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Holiday Hall

December 1, 2019, 3:20 PM ET [20 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The clock has been ticking for New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero.

Shero has been patient. Now, the Devils are trying to trade star forward Taylor Hall.

Hall has not asked Shero for a trade but the Devils will have to get trade value in exchange for Hal before he leaves New Jersey empty handed as a free agent.


Hall will become an unrestricted free agent in July 1 and he has no interest in signing a new contract to remain with the Devils.

In October and November, I told you on several occasions the Devils are (and have been) listening to trade proposals for Taylor Hall, the former first overall draft choice (2010) and Hart Trophy Award (2018) winning forward.

Hall's mind seemingly has been made up and he is heading for the door. The hapless Devils are 9-12-4 and trending downward.

Elliotte Friedman, has reported that there are a number of NHL clubs that are interested in trading for Hall. Friedman mentioned the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche as teams who are interested in acquiring Hall.

There are other teams in the hunt for Hall. Among the teams are the Buffalo Sabres who have been searching high and low for the past two months for a top six forward who can immediately assimilate with Jack Eichel and the Sabres to provide even strength and power play scoring.

The final price for Hall will likely be equal to what the Vegas Golden Knights sent to the Ottawa Senators last year for then-pending UFA forward Mark Stone.

The Senators received defenseman prospect Erik Brannstrom, center Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round pick.


Hall, 28, was traded to the Devils in 2016 in a one-for-one hockey trade that saw defenseman Adam Larsson go Edmonton's way.

The Oilers would certainly love a do-over on the Hall trade.

Who wouldn't?

On the dry-erase board adding Taylor Hall to a star-studded forward cast that includes Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and James Neal is intoxicating, however, the Oilers don't have the salary cap space to sign Hall to a long term contract extention in the $8.5M AAV neighborhood. Hall is a $6M AAV this season.

The Avalache and Canadiens own the prospects and picks to make a Hall trade.
Buffalo GM Jason Botterill has a few unique selling propositions to make Hall a member of his Sabres team.

First, Botterill has favored-nation trading status with Ray Shero. Botterill was Shero's confidant and right hand man in Pittsburgh. In 2007, Shero announced Botterill's hiring as director of hockey administration. Botterill oversaw the salary cap and contract research and negotiations. Botterill also worked with Shero on salary arbitration and preparation as well as scouting. Botterill was promoted by the Penguins to assistant general manager on May in May 2009. When Shero was fired in May 2014, Botterill played the same organizational roles for Jim Rutherford.

Another factor that works in Buffalo's favor to win the Hall sweepstakes is that the Sabres have a right shot top four defenseman to send to the Devils in the form of Rasmus Ristolainen or Colin Miller as well as a defensive prospect in Casey Fitzgerald whose father is Tom Fitzgerald, Shero's assistant genearl manager with the Devils. The Sabres own their own second round draft choices in 2020 and 2020 while the Devils traded their second rounders in seperate trades for P.K. Subban and Nikita Gusev in the summer of 2019.

Yet another deal closer for the Sabres is their head coach Ralph Krueger, who coached Taylor Hall in Edmonton during the lock out shortened 2013 NHL season. Hall led the Oilers with 50 points in 45 games on 16 goals and 34 assists.

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GAME TIME

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Hall is an even strength scorer. The Sabres are currently tied for 10th in the NHL with 54 goals at 5v5. Ralph Kreuger demands more from his even strength scorers.

Hall played just 33 gmes last season due to injury and scored 10 even strength goals. In 2017-18, Hall tucked 26 goals at even strength. In 2016-17, Hall bagged 13 even strength goals.
Hall can also help jump start Buffalo's power outage with the man advantage.
As their power play goes, so goes the Buffalo Sabres.

When the Sabres began the season with an 8-1-1 record, their power play units were 12 for 39.

In their last 16 games played, the Buffalo power play has been powerless at an anemic 3 for 45 pace. To date, the Sabres PP has fallen to 15 for 84 PP efficiency.



In October, Hall was openly critical of Devils fans for booing after he and his teammates choked up a 5-3 lead and lost 7-6 to Tampa in overtime.

Devils fans were none to pleased with Hall's comments and took to social media to express their displeasure.

“We’re kind of battling our own fans right now. We were 1-for-3 on the power play and we are getting booed. It’s a tie game, we are getting booed. That’s a tough environment to play in sometimes, especially when you are at home. I know that when we’re playing somewhere and their fans start booing, it’s a fun environment for the away team to play in,” Hall said.

“I understand the fans’ frustration. After the game, if they are booing (because) we are losing that is fine. But when we’re 1-for-3 on the power play and they’re booing our power play, that is tough. If you’re playing at home, you want to feed off the energy of the crowd and not let that affect you, but sometimes it does.”

Th best way to get the GM's attention is to criticize the fans who invest their had earned money is game tickets, parking, concessions, jerseys and branded apparel.




What players do Sabres have that are of interest to Devils?

Defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen, Colin Miller and Marco Scandella would add immediate value to the at times brutal New Jersey D corps. Also, forward Conor Sheary, who played for Ray Shero in Pittsburgh.

Taylor Hall carries a $6M AAV while Ristolainen is a $5.4M AAV for two more seasons, Miller is $3.875M AAV for two more seasons, Scandella is a pending UFA at $4M AAV and Sheary is $3M AAV this season.

Botterill has said that he is intersted in dollar-in-dollar out trade opportunitiees with his current salary cap situation.

Why is Hall such an intriguing player for Botterill to be pursuing? Take a look at his impressive body of work:

2018 Hart Memorial Trophy Award Winner
2016, 2015 IIHF World Championships — Gold Medalist
2010 First Overall Pick, NHL Entry Draft
2010 IIHF World Junior Championships — Silver Medalist
2010, 2009 Memorial Cup Champion (MVP) — Windsor Spitfires


The Sabres host Hall and the Devils on Monday night.

My guess is Hall has packed extra suits, dress shirts, ties and socks in his garment bag.

Hall has his sights set on getting back into the playoffs and a Stanley Cup Championship. Hall has played in only five Stanley Cup playoff games in his illustrious career, all with the Devils. Hall is a winner. He wants to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.


The Sabres will dramatically improve their odds of earning a playoff berth by winning the Hall sweepstakes. It's December 1 and the Sabres have played themselves into a respectable position in the standings.

Captain Jack Eichel is on pace to score 100 points this season and is driving the Buffalo offense. Eichel cannot continue to carry his team on his subtantial shoulders for the next five months of the regular season.


Botterill and Kreuger are not satisfied. They want to mke the playoffs in the 50th Anniversary season of the Saabres franchise. The Sabres are willing to trade defensive difference maker and other assets to improve their primary scoring and power play success rate.


Adding Taylor Hall now makes all the sense in the world for Botterill.




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Boys looking fresh

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