Could Taylor Hall’s Injury Help New Jersey Devils Re-sign Him?

Many New Jersey Devils fans worry about the prospects of re-signing Taylor Hall this offseason. However, an injury-riddled season might help this team sign him long term.

All week, the New Jersey Devils fan base has been hitting social media talking about Taylor Hall. To be fair, the Devils play on the ice wasn’t worth talking about, and this week they are off. This fan base has to talk about something, and what’s happening with Taylor Hall is always top of mind.

The Devils can’t re-sign him until July 1st. It’s been the worst waiting game ever. Fans are hoping that their star player will commit to this team for the better part of a decade, but it’s all an unknown until we get to that date.

Many fans are worried that the Devils lost season will push Hall away from them. Obviously, there are some huge free agents this season, and a lot of them will get paid in the eight-digit-per-season range. That’s likely what Hall will be looking for, and the Devils are probably willing to give it to him.

However, a lot of teams would be willing to pay big bucks for a former NHL MVP. What do the Devils have going in their favor?

Well, this season in the dumpster doesn’t help the Devils sign Hall, but maybe his injury actually does help. Hall missed games in December, and hasn’t played a game in January yet. He missed some games in the middle of last month, went to the Christmas break, then something flared up and he’s been out ever since.

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The Devils have been very good at keeping Hall’s injury under wraps. We don’t even know what’s wrong with him. Players appreciate when a team can keep secrets locked in the locker room.

Also, Hall’s injury may scare him going into a free agent year. Obviously, one year’s worth of injury doesn’t hurt a player’s value, but if it happens again it might worry some teams. Hall may be looking to cash in without the worries of free agency.

Hall seems like the kind of player that doesn’t want to worry about these things. He saw how it worked across the river for John Tavares. He left the franchise that was relying on him, and now they hate him. Also, he’s probably one of the most hated players in the league. He’s no Tom Wilson, but other fans aren’t exactly rooting for him.

That’s likely not what Hall wants. He’s going to get $10+ million per season with the Devils. He has said before he trusts the plan of Ray Shero. Obviously, this season didn’t go well, but there is a chance this was always the plan. Hall knows there are some decent prospects coming up, and the Devils have money to spend. Add that into the possibility of another injury, and that could lead Hall to sign on the dotted line on July 1st.