Latest On Taylor Hall
After Eric Staal was dealt from the Buffalo Sabres earlier today for a moderate return (if that), hockey fans all across the country rushed to CapFriendly to see what else might be included in the team’s fire sale. Top of the list is a former Hart Trophy winner in Taylor Hall, who will certainly command a lot of attention as the deadline draws near.
Earlier today, Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted that Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams has spoken to multiple teams about a Hall trade and now we may know what he was saying. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the initial asking price for Hall involves a first-round pick, though the insider suggests it will be difficult to even get that at this point. Staal only landed the team a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick, even with Buffalo retaining half of his already relatively low cap hit. That retention will likely have to happen for Hall too regardless of where he goes, given how expensive his one-year deal is.
The 29-year-old inked a one-year, $8MM deal with Buffalo in the offseason as a chance to play top-line minutes next to Jack Eichel and build his value back up after a disappointing season, but his time with the Sabres has done anything but that. In 32 games, Hall has just two goals and 17 points, numbers that really only compare favorably to depth forwards, not top talent. In fact, Staal even had more goals than him (3) in the same amount of games, and has the added benefit of experience and a Stanley Cup championship.
So really what is Hall worth? He has only reached the playoffs twice in his career, and though that 2017-18 Hart campaign was outstanding, now has just 69 points in his last two seasons combined (97 GP). Remember too that he has only reached those lofty MVP-type totals on two occasions, recording 65 points or fewer in nine of his 11 seasons because of injury or inconsistency.
There is also the debate on what a first-round pick is even worth this season, given how much uncertainty surrounds the scouting profession. Teams haven’t had multiple extended looks at many of the top prospects, meaning the spread of draft talent could be even wider this time around. Perhaps that’s why Buffalo was happy to take mid-round picks for Staal, hoping to hit on a prospect that falls due to limited exposure, but that would be relying on their relatively small scouting department to identify things that others miss.
At the very least, the Staal trade has indicated two things. One, the reduced quarantine on players traveling to Canadian teams has opened the market, and two, waiving a no-trade clause to get out of Buffalo doesn’t seem like such an obstacle. Greg Wyshynski of ESPN confirmed that Staal did have the Canadiens on his no-trade list, but he agreed to the deal anyway. Louis Jean of TVA Sports adds some more context, tweeting that the Canadiens “didn’t need to convince Staal” to waive the clause—certainly a bit of an indictment of the Sabres current situation. Hall also holds the cards in that situation with a full no-movement clause, but it is hard to see him blocking any deal to a contender after 16 straight losses in Buffalo.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Sabres Notes: Trade Aggression, Goaltending, Hall
Prior to Sabres GM Kevyn Adams speaking with the media on Friday, TSN’s Darren Dreger noted in a segment on WGR 550 (audio link) that Adams has been among the more aggressive teams in terms of trying to make a deal but the trade market as a whole continues to be tough to navigate with trades with Canadian teams being next to impossible due to quarantine concerns. Just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for Buffalo this season between injuries, key players underperforming, and even some players going through COVID-19 which has them in the basement in the East Division. They sit 14 points out of a playoff spot heading into Saturday’s games and while that’s not an insurmountable gap to make up with all in-division matchups, the likeliest scenario is that those trade talks will soon start to inch towards selling players if it hasn’t already.
More from Buffalo:
- In his press conference, Adams indicated to reporters, including Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News (Twitter link) that the reason he hasn’t made a move to upgrade the goaltending is that there hasn’t been one available yet. Curiously, they passed on Alex Stalock who was coming off a strong season in Minnesota off waivers so it appears they’re setting their sights higher. Linus Ullmark is still out for several more weeks with a lower-body injury while Carter Hutton is struggling mightily and can’t be relied on in the number one role for an extended period of time.
- It was reported last month that there was mutual interest between the Sabres and Taylor Hall when it comes to a possible contract extension. When asked about it, Hall told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that he’s “open to anything” when it comes to next season. While that’s not a direct statement of having interest in an extension, the veteran acknowledged that he wasn’t necessarily viewing his time in Buffalo as a one and done situation despite the one-year deal he signed. His market value is taking a hit so far though as he has just two goals and 11 assists in 21 games, numbers that suggest he’ll be unlikely to make the $8MM he’s getting this season on his next contract.
Trade Rumors: Pearson, Flames, Capitals, Bruins
As the Vancouver Canucks’ season descends further and further into an inescapable disappointment, TSN’s Darren Dreger states on “Insider Trading” this evening that no impending free agent in Vancouver is off limits to suitors. However, that doesn’t mean that all current impending free agents will remain as such through the trade deadline in just over five weeks. Dreger notes that the Canucks would prefer to re-sign forward Tanner Pearson, who is coming off a career year in 2019-20. Negotiations on a new contract have not yet begun, but GM Jim Benning would like to start talks as soon as possible in order to have a clear picture ahead of the deadline. If there is no meeting of the minds on a potential extension and seemingly little chance of progress ahead of the deadline, the Canucks will have to trade Pearson. The two-way winger is their most valuable rental trade chip, as depth options Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi, and Jordie Benn have lofty cap hits relative to their value and veteran defensemen Alex Edler and Travis Hamonic have No-Movement Clauses that they may not be eager to waive. If the Canucks can’t re-sign Pearson before the deadline, or at least get a handshake agreement in place, trading him to a contender is their best chance of leaving the deadline with a nice haul of picks or prospects without having to move a term player.
- The rival Calgary Flames are currently buyers and their biggest need is a winger, but Pearson doesn’t meet their most important criteria. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Calgary GM Brad Treliving is on the hunt for a right winger and, more specifically, a natural right-handed shooting right winger. The Flames’ best right-shot forward is Elias Lindholm and, while he has played on the wing many times before, the team prefers his fit at center. Unfortunately, that leaves the club with a lack of top-six caliber righties to put on the wing. Josh Leivo, Brett Ritchie, and the recently-waived Dominik Simon (a lefty) have not been the answer. The team also prefers to keep top-nine lefties like Andrew Mangiapane and Dillon Dube on the left side if possible and certainly do not want both on their off side. As a result, Calgary is seeking a trade partner. Seravalli does not address whether the Flames are only seeking rentals or if, seeing as the righty problem isn’t going away, they are looking at all options. The team already faces some difficult Expansion Draft decisions in regards to its deep forward corps, so a term acquisition could prove problematic. Among rentals, New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev or Detroit’s Bobby Ryan stand out as the few top available options at a shallow position on the market.
- Seravalli notes that another team with a very specific need could be the Washington Capitals. While Washington has received a stellar performance in net from rookie Vitek Vanecek, pressed into the starting role temporarily while Ilya Samsonov was sidelined, both Samsonov and Vanecek lack a crucial component to playoff success: experience. Seravalli wonders if the Capitals trust the young tandem enough to ride them into the playoffs, with veteran Craig Anderson as the third-string, or if the team needs to make a trade. Bob McKenzie echoed this same concern on NBC Sports on Wednesday. Experienced rental options include Devan Dubnyk, Antti Raanta, Jonathan Bernier, and possibly Pekka Rinne. But the question becomes whether or not any of these older goalies are an upgrade to Vanecek based only on experience, as only Rinne has outplayed him this season.
- While it should come as no surprise to anyone who has reviewed their salary cap status, Bob McKenzie appeared on NBC Sports’ broadcast on Wednesday night and essentially stated that the Boston Bruins have the cap flexibility to do whatever they want at the trade deadline. He added that the team is in this situation “by design” and that GM Don Sweeney is open to any and all possibilities. The Bruins have dealt with injuries on defense and at forward and have experience concerns on the back end and scoring issues up front, so fans were happy to hear McKenzie say they could add a prominent defenseman or forward, “or both”. Currently pressed by injuries, the Bruins have just under $3.5MM in cap space which still prorates to nearly $8.7MM at the deadline, per CapFriendly. However, the Bruins banked cap space earlier this season when they had fewer injuries and could still get healthier before the trade deadline. With no one on the injured reserve eating up cap space at the deadline, CapFriendly estimates that Boston could have upwards of $12.7MM in prorated cap space. For context, that could be enough to add top-priced rental Taylor Hall and a defenseman like Ryan Murray while staying under the cap. The Bruins will be a team to watch over the next five weeks.
Mutual Interest Between Sabres And Taylor Hall Regarding A Contract Extension
When Buffalo surprisingly signed Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8MM contract in October, speculation already started as to whether or not the winger would make it through the year with the Sabres. If the team struggled in the Atlantic Division (the signing came before the move which now has them in the East Division), he’d become a plausible rental trade deadline candidate. However, it appears neither side has any interest in things getting to that point as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported in TSN’s latest Insider Trading segment (video link) that there is mutual interest in a contract extension.
Midway through last season, he was acquired by Arizona in the hopes of pushing the Coyotes to a lengthy postseason run. Hall, meanwhile, was hoping that the change of scenery would see him improve his offensive numbers and really bolster his value heading to the open market. Neither really happened. Arizona did make the postseason and get through the qualifying round but that was predominantly on the back of Darcy Kuemper. Meanwhile, Hall’s point per game rate dipped in the desert and went slightly lower in the playoffs though he did manage two goals and four assists in nine games.
As a result, his market was much softer than expected. Two years ago, it looked as if he could be like Artemi Panarin and land a multi-year deal worth more than $10MM per year but he couldn’t come close to that. As a result, he pivoted towards the one-year pact that landed him with Buffalo in the hopes that the opportunity to play alongside Jack Eichel would allow him to improve his offensive output and give him a better shot at a stronger market this summer. Unfortunately for both Hall and the Sabres, that hasn’t happened as the 29-year-old has just one goal through 12 games heading into play on Thursday though he ranks second to Eichel in assists with eight.
That type of offensive performance doesn’t lend itself towards matching let alone beating his $8MM price tag which makes it interesting that he’d be open to an extension at this time given that his marketability isn’t as strong as he was hoping it’d be let alone the fact that the Sabres have struggled considerably this season. Him showing a willingness to sign would seemingly work in Buffalo’s favor at this point although they’d still likely need to come close to his current AAV to justify Hall foregoing another shot at the open market.
While there is mutual interest in getting something done, it will take a while before they’ll be allowed to do so. Since Hall signed a one-year contract, there is a restriction on how quickly he can sign an extension. Normally, that deadline is January 1st which is nearly three months into a typical regular season but that’s with free agency coming in the summer. Since the UFA market came in mid-October, this year’s allowable extension date is March 12th, just two months into the year. That comes one month before the trade deadline so if they can’t get a deal in place around that time, Buffalo will only have a few weeks to decide whether to keep Hall or trade him. It’s a narrow window to work with but with a shortened schedule, decisions are being made a bit quicker this season and this case will be no exception.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sabres Sign Taylor Hall
There is a surprise winner of the Taylor Hall sweepstakes as the Sabres have announced that they’ve signed the winger to a one-year, $8MM contract. PuckPedia notes (Twitter link) that Hall will receive a $1MM signing bonus and full no-trade and no-move clauses.
This is certainly a surprise location for the 28-year-old as of the teams that had been rumored to be in on him, Buffalo hadn’t come up. Hall is coming off of a fairly quiet season by his standards but he still put up 16 goals and 36 assists in 65 games between New Jersey and Arizona while chipping in with six points (two goals, four assists) in Arizona’s nine postseason games.
While still productive, those numbers are still well below his Hart-winning numbers from two years ago when he had 39 goals and 54 assists with the Devils. His play since then has led to some questions of whether he has started to tail off or if it’s just a short-term dip which has made his UFA case an interesting one. Between that and the pandemic, his chances for a big-money, long-term deal were basically non-existent so he had floated the idea of being willing to accept a short-term pact in the right situation.
It appears that the right situation is with Buffalo where he’ll join a familiar head coach in Ralph Krueger. The two were together back in Edmonton for the first three years of Hall’s career from 2010-11 through 2012-13 with the winger putting up 50 points in 45 games, the third-best single-season point per game average of his career.
Hall, our number two rated UFA in our Top-50 list, should be an interesting option to play alongside Jack Eichel on Buffalo’s top line. The center surpassed the point per game mark for the second straight season and would give Hall an opportunity to have a strong year offensively and try to position himself to be in a better situation for a more lucrative deal next season. That would seemingly push Jeff Skinner down to the second line with RFA pivot Sam Reinhart, giving the Sabres two potentially strong scoring lines.
This is a deal with minimal risk for Buffalo. If it doesn’t work out, there are no long-term repercussions on the cap and as an expiring contract, he’d carry some trade value closer to the trade deadline. If Hall helps propel them to playoff contention (they’ve missed for nine straight years), it would seemingly give them a leg up on working out a new deal for 2021-22 and beyond.
Buffalo now has roughly $13.4MM in remaining cap space, per CapFriendly, the majority of which will be earmarked for their restricted free agents, highlighted by Reinhart, winger Victor Olofsson, and goalie Linus Ullmark. Kevyn Adams has made some smaller moves to begin his tenure as Buffalo’s general manager but he has now made his first big splash.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report that the two sides were nearing a deal while TSN’s Darren Dreger was first with the $8MM price tag.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Arizona Coyotes Shopping Taylor Hall’s Negotiating Rights
With just a few days remaining before Taylor Hall becomes an unrestricted free agent, the Arizona Coyotes are trying to recoup some of the value they spent to acquire the star forward. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Coyotes are shopping Hall’s negotiating rights, which would give a team the chance to try and sign him before he even reaches the open market.
Just recently, reports surfaced that Hall would consider signing a short-term deal with a contender instead of trying to land the biggest deal possible in free agency. After a frustrating season that resulted in another early playoff exit, Hall has now played in just 14 postseason games over his ten-year career.
Earlier this summer we saw the Montreal Canadiens trade a fifth-round pick for the negotiating rights of defenseman Joel Edmundson, before eventually signing him to a four-year, $14MM deal. Given Hall’s status as the 2018 Hart Trophy winner and a top offensive winger, one would imagine the trade cost would be higher than that of a depth defenseman.
Still, it’s hard to know if acquiring him early would even be beneficial for a team interested in his services. Sitting just a few days away from the free agent market opening, Hall could easily just wait to see what kind of offers come from around the league. Negotiating with just one team would limit his options unless of course, he has a destination in mind that has already expressed interest to the Coyotes.
Hall, 28, scored 52 points in 65 games this season split between the New Jersey Devils and Coyotes. After reaching the 93-mark in 2018 and carrying the Devils to the playoffs, it’s been another few disappointing seasons. The first-overall pick in 2010, Hall has scored 563 points in 627 games but has played playoff matches in only two seasons.
Taylor Hall Considering Signing One-Year Deal With Contender
Taylor Hall has played in the league for 10 years, but has appeared in a total of 14 playoff games. Despite being one of the top unrestricted free agents on the market, there are plenty of rumors that Hall is hoping for a big payday, but more than anything, the forward wants to play on a winner. With a flat salary cap coming this year, the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers writes that Hall might be willing to accept a one-year deal with a team like the Colorado Avalanche to play on a winning team and then test the free-agent market in a year, hopefully after the COVID-19 concerns have lightened up.
With the league being hit hard due to the coronavirus, most teams are reconsidering spending big when a flat cap could be a given for not just next year, but potentially the next few years. That isn’t good news for someone like Hall, who was looking to ink a long-term deal and with most of the top teams already close to being capped out, his goal of playing for a top team seems even more unlikely now.
However, Chambers writes that Hall is considering signing a one-year deal and Colorado is a team that makes the most sense as they are already one of the top teams in the league and the Avalanche have the cap space (approximately $21.5MM to spend) to at least offer a short-term deal. While the team’s top needs include a goaltender and some bottom-line toughness, but a top-six forward could be a great addition, especially on their second line. Hall might be the perfect fit alongside Nazem Kadri and restricted free agent Andre Burakovsky to form a second dominant line behind the Nathan MacKinnon–Mikko Rantanen–Gabriel Landeskog line.
Colorado general manager Joe Sakic seriously considered trading for Hall in December when the New Jersey Devils were shopping him. However, they decided against it, mainly because of the likely asking price and term that Hall would likely demand once his contract ran out at the end of the year. The team currently has plenty of cap space to work with, but the team will have to work out long-term deals for defenseman Cale Makar and Landeskog next year and still have to sign a number of restricted free agents this year, including Burakovsky and Ryan Graves.
If Colorado can get Hall on a one-year deal, then the team shouldn’t lose long-term cap space as well as they can see what kind of fit Hall is on their team. Since winning the Hart Trophy back in 2017-18, Hall has not been able to duplicate that type of season. He struggled with injuries in 2018-19, playing just 33 games and then struggled between New Jersey and the Arizona Coyotes with 16 goals and 52 points in 65 games.
Trade Rumors: Kuemper, Laine, Penguins
There are many factors that have contributed to Darcy Kuemper being one of the most talked-about names on the rumor mill over the last couple of months. The first and most important is simply that the Arizona Coyotes must shed salary this off-season. The team is arguably in the worst salary cap situation of any NHL club, lacking any room to maneuver under the cap ceiling but with several restricted free agents and superstar trade acquisition Taylor Hall in need of new contracts. One area where they can trim the fat is in net, where Kuemper and Antti Raanta combine for $8.75MM against the cap and Adin Hill is also signed to a one-way contract and will need to clear waivers this season. Of the three, not only does Kuemper carry the highest cap hit, he is also undoubtedly the most valuable on the trade market. The 30-year-old was one of the best goalies in the NHL this season and is signed for two more years at a bargain relative to his performance. While this is seemingly a perfect storm of reasons why Kuemper should be dealt, new GM Bill Armstrong won’t let him go that easy. AZ Sports’ Craig Morgan reports that after Armstrong was hired last week, the asking price for Kuemper went up. An offer must now surpass the value of just one first-round pick in order to pry the talented netminder out of Arizona. If they are not satisfied, the Coyotes will not trade Kuemper. Although his trade value is depleted after a pair of injury-plagued seasons, the team could get nearly as much cap savings from moving Raanta, whose contract expires after this season. While Kuemper is the morename, don’t be surprised to see Raanta move instead barring a top-notch offer.
- Patrik Laine is another one of the hot names on the rumor mill right now, with reports that the Winnipeg Jets are “serious” about moving the young scoring forward. However, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe doused those flames somewhat by stating that the Jets’ priority is still to re-sign Laine. It would be difficult for the team to get fair value for Laine and although they have more pressing needs than winger elsewhere on the roster, they could very well be better off holding on to the 22-year-old. A restricted free agent after next season, Laine will command a substantial salary that Winnipeg may find difficult to afford. Yet, Wiebe believes that current trade talks may be overblown so long as the two sides are still amenable to an extension, believing a trade to be more likely next summer – if a deal cannot be reached – rather than pulling the trigger early this off-season. Unless the Jets get exactly what they ask for in exchange for Laine, they have time before they need to get too serious about a trade.
- The most active team on the trade market so far has been the Pittsburgh Penguins, but things may begin to slow down for GM Jim Rutherford and his club. In a radio interview on Friday, Rutherford stated that his recent acquisition of defensemen Michael Matheson is not a precursor to another major trade regarding his top defensemen. Although there is a considerable logjam on the left side of the Pittsburgh blue line, top-four lefties Brian Dumoulin and Marcus Pettersson will not be traded. Matheson is expected to play on the left side of the team’s third pair, forcing Jack Johnson and Juuso Riikola to compete for a starting job on their off-side with righty Chad Ruhwedel. Matheson’s acquisition has also squashed the Penguins’ interest in free agent defenseman Chris Tanev and others, as Rutherford added that he does not anticipate adding to his defense corps on the open market.
Latest On Taylor Hall’s Pending Free Agency
One of the most interesting storylines to follow this offseason will be the future of Arizona Coyotes forward Taylor Hall. The 28-year old forward took home a Hart Trophy in 2018 after carrying the New Jersey Devils to the playoffs, but has been rather disappointing since. After what looked like a breakout season where he turned into a legitimate superstar, Hall came back with an injury-riddled 2018-19 and found himself traded midway through the 2019-20 season. The Devils received what many saw as an underwhelming return for the former MVP and Arizona didn’t get enough out of Hall to help them push deep into the playoffs.
Now, he’s just a month away from becoming an unrestricted free agent in an offseason that may see salaries squeezed because of the revenue shortage. The NHL has locked in a flat salary cap for the next few years, making mistakes even more dangerous for clubs looking to improve through free agency. In Hall’s case, the forward has expressed a desire to get some stability and head to an organization that has a chance to compete. The Coyotes, after their first playoff appearance in nearly a decade, will try to make him believe that they represent that chance as Darren Dreger of TSN reports Arizona will make another pitch to Hall today to try and re-sign him.
Of course, Arizona doesn’t seem like the most stable organization at the moment. Earlier this summer they had to deal with GM John Chayka‘s departure, an ugly public affair that included his resignation just a few days before they were set to start their qualification round. Steve Sullivan took over in the meantime, but just last week the team was hammered by the NHL with a penalty for breaking draft rules. The team was stripped of a first and second-round pick, meaning they currently have just a single pick in the first three rounds of this year and next. In fact, the 2021 third-round pick that they gave up for Hall could even be increased to a second should he decide to re-sign in Arizona.
Losing draft picks is one thing, but according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Coyotes are also potentially going to “test the marketplace” on captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has seven years remaining on his expensive contract. Friedman also mentioned star goaltender Darcy Kuemper as a “very attractive piece” in potential trade talks, though it’s not clear if the Coyotes want to move him. If the team is simultaneously shedding their highest-paid, but best players, it’s hard to imagine the pitch that the Coyotes are giving to Hall to stick around.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Arizona Coyotes Sign Blake Speers To One-Year Deal
The Arizona Coyotes have signed forward Blake Speers, a player they acquired along with Taylor Hall in the big December trade last year, to a one-year, two-way contract, according to AZ Sports’ Matt Layman. Speers’ extension is worth $735K if he makes the Coyotes squad or $70K if he plays with Tucson next season, according to PuckPedia.
Speers appeared to be the forgotten name in the trade that sent him and Hall to Arizona for a 2020 first-rounder, a 2021 conditional third-rounder, defensive prospect Kevin Bahl, and AHL prospects Nick Merkley and Nate Schnarr. Many believe that Speers was included in the deal to give the Tucson Roadrunners an extra body to fill in the roster there. However, Speers had some success in Tucson, scoring four goals and nine points in nine games, his best performance since his rookie season in 2017-18 when he potted 12 goals in Binghamton.
Speers is likely to play another season in Tucson as he has already played in 145 AHL games compared to three games (played back in 2017) in the NHL.