With the NHL Draft and free agent signing period beginning in a little over a month, the Bruins have a lot of key decisions to make. One of the players who they have to make a big decision on is Taylor Hall. Hall compiled a total of 19 points in 27 games played (including playoffs) for the Bruins. The 29-year-old signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Buffalo Sabres last October before being traded to Boston at the trade deadline.
Hall recently met with the media and discussed the topic of his future with the Bruins. Luckily for the Bruins, he seems to want to remain in a black and gold uniform.
“I see a fit and hopefully they feel the same,” said Hall. “We’ll let the dust settle on everything this year, I’m sure they have a lot of stuff going on and some other guys that have been here longer than me that they have to worry about. Then we’ll figure that out, but hopefully we can make something work. That’s my goal. Hopefully, we can make that happen.”
Hall appears to want to remain in Boston, but the question is affordability. With David Krejci, Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand combining for almost $34 million in cap space, the Bruins don’t have many more big contracts to hand out. Fortunately for the B’s, Hall seemed to be in favor of a cheaper contract.
“I don’t even know what my value is, at this point,” Hall said. “I’m not looking to absolutely maximize my value at this point in my career. I’ve been fortunate enough to make some good money in this league, and at this point, it’s about more of a fit for me than maybe money or a long-term thing. You want to find a home for the next few years here and we’ll see what happens.”
Hall, who has made about $52 million in his 11-year career, seemed content with taking less money to keep the team together. With many other players to make a decision on, this may take a weight off of General Manager Don Sweeney’s shoulders.