Hayes was ruled out until September after injuring himself in the build-up to the Dons' Europa League qualifier with Maribor.
McInnes believes that a player of Hayes' qualities was exactly what the Dons required to unlock the St Johnstone defence during the teams' 0-0 draw on Sunday.
But despite his frustrations at the lack of chances created, McInnes praised Aberdeen's defence for managing a clean sheet against a Saints team that the Dons shipped 12 goals to last season.
He said: "The clean sheet pleases me. The way we stood up physically pleases me. We're just bemoaning the fact that we missed a wee bit of quality in the final third.
"Somebody like Jonny Hayes is very important for that. He is the type of player who could maybe have unlocked the door for us."