The Boston Bruins absolutely need to re-sign Taylor Hall, and according to the latest reports, it sounds like good progress is being made toward a new contract.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported Wednesday morning an update on Hall's talks with the B's, along with potential contract terms:
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A four-year deal with a salary cap hit of $6 million -- or something similar -- would be a phenomenal end result for the Bruins.
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It wouldn't be a short term deal, but four years is a lot better than a seven- or eight-year pact, especially for a player like Hall who's 29 years old and battled injuries in recent seasons. Hall was healthy last season, though, and a four-year contract likely would take him through the rest of his prime seasons.
A $6 million AAV also would allow the Bruins to work toward signing some of their other important free agents, including second-line center David Krejci. Hall and Krejci were a tremendous fit together after the B's acquired the former Hart Trophy winner at the trade deadline
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Losing Hall would significantly hurt the Bruins' scoring depth. One of the reasons why the Hall trade was so important for the B's was they didn't have another top-tier goal scorer on the wing outside of first-line stars Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Hall provided Krejci with a much-needed scoring winger, and he tallied eight goals in the 16 regular season games after the trade.
Keeping the second line of Hall, Krejci and Craig Smith intact would give the Bruins two very strong lines -- something they haven't had entering a new season in a while.