After Montreal’s top line of Tatar, Danault, and Gallagher, line combos become muddled and in constant flux. Between the injuries to Drouin and Byron, Montreal’s depth became pretty apparent really early on in the season. Unfortunately, their depth was not skilled enough to weather the storm. Nick Cousins and Jordan Weal found themselves on the 2nd line with Domi and Suzuki more than either should have been. This lack of skilled created problems towards the end of the season, making every single mistake on defense and goal that much more costly. Enter Taylor Hall and is potential signing with Montreal.
It’s not every day you see a two-year removed Hart trophy winner become a free agent. The circumstances involving Tayler Hall becoming a free agent are almost improbable as ever yet here we are. Hall is the best free agent in the NHL this year and, as one would expect, will command a hefty raise on his $6 million-dollar contract. He would single-handedly become the best forward on this team and could propel Montreal into the playoffs. Montreal has two things going for them if they become interested in his signing in Montreal. Firstly, they have the salary cap room and they have it in abundance. They are projected to have close to $15 million in space after Max Domi's new contract. Secondly, Montreal has one of the better NHL defensemen in Shea Weber and the best goalie in Carey Price both under contract for the considerable future. Who wouldn’t want to go into the playoffs with both Weber’s bomb-like slap shot and Price’s ability to steal games on your side?
Unfortunately, Montreal isn’t known, in recent years, to be a free agency hot spot. Other than Chariot’s signing and his subsequently fantastic year, free agents tend to keep 6 feet of social distancing from signing. Hopefully, Marc Bergevin can correct this and get Hall interested in signing. Other obstacles would be the influx of talent coming through the pipeline. The likes of Suzuki, Kotkaniemi, Caufield, and Ylonen will be pushing for roster spots as early as next year. These prospects are viewed as the future face of the franchise and will need both salary cap room and a roster spot to fulfill this. If Hall gets signed to a long-term contract, it would effectively make at least one of the Drouin, Tatar, Bryon, Lehkonen group immediately tradable. With several moving pieces regarding this potential move, it will be interesting to see if either Montreal, Hall, or a combination of the two are interested enough to pursue. If Marc Bergevin is interested in either a playoff-contending team or keeping his job, he definitely should be keeping an eye on Hall.
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