Taylor Hall To The Bruins
The trade was reported last night by TSN but now it’s official: Taylor Hall was traded from the historically bad Buffalo Sabres to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Anders Bjork and a 2021 second-round pick. The former NHL MVP is headed over to a significantly injured team in Boston that is fighting for their playoff spot at fourth in the East Division. Hall was so desperate to get out of the dumpster fire that is Buffalo that he waived his no-movement clause, which also means the Sabres will be retaining 50% of his salary. Ouch.
After being traded for the second time in two years, there is no question that the Bruins will be the best team Taylor Hall has ever played for, even if they fail to make the playoffs this year. Before Buffalo, Hall was with the Oilers, Devils, and the Coyotes. The guy hasn’t had much go his way aside from that 2018 MVP, and even then he had to break his back to carry that mediocre Devils team to the playoffs that year.
What Are The Bruins Really Getting In Hall?
Hall originally signed a one-year, $8 million deal with Buffalo last year, and he was going to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason anyway. That tells me that Hall was just a rental piece by Buffalo that actually expected they were going to win this year. Instead, they just lowered Hall’s stock and wasted another stellar year from Jack Eichel who may be on his way out the door in the foreseeable future as well. With that being said, Boston will be getting Taylor Hall for a very cheap price, but also a Taylor Hall that is not having a great year by any means. Hall is currently a .51 points per game player, and he has a career-low two goals through 37 games played. Yes, Buffalo has been benching him as of late for precautionary reasons, but there is no doubt that Taylor Hall is having an off-year. Either that, or he’s mentally checked out from playing for the worst team in the NHL.
Again, the Hall trade is a very low-risk, high-reward move for the Bruins. They’re looking to make a playoff push and they could use any help right now considering a few of their players are banged up. Ondrej Kase and Brandon Carlo are on injured reserve and Charlie McAvoy has missed his fourth game in a row with an upper-body injury. Not to mention, Tuuka Rask has been out with an upper-body injury since March 7 and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has been hurt as well.
All in all, there is no question that the Bruins have come out on the better end of this deal. The only caveat is whether or not Taylor Hall can at least add something to the team in the process of trying to make the playoffs. Do I think he can perform twice as well as he has so far in Buffalo? Absolutely. But this may be the most pressure Hall has been under to contribute to a contending team, and the Boston sports media may not be so friendly if he does not come through. Luckily, if things don’t pan out, the Bruins won’t have to deal with Hall once this offseason comes around since he’ll be a UFA, but they can also re-sign him if both parties agree to a reunion.
