Former Sabres Forward Should Be on Adams’ Trade Radar

You’ve heard the supposed Albert Einstein quote before. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Therefore, trading for a former key player who donned the Buffalo Sabres uniform during a last-place season is insane, right? Not if that trade is for former Sabres forward Taylor Hall, whose impact on Buffalo during an odd season was well-understated.

In case you missed it, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported last week that Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams was among the “more active” GMs in the league thus far. Friedman said Adams is making it clear around the NHL that he is looking to add, not subtract, from the current Sabres roster.

Related: Report: Sabres GM Has Been “Active” in Trade Market

The obvious target is a top-six forward, which was a need over the offseason that wasn’t addressed. The heightened urgency to find one comes with the slow starts to the season from second-line staples Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn. Ideally, a left winger complementing their skills could help the duo not only get back on track but also become one of the better second lines in the league.

Taylor Hall Availability

That’s where Taylor Hall comes in. Hall is in the last year of his $6 million average annual value contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks are projected to be one of the league’s bottom feeders again and currently sit 11th in the Western Conference out of 16 teams.

Hall can somewhat dictate where he goes should a trade arise, with a modified 10-team no-trade clause. It’s always possible the Sabres are on that list, but it’s important to remember that Adams and the organization did right by him by sending him to a preferred destination in Boston during the 2021 trade deadline.

The prorated $6 million cap hit would fit within the current Sabres salary cap constraints, as the team has $7,316,734 in cap space per PuckPedia.

Taylor Hall, Sabres Version

If you’re someone scoffing at the very mention of Hall’s name due to the failed previous stint with the Sabres, let me throw some data at you. Before his trade, there were 14 Sabres that Hall shared more than 60 minutes of ice time with in the COVID-shortened 2020-2021 season. All 14 had improved Corsi-for percentages when on the ice with Hall.

The Sabres had more shot attempts when each of these 14 players was on the ice with Hall than without him. In most cases, it was a drastic improvement. Cozens, the one player looking for an improvement on his left wing, saw an on-ice increase of nearly four shot attempts per 60 minutes with Hall, and a decrease of over four shot attempts-against per 60 with him per Evolving-Hockey.

Shot quality held a similar result as well, as 13 of the 14 Sabres saw their on-ice expected goals-for percentages increase when playing with Hall. Cozens personally improved 4.41% in that department.

In other words, Hall boosted the play of his most common teammates. That includes the likes of eventual Stanley Cup champions Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Brandon Montour, as well as current Sabres Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and Henri Jokiharju.

More Sabres: Sabres Depth Chart Update

Taylor Hall, Current Version

Of course, Taylor Hall is now 32 years old. The 2020-2021 season was four years ago, and he is coming off of shoulder surgery that ended last season for him before it could really get started.

Hall was brought into Chicago to play with and mentor young superstar Connor Bedard in a union of former first-overall draft picks. Since missing the majority of the 2023-2024 season, other players, such as Philipp Kurashev and Nick Foligno, have formed chemistry with the young center instead.

The Blackhawks also added left-shot forwards Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Ilya Mikheyev over the offseason. This leaves Hall in a clear position to be moved out of Chicago at some point this season.

Hall has two goals and six points in 13 games for the Blackhawks to start the season, averaging 15 minutes of ice time per game.

Hall’s Comps

Six points in 13 games is a bit of a slow start, but looking into Hall’s attributes there’s a lot more to offer. He’s in the 93rd percentile in shot rates, 80th percentile in defense, and 86th percentile in blocked shots, which is a bit of a new element to his game.

He’s also shooting at only 6.5% on the season, although he’s an above-10% shooter in his career. There is bound to be some shooting luck regression there, boosting the goal totals. For example, Hall was only shooting at 2.3% with the Sabres but immediately spiked to 16.7% after the trade to Boston that season.

Also notable is his powerplay impacts, which rank in the 79th percentile once isolating his play with the man advantage from his teammates. The Sabres powerplay needs a boost any way it can find it, and Hall brings a different dynamic as a left-shot.

Looking at his early-season comparisons, the names Mathew Barzal, Connor Zary, Jaden Schwartz, Cole Perfetti, and Owen Tippett are high-end skill guys that would be welcomed in any top-six. Hall drawing similarities to those players off of shoulder surgery at age 32 should tell you that he still has plenty of game left in him.

Sabres Trade

The cost of 80% of a season of Taylor Hall is uncertain, as is how soon the Blackhawks will be willing to cut him loose. As we saw in the Prospects Challenge and training camp, the Sabres have plenty of pro-ready prospects who could be swung into a deal.

The Sabres also have 10 selections in next summer’s draft, 21 unsigned draft picks, and only six contracts currently available. They will have to package futures for NHL talent, so the trade chips are there.

Whether Adams wants to dip back into the Taylor Hall well, the Sabres will have to find someone like him soon if they want to give themselves the best chance of making the playoffs this season. Hall brings the talent, experience, and perhaps a little bit of that “it’s so crazy it might work” kind of insanity to a Sabres trade that can get them there.