We know Taylor Hall wanted to be a Bruin. We know he’s loved his time in Boston so far and would like to stay beyond this season if things work out contract-wise.
Based on comments made by both Hall and Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams after the April 12 trade that sent him from Buffalo to Boston, it seemed that Hall had used his no-movement clause to force his way to the Bruins.
In his introductory press conference with Boston media, Hall said, “Definitely the no-move really helped me become a Bruin.”
Speaking to Buffalo media, Adams said it was “fair to say” he was limited to negotiating with the Bruins when it came to trading Hall.
“It got to a point where Taylor felt that Boston was the team that he wanted to go to, so we focused our attention there,” Adams said.
But in a new feature story from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, Hall clarifies that it wasn’t necessarily Bruins or bust all along, even if that’s eventually where it ended up. He says there were indeed other teams he would have gone to, although he doesn’t name them.
“Leading up to the deadline, there were a couple teams that were interested, I'm not going to say who they were, but if it would have worked out, I would have gone there,” Hall told ESPN. “I wasn't just holding out for Boston. I was eager to join a playoff team. I was eager to join somewhere that had good culture, and where winning was sustainable. Because I was looking for somewhere I could re-sign, not just the 20 games to end the season.
“I'm obviously thrilled it worked out with Boston, but if there were other places that would have come in sooner, I probably would've bit the bullet and done that.”
The idea of Hall angling his way towards Boston led to some comparisons to the NBA, where players have had more power than general managers in creating so-called “super teams” for years now, but Hall said he doesn’t think what he did is quite the same and that he doesn’t really see the NHL going in that direction.
“I don't think it will get to the level of NBA -- I don't think it will get anywhere close,” Hall said. “It's just not something I would envision an NHL player doing, having that kind of influence. NBA players have a lot of leverage over general managers and owners in the NBA, which is great for them. … Hockey players, we just haven't done that and I don't know if it will ever be in our DNA to think like that.”
You can read the full ESPN feature here. It also includes some good quotes from Hall on what he learned at each of his previous four NHL stops -- Edmonton, New Jersey, Arizona and Buffalo -- before arriving in Boston.