News is out that Taylor Hall is willing to sign a short-term deal, and that could give the Montreal Canadiens an extra foot in the race to sign him.
We’re less than a week away from free agency. With the implications of the flat cap and organizations cutting salary, there’s been more and more talk of all the transactions that may be possible. Additionally, pending free agents may need to reassess their thought process as to how much they will command on the open market. And that’s music to the Montreal Canadiens‘ ears, especially when it comes to Taylor Hall.
Marc Bergevin has already got some work done finance wise as far as the team’s respective cap goes. Jeff Petry got a slight pay raise being extended for four years at $6.25 million. Bergevin traded a pick for the rights to Joel Edmundson, going on to sign him for four years at $3.5 million. And now, we know five players received qualifying offers in Max Domi, Charles Hudon, Victor Mete, Noah Juulsen and Xavier Ouellet while Andrew Sturtz, Aaron Luchuk and Antoine Waked were left to become unrestricted free agents.
Domi and Mete are the big names of the free agents, and with $10,202,024 in cap space to play with, it shouldn’t be difficult to sign them. OR it could be a means to hit the open market a bit. Enter Taylor Hall.
Saturday Headlines provided us with some nuggets of information, and Chris Johnston revealed something interesting about Hall. Apparently, Hall’s camp will not turn down any offers or conversations from any team and will instead entertain any and all options. Another thing that came up from Johnston was that a short-term deal (1-2 years) is something Hall would consider.
That’s a smart move for Hall considering how every team’s cap situation is and will be as the financial implications of COVID-19 continue. A team may not be able to commit to a big number for a long time, but they could offer Hall a significant cap-hit for say two years.
The Montreal Canadiens could do this. There is a fit for Hall, and his skillset is of value to the organization. The Habs need finishers; they need players who can put the puck in the net off of some of the great passers the team already has. Hall can fill that void.
As far as money goes, there’s a lot that can be done with over $10 million in cap space. It will complicate things with the other restricted free agents on the books, but an opportunity at adding a player like Taylor Hall can’t be missed.
The Montreal Canadiens in the past weren’t even given the opportunity to meet with some of the big free agents on the market. With Hall, there’s a window to not only meet with him but to offer him something significant with the frame of mind that he can be the game-changer on a roster that is trying to build off the playoffs.
Goaltending appears to be secured with Carey Price and Jake Allen. The blueline has more structure with Edmundson and the hopeful ascension of Alexander Romanov. Hall can be one of those final pieces, and if the money works out, the Habs should have a good chance to get the deal done.