The most discussed rent this season has finally found a home, as the Boston Bruins lost 8-1 tonight and the Taylor Hall of the Buffalo Sabers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. John Buccigross from ESPN was the first to suggest that an agreement would be reached on Twitter (in a very entertaining way). Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the agreement Hall and forward will be injured Curtis Lazar for Anders Bjork and a second round pick. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Sabers retained 50% of Hall’s $ 8MM price until the end of this season.
Hall had full control over this process as he had a move clause and could block a trade for any team in the league. He decided to waive the clause to go to Boston. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period notes that the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals were also up and running earlier today. The fact that the Sabers could not score a first round for Hall would be the takeaway from Buffalo fans, but Hall is in the midst of a brutal season. While you can not forget that he was the MVP of the league in 2018, you can also not ignore the fact that he scored only two goals in 37 games for the Sabers this year.
Still, it’s just a second to give up and Bjork, who has just two goals of his own this season, is a no-brainer for the Bruins, drawing attention to the post-season dispute. If Hall can find a semblance of his former self in Boston, he could make a difference in the second line, giving the team a secondary point they have been missing for so long.
Bjork has established himself as an NHL player with good defensive ability, but will turn 25 later this summer and has just 39 points in 138 games in the regular season in his career. An important factor here is that he is under contract for a reasonable $ 1.6 million by the 2022-23 season, but it is not as if he is going to make a big impact on the rebuilding Sabers. In fact, one could argue that Lazar can offer about the same value if he is healthy and that he is under contract for only $ 800,000 next season. The removal of Bjork by tomorrow’s deadline does not seem out of the question if the Sabers can find someone interested.
The Bruins also take $ 4 million in the head, which is much higher than some of the other names recently moved. The fact that they can absorb the hit is why Hall’s price is so low, as they do not have to involve another team, which would mean that another asset had to be given up. Even without entering the long-term injured reserve, the Browns should have just enough room to fit Hall in after sending Bjork to the other side.
At the end of the day, this deal would mean nothing to Boston if Hall could not find its form. The team has swung to high-profile wings before and made them struggle on the piece, but Hall will definitely be surrounded by more talent in his new locker room. In all likelihood, the 29-year-old winger will only get his third chance at the post-season this year, though that is not even a guarantee at the moment. Boston is now just four points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers for fourth place in the Eastern Conference (although they do have two games in hand), which means Hall must contribute immediately if he wants to get another taste of the playoffs.
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