PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The tattoo runs along Kevin Hayes' left forearm. This is a permanent reminder of what the Philadelphia Flyers center is missing. This is a solemn quote covered with the thick of his late brother. Thick script J, this is an indelible tribute to a kind of bond. He believes that it is not broken, but changed.

The inscription Hayes never expected read: "Death leaves an incurable heartache, and love leaves a memory that cannot be stolen."

Former NHL player Jimmy Hayes, who is only 31 years old, has been married for three years and has two young boys. He was found dead in his home this summer. Kevin said his brother is healthy and happy. He said he had no reason to believe anything suspicious about the cause of his brother's death, which has not yet been determined.

Nearly two months later, the idea of ​​starting a season without his brother made Kevin feel pressured.

"We have been best friends all our lives," Kevin said.

From the childhood bowling and baseball to the back-to-school game at TD Garden, the Hayes brothers are tightly tied together; Kevin and his eldest brother Jimmy are in the same step, and Jimmy is a few children in Boston’s largest community. The same university, and eventually confronted each other in the NHL.

They are sports anchors from a family of five Irish brothers and sisters in Dorchester, and everyone knows that celebrities — they share blood with the cousins ​​who made the NHL — are destined to be boys.

Kevin said: "If no one is wearing a Hayes jersey or something with a Hayes jersey on the wall, you can't go anywhere." "My father is very important in the community. My mother runs a daycare. Everyone’s children go. It’s just a small community, and my brother and I are just like Dorchester’s faces."

The biggest fan of Hayes Boys is not the hockey fanatics of the working-class community that they cheered for when they became stars at Boston College, but they are each other.

When they arrived in the NHL, Kevin hovered as he warmed up on the red line, waiting for Jimmy to slip past and breaking the deadlock with a silly joke. The brothers live together, train together, play golf together, can be a party life, and in each other’s corner, even if Kevin develops into a top center, and Jimmy’s career ends after part of the seven seasons in the NHL It also ended up as a minor.

"I think he accepted that we are different players, and I am more skilled than him," Kevin said during the third season of a $50 million, seven-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. "But I swear, no one supports me more than my brother. He tells everyone how good I am."

Jimmy blamed Kevin, insisting that bad games were never his fault, and jokingly accused the winger or coach Alan Vignote of causing the loss. Good games, well, those are all Kevin.

"He thinks I am the best player in the world," Kevin said. "I'll talk about (Connor) McDavid and (Sidney) Crosby. He was like, "No, I tell you, man, you are as good as those guys. "I thought,'You are crazy.'"

In August, Kevin was overwhelmed by grief as the ultimate price for love. He stood behind a podium in a crowded Catholic parish church, strengthened his nerves, and told mourners that he thought it was his Heroic people.

Now, the 29-year-old Hayes will miss Friday's season opener due to injury, and he has started the next chapter of his life without the beloved leader of the Hayes team.

Hayes said: "Even if you are angry because he did some stupid things, he will say some stupid things, so that you think he might do it on purpose, how could you even be angry with him," Smiles are formed in memory.

Shelagh Hayes helped raise five children, three daughters, and there seems to be an open house in the entire neighborhood that is always full of friends and food. Their father, Kevin Sr., is his son's youth baseball and basketball coach, and he is also the kind of person who makes a cameo on the NHL reality show, "This is my chance to become a star!"

The children have grown up, and the good times in Massachusetts continue after both parents have survived cancer.

Take a scene in the TV series "Winter Classic Road" as an example. At the opening, Jimmy wore a black buttoned shirt and introduced a series of teammates, nieces, nephews, uncles, sisters, and aunts almost comically. Finally, "My brother, Kay Arts."

Jimmy patted the shoulder of his brother, who only wears a long-sleeved T-shirt and a black hat, and joked: "Thank you for dressing up." The kind-hearted competitive spirit soon began: Kevin tweeted that he would be in bowling, basketball, and home plate. Beat his brother in a derby.

"Right, yes, brother! I will give you a home run derby, but nothing more," Jimmy said. "But bowling, brother, I will hit you from the left with a beautiful hook."

Jimmy and retired players Shane O'Brien and Scottie Upshall hosted the "Missin Curfew" podcast, talking about hockey, trash, and the NHL's hottest gossip.

Jimmy played 334 games for four teams, including the Boston Bruins, and he pestered his brother in the locker room for "a real thing" before the trade deadline. Hayes joked that he must never let go of any small talk, because the flyer clearly knew he was providing information.

Jimmy likes to tap on podcasts, telling stories, such as when his father blasphemed him during the Boston College goal celebration, and how the way he told the story allowed him to approach the game after retirement. Kevin is the favorite of Philadelphia fans and won the team award for showing the most sincere heart, brewing beer for him, and turning the Flyers into a competitor in 2020.

"When you develop as a team and do things for team cohesion, Kevin is an important part of it for us," Flyer winger James Van Rimsdijk said. "In this sense, he is the life of the locker room. People tend to be attracted to him and like to be with him."

The funeral at St. Ann's Church in Dorchester was full of mourners. Children in Dorchester youth hockey jerseys are walking down the street. A bagpiper played on the steps. Hockey circles at all levels have emerged one after another. Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh paid his respects.

Jimmy's widow, Christine, spoke at the ceremony. Kevin held back tears when he talked about his brother meeting with a child with cancer named Michael McHugh Jr. and taking him to Bruins' locker room.

"Jimmy stayed with Michael, took pictures of him, gave him sticks, gave him a bunch of bears' booty," Kevin said. "Unfortunately, Michael passed away a month later. His father told us that this was the greatest night in his son's short life. Michael loved Jimmy and he felt that he did not have cancer for the first time that night. His My father was in awe of Jimmy’s kindness and was very grateful to Jimmy for giving Michael one of the happiest days in his life."

Kevin, now the eldest brother, stays at home as much as possible, with him and his brother's family.

"It's tough in Boston because everyone knows us," he said. "If no one stares at me awkwardly, wants to say sorry or give me a hug, I can't go for coffee or a walk. It's just a bit exhausted. Instead of sitting in my parents' coach or Christine's house all the time Here, it’s great to really come back and look forward to this season."

Kevin Hayes returned to Philadelphia after abdominal surgery and was discharged from the hospital for a few weeks. He was skating on the rink but missed a FaceTime chat with Jimmy on the 20-minute drive home. He rarely reads his cell phone these days, and he apologizes for the hundreds of kind text messages that have not received a response. But he did scroll through Christine's Instagram account. Her page is an affectionate, heartbreaking memory of photos and videos of Jimmy Hayes who robbed the camera in his "daddy" hat and took their eldest son on the beach with the title "We I hope you come back to Dad."

Kevin recalled how his brother and Christine laughed when they met at a seafood restaurant on the Boston waterfront, and admired the strength she left for her sons Bo and Mike in the tragedy. Kevin said that his sadness is still so strong that the boys will always know how much Jimmy loves them and how much he loves his family.

"I lost my best friend and my brother. She left her husband and father to the children," Kevin said. "It's hard. I can accept what happened. My brother is gone and he died. I am 29 years old and I understand what death is. The whole thing I can't understand, the whole, is not spirit, but God. Be angry with God. .

"I don't understand how these two children don't have a father. I can't accept it. I don't think I will ever."

He paused and added: "But I also saw God sending different messages."

After missing the playoffs for a season, the Flyers added the Dorchester native, Hayes' family and friends and NHL iron man Keith Youngdle and Jimmy's Boston College roommate Cam Atkinson. The two people who knew the Hayes brothers in the past now share the same line; Yandle and Hayes are roommates.

The Flyer Center said this marked both players found their way to Philadelphia after the tragedy.

"We don't like being alone, so we can go out and play every day," Yandle said. "It's also great, especially during the season, to be able to sit down and watch the game. I think it will be fun. We watched a lot of TV, a lot of sofa time and a lot of laughter."

On August 22, Jimmy and Kristen held a 2nd birthday party for Beau and invited everyone who could celebrate. Jimmy's old college teammate showed up. The child in diapers made a mess. When the Hayes brothers planned to go on a golf outing, there was nothing unusual—"He gave me a big two-hand shake," Kevin said—and then said goodbye.

The next morning, Kevin left his home, and when his mother called, he drove to participate in a scheduled exercise.

"When I woke up in the morning, I heard my mother screaming on the phone," Kevin said. "My mother screamed,'He's dead,' I know what she's talking about."

Kevin quickly returned to his brother's house and saw the worst: "I saw him being pushed out, and then..." His voice gradually weakened.

Kevin said that Jimmy is very happy after retirement; he likes his role as a family man, golfer, podcast, and his brother's first fan.

Kevin wears a bracelet engraved with his brother's initials. The tattoo also has his brother's number 11 and his date of birth and death. Kevin vowed to maintain his brother's legacy through his nephew and the person who loved him the most.

Kevin said: "I think no one will play the role of my brother as a father or a parent." "We will do our best. Beau and Mac are really lucky. Although the situation is bad, they are really lucky because they Have all the support systems."

It is not enough to fight for his honor this season. Kevin has dedicated his life to his brother. He firmly believes that the close brotherhood in life is unbreakable after death.

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