[Signing] Buffalo signs Taylor Hall (1 yr, $8 mil, NMC, NTC)

[heep223]

Big mistake. He should have talked to Rhett

[dying4acup]

“I played with Connor, and I played with Eichel. And I brought out the best in both?”

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by heep223

Big mistake. He should have talked to Rhett

Rhett is in Buffalo right now.

...this is all his fault!!

[dino7c]

Remember when Tyson Barrie couldn't get his 7x5 deal so went to the Leafs to pad his stats for a year? Yep he is now in Edmonton on a one year contract

[1Nite]

Think there are two reasons he choose Buffalo, first the location to the Great Lakes, he's got that boat license, and second must have a clause in his contract if he gets Buffalo another first overall pick he gets a $4,000,000 bonus.

[Dion]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1315469934390996993

[djsFlames]

Very possible if we didn't land markstrom we may have pushed for and landed Hall.

Goaltending being given priority was likely the right move.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Dion

https://twitter.com/user/status/1315469934390996993

I guess Treliving feels that the forward group is fine on offense

[blender]

Or that, like a lot of people, Treliving feels that though Hall is a very good player, he's not a priority player that you build your team around.

Its obvious that Hall didn't get any good offers from any good teams.

[TheScorpion]

Tre prefers Skype.

[Freeway]

Entirely my speculation, but I imagine if Markstrom stayed in Vancouver than Talbot re-signs here and Treliving throws the excess Markstrom money at Hall.

[ComixZone]

Makes sense...it also makes sense why this dragged out too.

1. Tree calls, says they’re interested but that they need to shoot for Markstrom first
2. Get Markstrom done, and cap space is gone
3. Reports of Hall waiting for a team to come forward with a deal (for Tree to cycle back?)
4. Hall then signs with Buffalo, who he could have signed with right away without issue. Signs 1 year deal with a team where he’ll get to play with an elite centre and then get back to market.

Also probably tells the tale of what Gaudreau was worth on the trade market in a deal that didn’t bring any cap back.

Fast forward to 2021 off-season, has the Flames cap situation changed? Will the Flames make a pitch and finally cycle back around and give the hometown kid the contract he wanted this year? Or maybe we snag him at the trade deadline?

...or at least that’s the story I’ll tell myself until off-season 2021.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by DiracSpike

This is exactly why it’s a smart move for him, and everyone clowning him doesn’t get it. He had a ####ty break having his big UFA year coincide with this crisis and he’s making a smart move to come back strong next year and sign the big ticket he wanted to sign this year. This move is only dumb if you actually think that NHL players value winning over their own fair market value, in which case LOL at you.

100% disagree wholeheartedly. The objective of an agent is to make his client as much money as possible in as short a time as possible. There are some things to consider as to why it would have been a whole lot better to sign big right now, instead of gambling (big time) that he will cash in bigger next season:

• If his plan is to have a good season then cash in bigger next season, he will be 29 when he signs next season. 28 looks a whole lot better then 29 to a GM looking to sign someone longterm.

• Hall has been injured 3/3 the past seasons. He was healthy during his Hart season. But 3 seasons in row since, massive injuries. His party is gambling big time he's going to stay healthy this entire season to cash in bigger next UFA season? To me this is by far the riskiest part of this contract; gambling he will stay healthy to be recognized as deserving a bigger contract next time. The whole point of signing big long term UFA contracts is to have that stability/financial security IF you get injured.

• If it's such a "smart" move, why does this very rarely happen with big UFAs? Are there examples of past star players going the 1 year route, only to cash in substantially larger the season after and we can all agree it was a smart move. I think Hossa is a good example of doing as such. But those are the exceptions and not the norm. Otherwise we'd be seeing it happen a whole lot more. There's a reason you sign the dotted line when a big sum is put in front of you, and not risk going the 1 year route in an attempt for something bigger next season.

• I feel like Hall left between $40-$50 million on the table doing this. If Hall goes on to have an elite season and signs a bigger contract then I will happily eat my words. But IMO this is a huge risk. Take the stability NOW.

Weird signing. Even weirder it was with Buffalo. The only positive I can think of is he knows Buffalo isn't a contender, but can pad his stats with Eichel. Come trade deadline, he'll have the chance to essentially choose his destination (his NMC a big part of that) and if he wins the cup then he can cash in. I suppose if that all comes to fruition it will be seen as an epic 4D chess move. But that's some wild-ass 4D chess moves to pull it off.

[dino7c]

If Hall was looking for short term it made ZERO sense for Calgary.

The difference between Talbot and Markstrom isn't 8M it's 2 or 3. To say Markstrom cost them Hall is just dumb and nonsense.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Freeway

Entirely my speculation, but I imagine if Markstrom stayed in Vancouver than Talbot re-signs here and Treliving throws the excess Markstrom money at Hall.

So a 2.5M offer?

[tfi racing]

It is what it is. At the end of the next season, this team will be exactly where it is now, and where it has been for the last 30+ seasons, Hall wasn't meant to be or could be the saviour of this continually inept organization...

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

David Pagnotta @TheFourthPeriod
Told from multiple sources Colorado was one of the team's to pitch Hall a short-term offer, but the AAV was considerably less than the $8M he got from Buffalo.

This makes me happy to hear. Because eff the Avs.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Agree.

I honestly don’t get this at all from Hall’s perspective.

If you want to take a short term deal to get an even bigger contract next year then why are you taking the 1 year deal in Buffalo of all places.

Also it’s not like playing with Eichel is a better situation to prove himself than playing with the Avalanche forwards.

And Colorado is probably the best place that can pay you decent money while still being a contender.

Honestly don’t get this at all from Hall’s perspective.

In Buffalo he is guaranteed to play with Eichel.

In Colorado, he is not guaranteed to play with McKinnon, where they already have a spectacular line.

The location of the city may have been important to him.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Next year's UFA crop might be even weaker than this year's...but it will be interesting to see how many deals are signed and waiting in desk drawers to be pulled out the day after expansion draft.

I expect the answer to that is zero as it is explicitly not allowed and would cost any team doing so huge penalties.


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[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

• Hall has been injured 3/3 the past seasons. He was healthy during his Hart season. But 3 seasons in row since, massive injuries. His party is gambling big time he's going to stay healthy this entire season to cash in bigger next UFA season? To me this is by far the riskiest part of this contract; gambling he will stay healthy to be recognized as deserving a bigger contract next time. The whole point of signing big long term UFA contracts is to have that stability/financial security IF you get injured.

Games played the last 5 seasons

82 of 82

72 of 82

76 of 82

33 of 82

65 of 68ish (not sure how many he missed during trade talks)

He isn't some kind of ironman or anything but other than 2 seasons ago, he hasnt missed THAT much time even if it is more than many others.

All that being said, it never made a ton of sense for the Flames to go get him unless JG was traded for picks and prospects which i suspect was a pretty limited market this off season. Otherwise the club starts the year with 3 different 1st line LW's AND a 5+M dollar 4th line LW? That would be both bold and stupid.

I like Taylor Hall as a player, but his "fit" in Calgary just isn't/wasn't there for a few different reasons.