By Jordan Long
NHL free agency started today. There haven’t been many top names moved yet. One who could land in Colorado is forward Tyler Hall. He is considering agreeing to a short-term deal with the club.
Hall started last season with the New Jersey Devils before being traded to Arizona on December 16th, 2019. The Colorado Avalanche considered Hall but didn’t pull the trigger on a deal. Hall played in 35 games for Arizona, scoring 10 goals and adding 17 assists for 27 points. The Coyotes made the postseason and advanced in the qualifying round but were knocked off in the 1st-round by the Colorado Avalanche. Hall didn’t play well in 9 playoff games with 2 goals and 4 assists.
Once the year was over, Hall was an unrestricted free agent . The Coyotes decided he wasn’t worth negotiating a new contract with. Hall wants to play with a team that is a contender for the Stanley Cup. He has yet to make it past the 1st-round. Colorado fits as a team that has proven to make a deep run, advancing to the 2nd-round the last two years only to be knocked off in game 7.
The Avalanche could always use more firepower on offense. They have Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, and one of the top players in all of the NHL, Nathan MacKinnon. They are the number 1 line. For secondary scoring, Colorado counts on Joonas Donskoi and Nazem Kadri. Adding Hall may help on the second line but he can always be put on the 1st line if Head Coach Jared Bednar needs to switch up his lines.
The problem with Hall is his contract. Hall was paid $6 million last season. He might want something more than that. The Avalanche have around $22 million in cap space. They don’t want to spend too much on Hall even if it is a 1 year deal . $6 million might be enough but after that, Hall is too expensive. The Avalanche will do what is best for the club in free agency. If they feel Hall is the answer to helping them go past the 2nd-round then they should sign him.
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