Taylor Hall taking his time before signing an extension
Mike Morreale of NHL.com: Again, Taylor Hall reiterates his stance on taking time first before signing anything. A report surfaced from The Fourth Period that Hall was not interested in re-signing with New Jersey. Then, there was this.
“No idea where got that from aside from a ‘source,'” Shero said in a text message. “Nothing on our end has changed and I have never heard differently from Taylor or Darren Ferris.”
Ferris said, “I’m not going to speak to it because it’s all fictitious and I’m just not going to respond to any of those questions out of respect to the conversations and discussions that are going on.”
These are the kind of quotes expected in what will be a long negotiation. New Jersey finished 29th due to a myriad of injuries and lack of talent in spots. How Ray Shero fills those gaps will determine whether Hall wants to stay.
Arpon Basu of The Athletic: Even Taylor Hall realizes he is not the number one priority for New Jersey right now.
“I’m not the priority right now and I don’t really want to be the priority right now,” Hall told The Athletic on Tuesday. “They have bigger things to worry about than me.”
“We never really looked at July 1 as a deadline and Ray hasn’t looked at it like that either,” Hall said.
With several restricted free agents t0 tend to, the number one pick, and other issues, one could see why Hall is taking the smart road here. Nothing is decided contrary to some reports out there.
New Jersey has more to offer Taylor Hall than most think
Jared Clinton of The Hockey News: With Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, New Jersey has quite a first line. However, that is not the only thing for New Jersey to hang its hat on.
New Jersey ranks in the top-ten in quite a few prospect circles. They possess underrated Ty Smith and Jesper Boqvist among others who could make a solid impact. Also, there is all that cap space to go out and sign talent.
Furthermore, Ray Shero can make some trades — the one that brought Hall to New Jersey in the first place.
This is the time to spend for New Jersey and if they believe in Taylor Hall, this will be an eventful summer.
