of Connecticut who are now living in New York when he received a pleasant surprise. The 24-year-old forward had just been traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for John Quenneville.

“It was exciting for everyone,” Hayden said. “Coming to New Jersey, it feels like a homecoming.”

Hayden, who was born in Chicago, grew up in Denver and moved to Greenwich with his family when he was 8 years old, called his mom, Diana, right away.