Taylor Hall Reportedly Agrees to Sabres Contract in 2020 NHL Free Agency

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Superstar winger Taylor Hall was the biggest prize in NHL free agency this offseason, and he is now off the market after signing a one-year, $8 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres, Hall told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

The Sabres later confirmed the pact:

Darren Dreger of TSN was the first to report the deal.

Hall split the 2019-20 season between the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes, as New Jersey dealt him to Arizona to avoid losing him for nothing in free agency.

The 28-year-old Hall is now a 10-year NHL veteran after going No. 1 overall in the 2010 NHL draft to the Edmonton Oilers. He enjoyed another strong year last season, finishing with 16 goals and 36 assists for 52 points in 65 regular-season games.

Hall had his moments with the Oilers, including an 80-point campaign in 2013-14, but he was never the type of consistently dominant player that teams expect a No. 1 overall pick to be. Because of that, the Oilers shook things up by trading him to New Jersey in 2016.

The deal was a rare one-for-one swap, with the Devils sending defenseman Adam Larsson to Edmonton. Like Hall, Larsson was a high draft pick (No. 4 overall in 2011) who never quite reached his potential.

In the end, the trade was a huge win for New Jersey, as Hall blossomed into a top-tier player. His first season with the Devils was somewhat suspect since he finished with just 53 points in 72 games, but he exploded in 2017-18.

Hall set career highs across the board with 39 goals and 54 assists for 93 points, as well as a plus-14 rating. He also helped the Devils go from 70 points in 2016-17 to 97 points in 2017-18, giving them their first playoff berth since 2011-12.

For his efforts, Hall won the Hart Memorial Trophy given to the NHL’s most valuable player, making him the first Devil to ever win the award.

Hall was productive again the following season with 37 points in 33 games, but a lower-body injury caused him to miss more than half the season, and the Devils went into a tailspin because of it, finishing with just 72 points.

After getting traded to Arizona last season, Hall helped push the Coyotes into the expanded playoffs, and they beat the Nashville Predators in the qualifying round to reach the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, where they were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche.

Hall finished with six points in nine playoff games, giving him 12 points in 14 career playoff games.

Now, he joins a Sabres squad that is led by Jack Eichel, though 2018 No. 1 overall pick Rasmus Dahlin could be the future face of the franchise. Eichel’s name has popped up in the rumor mill over the past few months, but his agent has denied the notion that his client wants out.

If Eichel does indeed stick around, the Sabres now have a dynamic winger to pair with their star center.

Buffalo has not reached the postseason since 2010-11, finishing this past season with just 68 points, and the fact that the Sabres signed him suggests they are serious about contending in 2020-21. While Hall has never truly played for a great team, he has been a productive NHL player for a long time.