The New Jersey Devils are going to have to pay their star left wing if they want to keep him, and other players around the league could impact how much that could cost.
The New Jersey Devils are on the verge of their superstar left winger Taylor Hall being eligible to sign a contract extension. On July 1st, he will become one year away from unrestricted free agency, and someone is going to give him a lucrative contract.
After winning the Hart Trophy as the MVP of the National Hockey League last season, he has emerged as one of the best wingers in the world. He was injured for most of 2018-19, but most are just hoping that it was a fluke and that he will come back as good as he was before the injury.
It is no secret that there is tension among Devils fans when talking about this, as there is fear that he will force the Devils to trade him to avoid losing him for nothing. It is really nothing to worry about until it is something to worry about if that makes sense. His situation is what it is and that is how sports work.
He might be impacted by some other star wingers around the league who are also getting massive contracts this offseason. Jeff Skinner had a career year for the Buffalo Sabres in 2018-19 and it is likely going to earn him a really nice contract. He had 40 goals and 23 assists for 63 points in 82 games. That is a really nice year, but it is nothing compared to Taylor Hall’s top years. That would be good for Hall’s fourth-best season, and three of the better ones are by a significant amount.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported that Skinner might be close to his contract extension being done, and if it isn’t done within the next couple days he could see him making it to unrestricted free agency on July 1st. He doesn’t have the year cushion that Hall and the Devils have but it will impact Hall for one reason, money.
McKenzie projects that Skinner’s contract will be at eight years at around $9 million per season. This might seem like a lot, and that’s because it is.
It isn’t great for the Devils because of the Sabres are going to pay Skinner $9 million, then the Devils might need to pay Hall north of $10 million. That is a lot for one player obviously, but if you look at some other superstars around the league you will quickly learn that it is the norm for them.
Hall’s best season so far was in 2017-18 when he had 39 goals and 54 assists for 93 points. That is a whole 30 points better than Skinner’s career year. Hall was on pace to put up similar numbers in 2018-19 before his injury in December. He had 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points in 33 games, which was on pace for 91 points over a full 82 game schedule.
So Skinner is going to get a lot of money from either the Sabres or whatever team he chooses to go to, and that is likely going to affect how much money Taylor Hall gets on his new deal. It will be worth the money though for the Devils to lock up the rest of Hall’s prime while having a bunch of impressive young pieces on their team. Hopefully, Ray Shero and Hall can find something that works and it helps get the Devils back into the playoffs.