The most talked about rental of this season has finally found a home, as the Boston Bruins deviated from their 8-1 defeat tonight and will acquire Taylor Hall of the Saber Buffers according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. John Buccigross of ESPN he was the first to suggest that a deal be reached on Twitter (quite entertainingly). Darren Dreger, of TSN reports that the deal will be Hall and the injured striker Curtis Lazar per Anders Bjork and a second-round selection. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Sabers have retained 50% of Hall’s $ 8 million limit until the end of this season.
Hall had full control of this process, as he had a no-move clause and could block a trade to any team in the league. He decided to give up this clause to go to Boston. David Pagnotta of the notes of the fourth period that the islanders of New York and the capitals of Washington were also in operation earlier today. The fact that the Sabers couldn’t get a first-round pick for Hall will be the food for Buffalo fans, but Hall is in the middle of a brutal season. While he can’t forget that he was MVP of the league in 2018, he also can’t ignore the fact that this year he scored just two goals in 37 games with the Sabers.
Still, giving up just one second and Bjork, who has only two goals of his own this season, is a no-brainer for the Bruins, with their eyes set on the postseason dispute. If Hall can find any appearance of his past self in Boston, he can be a differentiator on the second line, giving the team a secondary score that they have been missing for so long.
Bjork has established himself as an NHL player with good defensive skills, but will turn 25 later this summer and only has 39 points in 138 regular-season games. An important factor here is that it is hired during the 2022-23 season at a reasonable $ 1.6 million, but it’s not as if it would make a big impact on Sabers rebuild. In fact, it could be argued that Lazar can provide roughly the same value when he is healthy and is hired over the next season for just $ 800,000. Moving Bjork to tomorrow’s deadline doesn’t seem to be beyond doubt as to whether the Sabers can find an interested person.
The Bruins also earn $ 4MM in head, which is much higher than some of the other names that have moved recently. The fact that they can absorb that success is why Hall’s price is so low, as they didn’t need to involve another team, which would have meant giving up another asset. Even without entering the long-term injury reserve, the Bruins should have enough room to fit Hall in after sending Bjork to the other side.
In the end, that deal would mean nothing to Boston if Hall didn’t find its form. The team had already grabbed high-profile wing bands and made them fight for the stretch, but Hall is sure to be surrounded by more talent in his new wardrobe. In all likelihood, the 29-year-old winger will have his third chance in the postseason this year, though it’s not even a guarantee at the moment. Boston now has only a four-point lead over the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers to finish fourth in the Eastern Division (although they have two games on hand), which means Hall will have to start contributing immediately. if you want to do another playoff tasting.
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