Jump to content

Taylor Hall signing: 8 million one yr with Sabres


Brawndo

Recommended Posts

On 1/6/2021 at 2:13 PM, dudacek said:

Hall's agent Darren Ferris to Pierre Lebrun in today's Athletic

“Well, if it’s any indication from the search for a team when we first went into free agency, even with the pandemic involved, and the tightening that happened, there were still teams motivated and trying to do something in order to sign him on a longer-term deal,’’ Hall’s agent Darren Ferris. “So I’m quite confident that that will return. I know he’s excited, I think the rest has been an advantage for players like Taylor to heal and to get back on track. And he’s got an elite centre to play with. It’s going to an interesting year. And I know he’s not ruling out staying in Buffalo. He’s mentioned that to me on numerous occasions. That’s a very real likelihood.’’

Hall is going to do what any former elite player on a one year deal who for a variety of reasons (injuries etc) fell off from his previous high level of play. Of course he is going to be motivated this year in his prove it year. And from a business and strategic standpoint going to Buffalo and playing on a Jack line improves his chances of significantly improving his stats in order to make him more marketable for his next contract. Will doing well in Buffalo give us an inside track in signing him? Maybe? But if another team offers him a long term bonanza deal that Buffalo won't come close to matching it will be adios for him. 

I'm not disagreeing with your take. What I am saying is that he is going to act in his best interest mostly from a contract standpoint. Hall is a relatively young player yet he is playing for his fourth team. He knows very well that this is a business and he will treat it that way.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Hall is going to do what any former elite player on a one year deal who for a variety of reasons (injuries etc) fell off from his previous high level of play. Of course he is going to be motivated this year in his prove it year. And from a business and strategic standpoint going to Buffalo and playing on a Jack line improves his chances of significantly improving his stats in order to make him more marketable for his next contract. Will doing well in Buffalo give us an inside track in signing him? Maybe? But if another team offers him a long term bonanza deal that Buffalo won't come close to matching it will be adios for him. 

I'm not disagreeing with your take. What I am saying is that he is going to act in his best interest mostly from a contract standpoint. Hall is a relatively young player yet he is playing for his fourth team. He knows very well that this is a business and he will treat it that way.  

Just to be clear: that's not my take, that's a quote from Hall's agent.

  • Like (+1) 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, this makes a lot of sense; Buffalo has much to offer even with our current ten year drought. One of the best NHL fanbases without too much media pressure, Eichel, near Canada, wealthy ownership etc 

It would not shock me at all if he signs with us after this season. The initial signing was a shock of course, but an extension will not be. 

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Hall is going to do what any former elite player on a one year deal who for a variety of reasons (injuries etc) fell off from his previous high level of play. Of course he is going to be motivated this year in his prove it year. And from a business and strategic standpoint going to Buffalo and playing on a Jack line improves his chances of significantly improving his stats in order to make him more marketable for his next contract. Will doing well in Buffalo give us an inside track in signing him? Maybe? But if another team offers him a long term bonanza deal that Buffalo won't come close to matching it will be adios for him

I'm not disagreeing with your take. What I am saying is that he is going to act in his best interest mostly from a contract standpoint. Hall is a relatively young player yet he is playing for his fourth team. He knows very well that this is a business and he will treat it that way.  

To the bolded: that $8MM the Sabres are paying him buys 1 additional item that MIGHT push him to sign with the Sabres again (to go along with Krueger & Eichel being here), nobody else can even speak to him until whenever the FA window opens back up.

Money for salaries this off-sesson will likely still be off-kilter, so there might be more to the decision in where to play than there would've been were this still a pre-COVID world.  

No prediction at all on whether he'll re-sign, but my assumption will be he's coming back until he says he isn't.

And, 1 other thing that could make it easier to get him signed is Botterill not being here.  We're JBotts still here, he & his agent could point at Skinner & say "that's where we start."  But Adams can say the team can't afford another deal that bad & maybe they agree to temper their expectations to allow the team  to not have to dump say Reinhart &/or Montour.  That could just be wishful thinking, but it's late & that's the hope.

  • Like (+1) 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

To the bolded: that $8MM the Sabres are paying him buys 1 additional item that MIGHT push him to sign with the Sabres again (to go along with Krueger & Eichel being here), nobody else can even speak to him until whenever the FA window opens back up.

Money for salaries this off-sesson will likely still be off-kilter, so there might be more to the decision in where to play than there would've been were this still a pre-COVID world.  

No prediction at all on whether he'll re-sign, but my assumption will be he's coming back until he says he isn't.

And, 1 other thing that could make it easier to get him signed is Botterill not being here.  We're JBotts still here, he & his agent could point at Skinner & say "that's where we start."  But Adams can say the team can't afford another deal that bad & maybe they agree to temper their expectations to allow the team  to not have to dump say Reinhart &/or Montour.  That could just be wishful thinking, but it's late & that's the hope.

Let’s not forget, Hall was willing to sign a long term deal. It was the Sabres who preferred one year. I think this gets done sooner rather then later.

  • Like (+1) 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Taro T said:

To the bolded: that $8MM the Sabres are paying him buys 1 additional item that MIGHT push him to sign with the Sabres again (to go along with Krueger & Eichel being here), nobody else can even speak to him until whenever the FA window opens back up.

Money for salaries this off-sesson will likely still be off-kilter, so there might be more to the decision in where to play than there would've been were this still a pre-COVID world.  

No prediction at all on whether he'll re-sign, but my assumption will be he's coming back until he says he isn't.

And, 1 other thing that could make it easier to get him signed is Botterill not being here.  We're JBotts still here, he & his agent could point at Skinner & say "that's where we start."  But Adams can say the team can't afford another deal that bad & maybe they agree to temper their expectations to allow the team  to not have to dump say Reinhart &/or Montour.  That could just be wishful thinking, but it's late & that's the hope.

I don't want to belabor a point and get involved in a useless tug of war. On the one hand you say you don't want to make a prediction and then you follow that word by saying my assumption is until he says he isn't. That's a prediction. The reality is that he won't say that he is leaving because this smart fellow is not going to say that because it would foreclose his options. 

As I said in a prior post I don't know what he is going to do after his one year contract. If he has an exceptional season and his stats are impressively high he is going to attempt to parlay his recorded play into a more lucrative and longer term contract. If the Sabres are not in a cap position to come close to matching other offers I'm sure that Hall will be unsentimental when making a business decision that will be in his best interest.  

If our views are different they really aren't much different. We are basically quibbling around the edges. 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I don't want to belabor a point and get involved in a useless tug of war. On the one hand you say you don't want to make a prediction and then you follow that word by saying my assumption is until he says he isn't. That's a prediction. The reality is that he won't say that he is leaving because this smart fellow is not going to say that because it would foreclose his options. 

As I said in a prior post I don't know what he is going to do after his one year contract. If he has an exceptional season and his stats are impressively high he is going to attempt to parlay his recorded play into a more lucrative and longer term contract. If the Sabres are not in a cap position to come close to matching other offers I'm sure that Hall will be unsentimental when making a business decision that will be in his best interest.  

If our views are different they really aren't much different. We are basically quibbling around the edges. 🙂

No, it isn't a prediction.  Am not going to drive myself crazy worrying about the possibility that he's going to leave until there are actual indications that he's planning on leaving.  The assumption is that he's staying.  Is that more probable than his leaving.  Hope so, but don't know so.

A minor but not insignificant IMHO distinction.  😉

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

How about we see him play first with Eichel, stays healthy and see if he helps the team before we give a player turning 30 this year a long-term deal.  The max deal I'd give him, assuming he remains healthy and performs well is 4 maybe 5 years. 

He isn’t turning 30 until November 14, 2021, so he FA contract will be buying ages 30+.

Your point still stands though.  I would be scared of 6+ years.  All depends on the salary though.

Edited by Curt
  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Curt said:

He isn’t turning 30 until November 14, 2022.

Your point still stands though.  I would be scared of 6+ years.  All depends on the salary though.

Biggest thing is his willingness to return, obviously. 

I agree we need to be careful - I think a long-term Hall deal really needs to take heavy consideration of Eichel's future. If you are one who subscribes to the notion that at some point down the line, Jack may ask for a trade if things don't improve, a common thought is the danger zone probably lies not after this season, but after the next - at that point, Jack Eichel's NTC kicks in and he'll have a big say in where he ends up. He's not going to consider asking for a trade now when we can send him some place he has no interest in going. 

So basically, maybe it's obvious, but I think we should only entertain the idea of locking up Hall LT if we have a really good year. If we are coming off a down year, and Hall does want to still return, I think it would be too risky to sign Hall up, at his age, for the long haul at what he'll command - if we are potentially looking at a rebuild/retool after needing to deal Jack a year later. 

Others may see it differently, that we'd want Hall around to fill the talent void if Jack leaves, - I'm just not sure we'd want that kind of commitment. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...