A Winning Habit
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
Montreal Canadiens
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – NOVEMBER 21: Taylor Hall Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The Habs have a mix of young performing talent and still have Carey Price, which should be a vote of confidence for anyone. Sure, he hasn’t been up to his godly standards this season, but Price gives you an opportunity to win.

Montreal lost several games this season by either not being able to score or by being too run and gun without having the structure to hold teams off from generating chances. Hall isn’t a Selke by any means, but he can surely help with adding to the offence and adding some more control to the power play.

There is one team who may get in the way of this, that being the Ottawa Senators. They’re another team on the rebuild, but it’s possible they hit the grand prize at the NHL draft with three first-round picks. Two of them could easily be in the top five, which may swing things on the ascending side for the Senators in the next year or two.

It’ll come down to what the Montreal Canadiens have to offer. Hall will be a star in a Canadian market and possibly be the face of a playoff run. At the same time, the Habs may be able to get the left-winger signed to a justifiable number on either end.

Hall is coming off a contract that came with a $6 million cap hit. If the Habs can get that to around $8 million, it can work in the long-run. Matt Duchene was signed to that cap hit last summer while players such as Claude Giroux ($8.25 million) are in a similar point window as Hall.

Making $9 million would be unjustifiable with players like Mark Stone and Nikita Kucherov at $9 and $9.5 million, respectively. On the other hand, Jeff Skinner signed for $9 million over eight years with the Buffalo Sabres after putting up 40 goals last season. Ferris may push for something similar, but again, the salary cap structure is going to stunt a lot of those high demands.

Next. Crucial Draft Picks Moving Forward. dark

The Montreal Canadiens don’t want to get into a bidding war for Taylor Hall. But if Marc Bergevin is committed to making the team competitive, it’s a great opportunity to add. It will surely come with the departure of others, but that’s the price you have to pay sometimes. If Bergevin didn’t pay that price back when Hall joined the Devils, Shea Weber wouldn’t be here.

Home/Editorials