BHN Daily: Is Taylor Hall What Bruins Need Before NHL Trade Deadline?

Would Buffalo Sabres winger Taylor Hall really be the solution to the Boston Bruins scoring depth issues and should Don Sweeney acquire him before the April 12 NHL Trade deadline?

It’s been well-documented that the last-place Sabres, whom the Bruins play tonight in the first of a two-game set in Buffalo that concludes Saturday, are ‘Open for business’ and in a press conference announcing the firing of head coach Ralph Krueger, Sabres General Manager reaffirmed that. Adams also said he’s open to signing Hall to an extension or to trade him. 

“We’re open to anything and everything,” Adams told the media after firing Krueger and replacing him with Don Granato as interim head coach. “My job is to do anything and everything to make this franchise move in the right direction. I have a very good relationship with (Hall’s agent) Darren Ferris and Taylor. Open lines of communication and obviously days are moving forward here, so there will be a lot of conversations around that.”

It seems like ever since the Bruins traded Tyler Seguin back on July 4, 2013, Bruins fans and some media have consistently clamored for the Bruins to acquire Hall – who went first overall at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft before the Bruins took Seguin with the second overall pick – every time he hits the NHL trade market. Bruins social media was abuzz this past offseason when many NHL insiders once again linked Hall to the Bruins in NHL Free Agency before he signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Sabres. Now, with Hall prevalent in NHL trade rumors again, the Bruins’ lack of scoring depth has many believing Hall could be the savior for the Bruins. 

However, as my partner in crime Joe Haggerty pointed out in his most recent ‘Hagg Bag’, Hall’s miserable showing for the Sabres this season (2g, 14a in 28 games), and previous no-shows while playing for the Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers need to be considered if Bruins GM Don Sweeney is seriously considering acquiring Hall as a rental. The word around the league amongst former teammates and coaches is that Hall isn’t exactly the best teammate and the last thing the Bruins need right now is a disruption to their tight-knit dressing room. The common consensus with Hall is to proceed with caution. 

Now onto the rest of your BHN Daily Links:

Speaking of the Sabres and Bruins, it was a bit of a Wayne’s World street hockey scene going on in Buffalo as both teams canceled their game-day skates this morning after a Bruins player was placed on the NHL COVID Protocol List. Thankfully, after further testing and contact tracing, it’s GAME ON! (Boston Hockey Now)

If Sweeney needs to unload some salary cap space to facilitate another trade before the NHL trade deadline, he may want to ring up Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. (TSN)

Colleague and FOBHN (Friend of Boston Hockey Now), Christian Arnold has an NHL source telling him that with New York Islanders captain and winger Anders Lee out for the season, GM Lou Lamoriello is planning to use that extra cap space he has now and go big-game hunting before the NHL Trade Deadline. That same source has also said the Isles are likely not interested in Hall because of his rep as a bad teammate. (NYI Hockey Now)

New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad finally rewarded fantasy hockey team owners that drafted him this season by tying the NHL record for most points in a period with six. (NY Post)

Is it now or never for the Toronto Maple Leafs to break their Stanley Cup curse? (Toronto Star)

The Colorado Avalanche will get a much-needed boost on their blue line and powerplay tonight when defensemen Cale Makar and Bo Byram return to the lineup after extended absences due to injuries. (Colorado Hockey Now)

Finally, for your Murph’s Music Pick Of The Day, hopefully, this helps ease your post-St. Patrick’s Day hangover!