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The Montreal Canadiens are in the perfect position to sign Taylor Hall

By Omar L

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 11: Taylor Hall #91 of the Arizona Coyotes waits for a puck drop against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 11, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Coyotes 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 11: Taylor Hall #91 of the Arizona Coyotes waits for a puck drop against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 11, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Coyotes 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 11: Taylor Hall Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Taylor Hall was a player who couldn’t wait to get to free agency after that Hart performance two years ago, and instead of being looked at as an answer, he’s constantly seen as the problem. The Calgary native is a fascinating name heading into free agency as there is no clear number to assign to him. Some thought he could be in the high 9s or perhaps even hit double digits, but seeing his play this season should warrant caution from other teams.

Hall does have a determined agent in Darren Ferris to see this through, though. He became pretty infamous in Toronto with his handling of the Mitch Marner deal; it will be tough to expect anything similar to the same thing with Hall. Don’t get me wrong; teams will call for his services. Though it doesn’t seem this will be the year he hits the jackpot, especially with the financial impacts on the salary cap, thanks to the pause.

This is a perfect situation for the Montreal Canadiens.

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Taylor Hall was likely already a player the Habs had in mind of pursuing. That Hart season was no fluke by any means as Hall has had the inkling to take over games in his arsenal for years. It’s putting him in the appropriate situation that will make the difference.

Cap-wise, the Habs are in a perfect position to take him on. They have $4.5 million in cap space with more contracts to go and further contracts to come off the books. Other teams around the league are up against the ceiling, and the ones who have space require it to re-sign key players.

At the same time, Hall has been on rebuilding teams before, and I doubt he wants to go through that again. Keep in mind Hall has only made the playoffs once. Teams with space such as the Los Angeles Kings have space but will be bottom-feeders for some time as they try to build through the draft.

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