5:50 p.m.: According to PuckPedia, Hall’s new extension breaks down as follows:
- Year 1: $3.5MM salary, full no-movement clause
- Year 2: $3.425MM salary, full no-movement clause
- Year 3: $2.575MM salary, full no-movement clause*
* If Hall scores less than 35 points in 2026-27, the full no-movement clause in 2027-28 will convert to a 10-team modified no-trade clause.
9:02 a.m.: Taylor Hall has agreed to a three-year, $9.5MM extension with the Hurricanes, according to a team announcement. The deal carries a cap hit of $3.167MM and will carry the veteran left-winger through the 2027-28 campaign.
“Taylor has proven to be an outstanding fit for our team, and we are thrilled that he is excited to make Raleigh his home for another three seasons,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “He’s been a solid veteran presence in the locker room and a difference maker on the ice.”
Hall has fit well in Carolina since the team acquired him from the Blackhawks in January’s blockbuster three-way deal with the Avalanche. While the 2010 first overall pick isn’t the MVP threat he was in his prime, he’s settled in as a capable middle-six scorer in his twilight years. He scored 9-9–18 in 31 regular-season games after arriving in Raleigh-Durham, a 24-goal, 48-point pace over an 82-game schedule.
While a three-year term may carry some risk for a player who’ll be 36 years old upon expiry, it’s a cost-effective commitment that maintains the Hurricanes’ immense salary cap flexibility next season. Hall’s extension still leaves them with $32.06MM in projected cap space for 2025-26 with just five roster spots to fill, per PuckPedia. With no notable restricted free agents to re-sign, this is a highly team-friendly deal to allow Carolina to retain a reliable middle-six scorer and go big-game hunting in earnest over the summer.
It’s no surprise to see Hall prioritize term over money in extension talks. He’s been traded twice in the past three seasons after signing a four-year, $24MM contract with the Bruins in 2021. After potting 61 points in 81 games for Boston in the first year of the deal, his most since his Hart Trophy campaign with the Devils in 2017-18, he managed 36 points in 61 contests in 2022-23 and was traded to Chicago in a cap-clearing move the following summer. Knee surgery then limited Hall to just 10 appearances for the Hawks in 2023-24 before scoring 24 points in 46 games for Chicago this season, before the move to the Hurricanes.
While he takes a 47% pay cut per year, Hall avoids his first trip to unrestricted free agency in five years the morning after Carolina became the first team to advance to the second round with a come-from-behind double overtime win over the Devils in Game 5. The 6’1″, 210-lb forward had a goal and two assists with a minus-one rating in the series while averaging 15:56 per game.
For the organization, retaining their top pending UFA forward well in advance of the market opening is an important development after seeing their scoring depth gutted by free-agent departures last summer. This time around, Tulsky won’t face the same fate while also having nearly unprecedented flexibility among playoff contenders to add to his roster on the open market.
It’s a deal the Canes and Hall have been working on essentially since his acquisition. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Andy Strickland of FanDuel Sports Network both said in February that they were discussing an extension.
Image courtesy of David Kirouac-Imagn Images.
That is insanely cheap, especially with a rising cap
He’s valued there and after his Chicago experience I think that is worth more than open market value
I’m happy for him. He said he just wanted a place to stay put. His time as a front line scorer is probably over but he can be a nice complimentary piece on a good team which the Hawks aren’t right now. Davidson tried to catch lightning in a bottle and found out how hard that is. Hopefully Hall got a little trade protection in exchange for a relatively inexpensive salary. Hope he’s happy.
Canes will gladly help him lift his first Cup
He’s been great for us and is a perfect fit in Rod’s system. Going to be a big turnover here this summer with Burns, Orlov and Andersen leaving and Morrow and Nikishin on the way up playing for league minimum.
Morrow isn’t making the league minimum, he signed a deal giving him $916,667 next season, Nikishin is making $925,000 both are far lower salaries than Burns and Orlov but still above the league minimum of 775,000.
Also Andersen leaving isn’t a done deal, he could return as he does play well when healthy and was the top netminder in the playoffs in Sv% and GAA (not including Schmid who stopped all 9 shots he faced in relief in Vegas) plus the free agent goalie market is pretty bad this year with Jake Allen being the best of the bunch outside of Freddie
The Canes need a reliable number one. It doesn’t make sense, with the new cap, to not face that they have two 1B goalies in the playoffs. Unless a team is willing to take Kocheckov and other assets for a bona fide goalie.
There’s no decent free agent goalies this year
I thought he’d get closer to $5M, but if he’s happy there, and it’s obviously going well, why not commit?
At 33, he’s no longer a five million player.
That’s the going rate for a veteran 0.5ppg forward with pedigree.
You know, I like that notion: that the NMC stays in place only if Hall’s still producing. More contracts should have language like that.