Taylor Hall signs one-year deal with Sabres

The hope is that he can approach those numbers again playing with Eichel, who helped lift Jeff Skinner to a 40-goal season — and an eight-year, $72 million contract — two years ago. Adams said Hall closely studied the Sabres’ roster and knew a chance to play with Eichel was in the offing.

“It definitely played a role and we see this as a really good fit,” Adams said. “We’re very fortunate here in Buffalo to have one of the elite centers in the game and we feel we’re adding one of the elite wingers in the game. We’re excited about the potential of that.”

Adams said the one-year deal was a way to get the Sabres’ relationship with Hall going but isn’t necessarily what either side’s long-term vision is. With league revenues in turmoil due to the pandemic, Hall clearly didn’t get the combination of term and dollars he hoped for so instead opted for a bet-on-himself kind of deal.

“Just because it’s one year shouldn’t give any indication we only wanted one year,” Adams said. “We believe in Taylor as a player and a person and we hope this turns into a long-term relationship for both sides that works. So we’ll see where that goes.”

The Sabres were not considered much of a candidate to sign Hall because of their nine-year playoff drought and Hall’s clear desire to play on a winning team. Hall’s teams did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his first seven seasons in the league. And until being traded to Arizona,  he had played just five postseason games in his career, a 2018 first-round loss to Tampa Bay with New Jersey.