Taylor Hall signing: 8 million one yr with Sabres

[Taro T 3,035]

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.

[LGR4GM 4,701]

If Skinner doesn't get back on track the Sabres will be hamstrung for years with that contract. 

[tom webster 901]

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.

[JohnC 546]

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. 🙂

[Taro T 3,035]

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.  😉

[GASabresIUFAN 2,243]

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. 

[Curt 1,602]

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 January 8 by Curt

[TheCerebral1 82]

I like the vibe in his press conference's / presser's and I'm liking his fit on the roster.  While I'm not sure what all the issues are with his personality, I like him in Buffalo as of yet.

[Thorny 3,221]

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. 

[New Scotland (NS) 1,789]

As far as I can remember there has only been one career Sabres @Eleven, am I right?

I believe Jack will be the second.

I also believe that Hall will be signed to a 5 year 42.5 million $ contract before this season ends.

[rakish 175]

19 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

As far as I can remember there has only been one career Sabres @Eleven, am I right?

I believe Jack will be the second.

I also believe that Hall will be signed to a 5 year 42.5 million $ contract before this season ends.

really? That's amazing if true

[New Scotland (NS) 1,789]

23 minutes ago, rakish said:

really? That's amazing if true

Which part?

The only career Sabre?  I do think there has been only one.  #11

The Hall signing for a discount?  I am hopeful.

[rakish 175]

10 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Which part?

The only career Sabre?  I do think there has been only one.  #11

The Hall signing for a discount?  I am hopeful.

the 11 part.

[New Scotland (NS) 1,789]

4 minutes ago, rakish said:

the 11 part.

Looked it up ...

There were 3.  #11, Hajt and Ramsay.

[New Scotland (NS) 1,789]

Hajt and Rammer both played 14 seasons for the Sabres.

Amazing!!

[Taro T 3,035]

5 hours ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Looked it up ...

There were 3.  #11, Hajt and Ramsay.

No love for Morris Titanic?  😉

Sheesh.  

[I-90 W 165]

22 hours ago, TheCerebral1 said:

I like the vibe in his press conference's / presser's and I'm liking his fit on the roster.  While I'm not sure what all the issues are with his personality, I like him in Buffalo as of yet.

What are the rumors about his personality? I haven’t heard anything. You said you don’t know but hopefully someone else can chime in..

[#freejame 728]

On 1/8/2021 at 9:00 AM, LGR4GM said:

If Skinner doesn't get back on track the Sabres will be hamstrung for years with that contract. 

Even if he does they will still be hamstrung on the backend. It was bad after 40+ and it’s bad now. 

[mjd1001 135]

47 minutes ago, #freejame said:

Even if he does they will still be hamstrung on the backend. It was bad after 40+ and it’s bad now. 

Agreed. Skinner is a winger who doesn't even kill penalties...doesn't appear to be great in his own zone an isn't physical. He HAS to put up points to justify every single dollar of that contract.  He has to put up 35-40 goals EVERY year of the contract just to come close to it not being a bad contract.