Former NHLer calls Taylor Hall 'one of the most selfish players in the league'
When the Buffalo Sabres announced that Taylor Hall would not play Tuesday night in order to keep him healthy for a potential trade, it didn't really come as a surprise. The one-year, $8 million experiment between Hall and Buffalo didn't work. Hall will sit for the next six days if that what it takes to get a deal done by the deadline of April 12th.
What did come as a bit of a surprise was the reaction from a former NHLer after hearing that Hall would sit out while waiting for a trade.
"Best decision all here (sic). He's one of the most selfish players in the league," said Brent Sopel.
He was commenting on a post on the official Spittin' Chiclets Instagram account which noted that Hall would be sitting Tuesday night. When questioned about how he would know this since he never played with Hall, Sopel had this response.
"Don't need to play with him to know that," said Sopel. "I know lots of guys."
That appeared to be an indication that Sopel has spoken with either current or former teammates of Hall. Sopel played 659 regular season games in the NHL before moving on to the KHL and ending his pro career with a stint in the AHL.
To be fair to Hall, if there are teammates that don't particularly like him, they haven't made that public. At the same time, there has to be a reason why Hall seems to be bouncing around from team to team despite some obvious talent. Is he simply in it for the biggest pay cheque possible or is it that he hasn't found the right fit yet?
When Hall was signed to his most recent contract by Buffalo, there was talk on both sides that if things worked out, the short-term deal would likely turn into a long-term one. That won't be happening and we can expect to see Hall with a his fourth team in less than two seasons.
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YESTERDAY
APRIL 30, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Quinn Hughes | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Leo Carlsson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Chris Kreider | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Troy Terry | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Matthew Boldy | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mavrik Bourque | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Wyatt Johnston | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Connor Murphy | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vasily Podkolzin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Poehling | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Michael Bunting | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Carlson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Colton Dach | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Matt Duchene | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brock Faber | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Marcus Foligno | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kasperi Kapanen | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||