Taylor Hall won't take one-year deal despite pandemic

Pending unrestricted free agent Taylor Hall was expected to cash in big time on a new deal this offseason.

Before the league was forced to be suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL salary cap was expected to increase from somewhere between $84 million and $88.2 million for next season. However, due to the league pause, the cap is likely to stay flat at the current $81.5 million.

Despite it staying flat, don't expect Hall to take a short-term deal in hopes of the cap going up for the 2021-22 season. Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet thinks there is no chance of that happening.

“You're talking about a guy who, before this, was going to make a ton of money,” Tocchet said on the “ESPN On Ice” podcast, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. “With this whole pandemic, like he told me, he doesn't want to go through another year trying to play on a one-year contract. He wants to get settled somewhere. So, he's got a lot of different options that he's gotta weigh.”

Though Hall will have plenty of options to pick from whenever free agency begins, Tocchet believes the Coyotes have as good of a chance as any to sign the former Hart Trophy winner.

“I'm not saying he's going to sign here, but I definitely think we're a team he's very interested in staying with,” said Tocchet.

It's hard to blame Hall on wanting to settle down long term in a community. The 28-year-old has now played on three teams to this point, which is a fair amount for a star caliber player like himself. Regardless of what happens with the cap situation for next season, he will still command a high paying contract. This season, he put up 52 points in 65 games mixed between the New Jersey Devils and the Coyotes. That is a bit of a down year for him, but a big part of that could be due to the uncertainty in his head of where he was going to end up next season.

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