New Jersey Devils: Slow Start Could Impact Taylor Hall’s Contract Status

The New Jersey Devils have started this season in a way that nobody wanted to see. They are 0-1-1 which includes blowing a 4-0 lead to lose in a shootout loss to Winnipeg and giving up seven goals in Buffalo. Now, of course, there is no reason to fully panic because there are still 80 games left in the season.

However, there can be one major question that has been looming since the offseason started: What does this mean for Taylor Hall?

The 27-year-old former MVP is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and his potential extension has been news for Devils fans all season long. Patience is boiling, but there is one thing that Hall does want for his career, to win. The easiest way to ensure he signs long term, especially before the offseason, is to show that they are a playoff team. Hall has been very clear that he wants to win the Stanley Cup at some point in his career, and while he is impressed with the offseason moves, he is still going to want to be in the postseason.

Losing the first two games of the season is not exactly the ideal start to keep a superstar in one place, especially given the way the games were lost. Now, before the Spongebob memes start completely exploding on Devils Twitter, let’s try to answer the question. The Taylor Hall situation is not going to be swayed one way or another after these two games.

There is still 80 games left in this season. There are 60 until the NHL Trade Deadline, which is going to arguably be the most important day of the season. The team’s performance is going to play a major role that day because it is essentially the deadline for the Devils to have Hall signed to an extension.

The bottom line is if the Devils for some reason are not contending for a spot, the best move will be to trade him while he has his value and bring home a decent return as General Manager Ray Shero has been able to do in the past. But if the team is contending, considering all the assets this team now has, it is likely Hall will extend even before deadline day. The biggest risk would be if the Devils are in the hunt but not quite there yet and they continue to wait. If they miss it could mean losing Taylor Hall for nothing. This is a very unlikely scenario and I would not worry about it.

The bottom line, there is absolutely nothing to worry about in terms of this contract situation after just two games.