Taylor Hall not focused on contract extension as playoffs near

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Taylor Hall's future with the Boston Bruins beyond this season continues to be one of the main storylines surrounding the team with its first game in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs set for Saturday night.

Hall was acquired by the Bruins shortly before the April 12 trade deadline and it's proven to be one of the most effective transactions made by any team all season.

The former Hart Trophy winner tallied 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in his 16 regular season games with the Bruins, and they went 12-3-1 over that stretch to enter Saturday's Game 1 against the Washington Capitals with plenty of confidence and momentum.

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Hall is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the outcome of this playoff run -- both from an individual and team perspective -- could impact whether he returns on a new contract.

He's doing his best not to focus on that situation right now. His goal is making a deep playoff run -- something that's eluded him in his entire 11-year career.

"I didn’t come here to lose in the first round and then hopefully get a nice contract," Hall said. "I want to have a deep playoff run. When it’s time to take care of that other stuff, that's what I’ll look to do that, but it really hasn’t been on my mind, and it really shouldn’t be.”

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Bruins president Cam Neely was asked Wednesday about a possible extension for Hall, and he admitted the team hopes to get something done at the appropriate time.

"As far as Taylor goes, we're going to continue to see how things go with the playoffs here," Neely said. "We'd like to try and get something done, but that remains to be seen. But that's our hopes."

Hall said soon after the trade was made that he wanted to be with the Bruins beyond the 2021 campaign. He's been a great fit so far, and it would make a lot of sense for the B's to bring him back and ensure the second line remains a strength entering next season.

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But there are more important goals to achieve over the next few months, highlighted by the pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

“I think the biggest thing for anyone on our team is just trying to help our team win games,” Hall said. “That’s going to help out no matter if you’ve got years on your contract or you’re an RFA or a UFA. The farther we go as a team, I think that’s going to help out everyone individually. I haven’t really given much thought to it. I knew that everything like that, the contract stuff, would be put to the side until after the season.

"It’s no different now. I think we’re all here to win a Stanley Cup. If we made that happen, or we have a great run and some good things happen, I think everyone will be taken care of and we’ll figure that out later.”

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