Opinions are somewhat divided on exactly how much better the Boston Bruins are going to get after picking up Taylor Hall from the Buffalo Sabres.
But the reviews are unanimous that the Bruins got themselves a bargain.
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And adding him to the lineup, where he doesn’t have to be anything more than a supplemental weapon, reduced Boston’s odds to win the Stanley Cup from +1350 to +900 at 1Vice.
Hall was on a one-year deal with Buffalo, and he wasn’t going to re-sign. In addition to this, the Sabres were going nowhere, AND Hall had a “no-move” clause in his contract, so they were not in the most leveraged position. They received forward Anders Bjork and a SECOND-round pick, and they also had to trade away Curtis Lazar. Oh yes, they also had to assume half of Hall’s salary this season.
So it’s not a great deal for Buffalo, but they were left without all the choices in the world.
Hall was the first overall pick in the 2010 draft and stepped right in at age 19 to take a regular turn for Edmonton. He had some good seasons for the Oilers, making it to four All-Star games, but it was after being traded to the New Jersey Devils in the summer of 2016 that he assumed the status of a superstar. His 39 goals and 93 points were enough to earn him the Hart Trophy for Most Valuable Player.
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Understand that this was not long ago; in fact, there have been only two NHL season completed since. So there has been some disappointment and surprise about how his career has gone since then. To be fair, he was averaging more than a point per game when he went down with a “lower body injury” for the Devils the next season, and then, as he was going into the final year of his contract, New Jersey dealt him off to Arizona in exchange for five assets.
Usually, the team on the receiving end of the “star” will make a trade like that if their intention was to sign him. But strangely, the Coyotes passed. That left Hall in a position where he signed a one-year contract with Buffalo for $8 million.
At the 1Vice Sportsbook, the Bruins are +325 to win the NHL East Division. That still puts them behind teams like the New York Islanders (+125), Washington Capitals (+175) and Pittsburgh Penguins (+250), all of whom are ahead of them in the standings, and though they were ten points behind East-leading Washington last we looked, it should be mentioned that Boston has two or three games in hand on all those teams.
It should also be mentioned that Hall does not have a history of winning, He’s played in only 14 playoff games, and over the course of career his teams have had a points percentage of only .440, which is one of the lowest in the NHL.
Maybe that means something here; maybe it doesn’t. But when you are evaluating a guy who might be projected as the “missing ingredient” on a contending team, you have to consider it.
And consider that Hall will presumably be happy, and will be surrounded by better talent than perhaps he’s ever been before. He is playing on a line with David Krejci and Craig Smith, who both scored when the Bruins played Buffalo in Hall’s Bruins debut.
You can’t doubt the guy’s talent. As for his desire to fit in, well, we’ll just have to take his word for it.
Still, it would be hard to accord the Bruins all that much respect, relative to the current odds, just because of his presence.
