Bruins hope to keep Hall with new contract

Taylor Hall could stay with the Boston Bruins, who said Wednesday they would like to re-sign the pending unrestricted free agent forward.

"As far as Taylor goes, we're going to continue to see how things go with the playoffs here," Bruins president Cam Neely said Wednesday. "I think we'd like to try and get something done, but that remains to be seen. But that's our hope."
The 29-year-old said he would like to remain with Boston. The Bruins were a team Hall considered signing with as a free agent this offseason and he used his no-move clause to allow a trade Boston at the deadline.
"It's probably been some of the most enjoyable hockey I've played in my career," Hall said Tuesday. "I really hope there's more to come."

Hall was was acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on April 12 with forward Curtis Lazar for forward Anders Bjork and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Sabres on Oct. 11.
Hall scored 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 16 games with the Bruins after scoring 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 37 games with the Sabres.
Boston (33-16-7) will be the No. 3 seed in the eight-team MassMutual East Division and open the Stanley Cup First Round at the No. 2 Washington Capitals on Saturday (7:15 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
Hall found chemistry with center David Krejci, who also can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Krejci is in the final year of a six-year, $43.5 million contract he signed Sept. 7, 2014. His $7.25 million average annual value was the highest on the Bruins before Hall arrived.
Krejci has said he is not planning to retire after this season. The 35-year-old scored 44 points (eight goals, 36 assists) in 51 games, including 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 16 games since Hall was acquired.
"We're always evaluating, especially players that are in the last year of their deal or going into the last year of their deal," Neely said. "Krejci certainly has elevated his game, there's no question. There's no surprise that adding Taylor Hall to his wing certainly gave him some life. Those two have meshed extremely well together. But we'll continue to evaluate as the playoffs go along and then reassess once the season's over."
Krejci has scored 730 points (215 goals, 515 assists) in 962 games in 15 seasons with the Bruins.