Moving on with our Boston Bruins 2021 Player Grades series, we analyze the short time Taylor Hall has spent with the B’s…. so far.
Don Sweeney finally did it. He finally got long-time Boston center David Krejci a legitimate goal-scoring threat in Taylor Hall at this year’s trade deadline. To make it even better, because of Hall’s no-movement clause, Sweeney was able to absolutely fleece the Buffalo Sabres and get Hall and Curtis Lazar for just a 2021 second-round pick and winger Anders Bjork.
I’m not going to lie, I was a bit skeptical about the trade at first. Hall struggled with the Sabres this season, scoring just two goals and 19 points in 37 games along with being a -21. He was unable to score with superstar center Jack Eichel (who also struggled and ultimately missed most of the season because of a neck injury), and other Buffalo players that were having good seasons such as Sam Reinhart.
But, I guess it was a self-confidence or motivational issue because Hall looked like a completely different player once he joined the Black and Gold.
Taylor Hall fixed the Bruins secondary scoring issues.
With the addition of Taylor Hall, the B’s looked like a completely different team. They were finally able to roll out four effective lines (well three; the fourth line was still an issue after two games) and didn’t have to rely on the first line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak to score every big and clutch goal.
Hall’s presence basically brought back Krejci from the dead. Before Hall arrived, Krejci had scored just two goals in 35 games. With Hall on his left, Krejci would score six goals in the remaining 16 games.
With the second line of Krejci, Hall, and Craig Smith playing at such a high level, it was finally seen as a threat and would even take the better matchups against the opposition’s top defensive pairing and forward line. This, in turn, allowed the first line to have an easier game and dominate.
In other words, the Bruins finally had a legitimate one-two punch in their first and second lines with the additional of Hall to the team.
Hall would finish the regular season with the B’s with eight goals and 14 points in 16 games. Not only was he much improved offensively, he played great defense as he was also a +15 in this time.
Overall, Hall was exactly what the B’s need to fix their secondary scoring woes. Because of his acquisition, not only was Krejci revitalized, the whole team was as well. Hopefully the Bruins can get an extension done with Hall this offseason.
Grade: A