Report: Coyotes shopping Taylor Hall’s negotiating rights
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Arizona Coyotes are officially shopping the exclusive negotiating rights to Taylor Hall, the 2020 free agent market’s top forward, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.
Sources say the Arizona Coyotes are shopping the rights to Taylor Hall.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) October 5, 2020
Set to hit the open market after splitting last season with the Devils and Coyotes, totaling 16 goals and 52 points in 65 games before the COVID-19 pause, Hall is a name that seemingly would be on the B’s radar. A former Hart Trophy winner, Hall is the perfect kind of high-end top-six talent that the Bruins would love to plug with David Krejci on the Black and Gold’s second line. It helps that Hall is reportedly willing to consider a one-year deal with a contender, too, according to the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers.
(The Bruins, by the way, remain engaged with the Coyotes on talks centered around Arizona captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson.)
So what would a trade for Hall’s rights look like?
Hall’s situation is similar to the spot Kevin Hayes found himself in a year ago. One of the market’s top forwards, and with a long-term future in Winnipeg unlikely, Hayes saw his negotiating rights sent from the Jets to Philadelphia in exchange for a fifth-round pick. Hayes ultimately did sign with the Flyers for nearly $50 million, too, so it was a fifth-round pick well worth it for Philly.
But it’s not a risk-free move for the team that decides to pull the trigger on a deal for Hall’s rights.
Now that we’re this late into the free agency game (teams can start signing players at noon on Oct. 9), Hall may be ready to see what’s out there. The rumor is that he’s going to have Zoom conferences with teams when the time comes.
In other words, he seems determined to see what the market truly holds for him, and there’s no shortage of potential suitors. From Boston to Colorado to his hometown Flames to the Oilers, the team that drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick back in 2010. Considering that aforementioned report that suggests he’s willing to take a one-year deal to cash in when the cap (presumably) rises a bit next season, the list is even longer than that.
Hall has 218 goals and 563 points in 627 career games between the Oil, Devils, and Coyotes.