Taylor Hall reportedly not interested in extension with New Jersey Devils
According to the latest NHL rumors from The Fourth Period, Taylor Hall is currently not interested in signing an extension with the New Jersey Devils.
The NHL is primed to have an exciting offseason. Not only does the free agent class feature guys like Artemi Panarin, Erik Karlsson, and Matt Duchene, but the restricted free agency class could lead to an offer sheet or two. On top of that, there are trade rumors. The trade market might be getting a significant boost in the form of New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall.
According to The Fourth Period, the 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner is not interested in signing an extension with the Devils at this time. Hall will become a free agent after the 2019-20 season unless an extension is agreed upon.
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It’s worth noting he can’t even sign an extension until after July 1, which is the start of the league’s new year. I wouldn’t put too much stock in this report, as Hall probably isn’t getting traded unless the Devils are 100% sure he’s not signing an extension in New Jersey. And I don’t know how they’ll be able to say that until after July 1.
This further confirms what everyone knows – the Devils are going to have to convince their star forward to stick around. Drafting Jack Hughes (or Kaapo Kakko) should help, as that gives them a second young star to build around after Nico Hischier.
The Devils are going to have to improve their roster from last season. Though they made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2018, they weren’t able to recapture that magic last season, as they finished with the third-worst record in the NHL.
Hall has one year left on his contract and has a cap hit of $6 million. He also doesn’t a no-trade clause, which should help increase the market for him. Should the Devils decide to put their star forward on the market, he would get a ton of interest. Who wouldn’t want to add one of the best players in the league to their team?
The Devils certainly have the cap space to keep Hall around. They will enter the 2020 offseason with over $54 million of cap space, though they have just seven players signed through then. Whether or not the Devils are able to keep Hall around depends on if they can convince the star they can build a Stanley Cup contender around him.
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Having a future down the center featuring Hughes and Hischier is a good start. But the Devils will have to add some wing depth and add at least one top-four defenseman in order to build a competitive team. Especially since the Metropolitan Division looks like it’s going to be very tight next season.