Last year’s NHL free agent frenzy brought Matt Duchene to Nashville. Could Taylor Hall be the next big free agent to sign with the Nashville Predators?
According to Sportsnet NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, the Predators are expected to be players in the Taylor Hall Sweepstakes when free agency opens at 11 a.m. CT on Friday. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic echoed those sentiments Wednesday.
The Predators cleared $8.1 million of cap space Wednesday by trading Nick Bonino to Minnesota and buying out the contract of center Kyle Turris.
“To me, this is all part of a bigger picture,” Friedman said of Wednesday’s moves during his weekly appearance with Darren, Daunic & Chase on ESPN 102.5 The Game Thursday. “(Nashville is) clearing money. (GM David Poile) is trying something. I’m one of the believers that (Poile will) take a run at Taylor Hall. I absolutely think he’s going to do that.”
Hall spent the second half of the 2019-20 season with the Arizona Coyotes, who defeated the Predators in the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round back in August. Hall collected 16 goals and 52 points in 65 games last season between New Jersey and Arizona.
“I think he’s going to want a reasonably big number, but the fit is going to matter,” Friedman added.
When it comes to being a fit with the Predators, an interesting connection between the two sides is head coach John Hynes. Before being hired in Nashville, Hynes spent four-plus seasons with New Jersey. It was there where Hall won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2018 following a 93-point season.
The other component of Hall is what the contract would look like. Friedman added that Hall could be open to a shorter-term contract in the neighborhood of 3-4 years. The average annual value of his next contract will likely exceed $8 million. With Wednesday’s moves the Predators made, the team now has $17.6 million of cap space, according to CapFriendly.com.
Predators GM David Poile told local media Wednesday that he doesn’t have “any financial restrictions” this offseason. Poile then appeared on Darren, Daunic & Chase on Thursday and said, “If I could draw up my game plan for the next few days, (I’d like to sign) one or two defensemen and maybe one forward.”
Could Taylor Hall be that one free agent forward? We may find out sooner rather than later.
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