New Jersey Devils: How Much Could Taylor Hall Possibly Cost?
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils did very little to upgrade the team this offseason. Many say it’s being done to save money for Taylor Hall‘s next contract, but how much can the Devils star forward actually cost?
NHL contracts have been getting bigger and bigger since the Chicago Blackhawks signed Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to matching eight-year, $84 million deals. Now, seven players make seven figures. The New Jersey Devils have a few years, but may soon choose to make that number eight (or more depending on what happens over the next few seasons).
The Devils have Taylor Hall’s contract to think about in 2020. They can re-sign him as early as next offseason. With how contracts have gone, it’s hard to figure that Hall won’t get a massive deal.
However, is Hall really going to get top of the market prices?
John Tavares just received $11 million per season on a seven-year deal. I don’t think you could find any Devils fan that would trade Hall for Tavares straight up, but does that make Tavares worth more than Hall? It’s very hard to say. Tavares is a center. In fact, only two of the top seven contracts play positions besides center. It seems to get beyond the $10 million mark, playing center sure helps.
Hall is coming off a Hart Trophy winning season. He finally found his stride after years of slightly under performing. This season, he hit 30 goals for the first time in his career. Prior to this season, he never made it to the playoffs. That ended this past season.
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When looking at the top-paid wingers in the league, we’re looking at Kane, Alexander Ovechkin, Jamie Benn and Cory Perry. Like we said before, Kane is making $10.5 million, but that seems to be the outlier. Ovechkin makes around $9.5 million, while Benn hits that number on the nose. Perry makes under $9 million.
I think that Hall will make close to the top of that list, but won’t immediately hit Kane’s numbers. I can see Hall making Ovechkin type money. I think an eight-year deal, making between $9-9.5 million is the sweet spot.
If that’s the case, the Devils should be making more moves. The Devils have $23 million in cap space. Hall would only take $3 million from that number if he makes $9 million since he’s already make $6 million. That is not a reason why the Devils are staying quiet this offseason. In fact, I think something bigger is in play. Either way, this is what a possible Hall contract could look like.