Taylor Hall wil wear sweter number "4" for the Buffalo Sabres.
Hall wore #4 in Edmonton and an junior where he played fror teh Windsor Spitfires.
***
I have been a witness to my fair share of introductory press conference from new members of the Buffalo Sabres over the past 20 years covering the team.
I must say, that I have never been more impressed with the tone and humility of another new Sabres player than I was when Taylor Hall conducted a Zoom call for Buffalo hockey media on Monday.
Hall is Taylor made for Buffalo.
Maybe it was the Canadian Thanksgiving vibes in the air. Or, maybe it was the fact that Hall is is as humble and hungry as he represented himslef to be.
Bravo to Hall and to Kevyn Adams, Ralph Krueger and the Pegulas for quietly and methodically convincing Taylor Hall to play for the Sabres. Hall said that when the NHL unrestricted free agency door opened on October 9 that he had multiple offers to a few teams that offered long term contracts.
In the end, he refelcted on each individual opportunity and came away with a great feeling for the Buffalo Sabres.
"When you break it down and look past things, I think you see a team that has elite players, ownership that's committed to building a winner, and a coach that I feel can get a lot out of his players," Hall said.
According to Hall, the 2018 NHL MVP, the turning point in the negotiation came on Sunday morning when his head coach Ralph Krueger face-timed with him. " I could just see it in his face that he wanted me there and it's a good feeling to see and know that", Hall said pridefully.
The 28-year-old scored 16 goals and 36 assists in 65 games with New Jersey and Arizona in 2019-20.
Since his rookie season in 2010-11, Hall ranks 23rd among NHL players in points (563) and 32nd in goals (218). His average of 1.05 points per game over the last three seasons ranks 17th.
Hall won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP in 2017-18, when he led New Jersey to the playoffs with career highs with 39 goals, and 54 assists, and 93 points. Hall has been selected to three All-Star Games during his career and was named a postseason First Team All-Star in 2018.
What I learned about Hall in his 30 minute presser on Monday afternoon is that he is a man of principle He doesn't believe the hype. He looks through the "smoke" and he performs an eye ball test "under the hood".
In other words,he isn’t one to believe the gossip mill. Hall said he can emphasize with Eichel, whose name entered the trade spin zone Last month. Hall said he can appreciate how it feels to be a 22 year old star on a losing team. Hall was that guy during his six year career in Edmonton.
Hall said was very impressed by the way the Sabres pitched him on his opportunity to play with Jack Eichel and then left him alone. "They did not pressure me and I really appreciated their approach".
It had to be Krueger that coached Sabres rookie head coach Kevyn Adams on how to appeal to Taylor Hall and his sense of inclusion and harmony. My guess is that other NHL GMs played hard ball with Hall in trying to get his name on the bottom line. By comparison, the Sabres made their pitch more about the aesthetics of playing in a hockey mad region like Westyern New York in front of the best fans in the NHL rather than try to close him like a used car salesman.
Hall like Krueger is a thinking man. He's soft spokemn and cerebral. He measure his words carefully. He plans his work and he works his plan.
Other teams offered multi-year contracts. Buffalo offered a one year deal and a two year contract. In the end, Hall chose the one year option with the option to sign on for multiple years.
"In the back of my head I always knew that would be a good situation," Hall said about agreeing to sign with the Sabres. "It was appealing to me and even before free agency, Buffalo was a place I told my agent I would think about playing there. It would be something that I think would be enjoyable and I'm really glad that we're here."
Hall praised Ralph Krueger.
“Ralph is a very interesting human being", Hall said.
According to the former first overall pick who worked with Kreuger for three seasons in Edmonton, Krueger is diversified and is the type of coach that brings out the best production in offensive players. Case in point, Jack Eichel who expeerienced his best career offensive season under Kreuger in 2019-20. In 68 games played, the Sabres' captain scored 36 goals and 42 assists for 78 points. Had the NHL not been shut down due to COVID19 and been played to its full 82 game schedule, It is possible that Eichel would have scored between 95-100 points. Hall said that Kreuger is the perfect choice to be head coach of elite offensive players.
"He's so diversified in his interest and how he talks to people. I think in 2020, a coach like him (Krueger) has the greatest chance of connecting with athletes and making people better," Hall said. "He got the most out of me, I have a lot of respect for him, and he's a great hockey mind. He sees the game in a way an offensive way a guy wants to play for."
Hall confided that having a linemate in Jack Eichel tipped the scales in Buffalo's favor.
"He's (Eichel) an amazing hockey player. I think he took a great step last year. Now it's about can we find a way to get him in the playoffs and get him on a stage that he deserves," Hall said. "He (Krueger) thinks we're a really good pair. We have the same personality and we're going to gel well." both on and off the ice.
Hall opted to sign Buffalo's one year contract which carries a $7 million salary and a $1 million bonus.
Hall said he and his agent understand the uncertainty of the NHL economic marketplace. The tamped-down NHL salary cap is a direvct result of the massive reductions in hockey related revenues that the players and owners share 50-50. The COVID19 pandemic also weighs heavily on the dollars available to NHL free agents. Hall isn't worried. He said he is not only betting on himslf but also betting on the Sabres to turn their fortunes from bad to great in 2021.
Hall said all you need do is look at the success the Colorado Avalanche are having today after they struggled to win games just two seasons ago" "It changes so quickly", Hall said of habitual losing. The Toronto native said when your team has elite players, an excellent coaching staff and committed owners the winning soon occurs.
Hall was wise to point out that since purchesing the NFL team, the Pegulas have transformed the Buffalo Bills into a contending team in a short amout of time. Hall knows a thing or two about professional football as his after, Steve Hall, was a former Canadian Football League player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Rough Riders in the mid-1980s, after which he was a member of the Canadian national bobsled team.
“I think when you break it down and you have an open mind about things and you’re able to maybe look past the smoke that has surrounded the Sabres the past couple years, I think you see a team that has elite players, ownership that’s really committed to building a winner – I’ve seen what they’ve done with the Bills, and a coach that I feel can get a lot out of his players,… Hall said emphatically. “On a one-year contract, I think both sides are eager to see how this works out and there’s obviously a lot of possibilities for the future.…
Hall said he has always looked in on Buffalo as it is a hop, skip and a jump away from his hometown just 64 miles west of the arena where he and Jack Eichel will terrorize opponents in the near future. Hall works out with Jeff Skinner in Toronto and the teammates have talked about the experience of playing in a hockey-crazed town like Buffalo. "It's (Buffalo) a place I can see myself for a while," Hall said. "Hockey is an interesting thing. Things can happen and turn pretty quick if you have elite pieces, like the Sabres do. I truly think they can have a good season. If I didn't think that, I wouldn't be here."
And in the end, the fit and feel over the Sabres won out over which NHL contending team threw the most money at Hall, a coveted NHL unrestricted free agent.
2020. Am I right?
Wayne Gretzky was correct. You will miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Good things happen put the puck on the net.
Watch the entire Taylor Hall Zoom conference here:
We are live with Taylor Hall as he addresses the media after signing a deal with the Sabres. https://t.co/RgLTNjJCdS
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 12, 2020