After listening to TSN’s hockey insider Darren Dreger last night mentioning that Ray Shero, Taylor Hall, and Darren Ferris (Hall’s agent) were “gaining traction over the weekend.” One of the many things that come to mind is how will the New Jersey Devils look not only if, but when Taylor Hall signs on the dotted line.
To think of a contract situation, Hall could fetch a contract greater than Mitchell Marner’s. Hall however might command near Auston Matthew money. Our guesstimate is in the rink of $88-96 million over an eight-year extension.
One of the more comforting things after that segment on TSN was thinking of how important it is having Taylor Hall with Jack Hughes. It’s great to have a player like Hall who helped benefit Nico Hischier in his first two seasons. Once Hall signs that extension, it wouldn’t kick in until 2020-21 season.
Before next years salary cap likely goes up $2 million the Devils have over $32 million in cap space. If Hall signs an $11.5 million per season contract starting in the 2020-2021 season, Ray Shero still has over $20 million to reallocate. Players like Wayne Simmonds, Hischier, and Jesper Bratt will be the key players going into the 2020 offseason priority list with Hall taken care of (when it happens) contract wise.
The other $11.275 million from Sami Vatanen, Andy Greene, and Mirco Mueller will be off the books unless one of the three comes back. Plus goaltending wise Mackenzie Blackwood should be getting a very decent raise in 2020. With so many variables around Taylor Hall looking to be re-signed before opening night would be a huge weight off Ray Shero and John Hynes’ shoulders this season.
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Having Hall set for the near and long term would benefit Jack Hughes in the club house, and off the ice teaching guys like Jack the ins and outs of the NHL life. Having watched what Hall can do whether he is with Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier, it seems while Hall when healthy can be an absolute monster scoring points and driving the pace of the game.
Having the former Hart Trophy winner performing well in pre-season is a good sign. Also when the Twitter pole fetched an average of 95 points or more for Taylor Hall. It is not insane to see that because Hall has done an amazing job being loose around the net and getting through the neutral zone with ease. Now ,with Jack Hughes around on his line, it is safe to say Jack will make Hall even more lethal of a winger.
Once all the contractual stuff is signed off, the Devils universe can focus on seeing Ray Shero push this team organically towards the playoffs. Everyone knows Taylor Hall is hungry and thirsty for playoff success. What fans are feeling is this vibrancy from what Ray Shero has been able to accomplish making this team so deep and super potent.
From what it seems Ray Shero and John Hynes as the high command seem to have a way of knowing how they can operate day to day. With the team assembled by October 4th that “know yourself” principle will be beneficial every game day. If Coach Hynes can get Hall and others to beat those division opponents successfully this team can be very dangerous. Getting his contract situation squared away before those games come up can only help.