Yes, this isn’t a Buffalo Sabres blog, but the big news Sunday involved the reuniting of two former Edmonton Oilers: Taylor Hall and Ralph Krueger.
Taylor Hall made some huge and unexpected airwaves by inking a one-year, $8-million deal with the Sabres.
He’ll join a club that finished three-points out of the qualifying round in the Eastern Conference but would’ve otherwise been far from the playoffs.
Hall will slide onto the clubs top line playing with Jack Eichel and the pair will quickly form one of the top lines in the league.
The Sabres will undoubtedly be better with Hall on their roster but it begs the question: why the Sabres? He could’ve signed with any of the likes of the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators or even the New York Rangers — all clubs that fared much better than that of the Sabres.
But one thing is clear: there’s a connection between Hall and Krueger. It dates back to the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season when Krueger ran the Oilers bench and Hall had one of his most productive seasons in the league.
He scored at a 1.11 points per game pace as he potted 16 goals and 50 points in 45 games. Hall replicated that production the next year, but didn’t score over a point per game until his MVP season in 2017-18 with the Devils.
Krueger is clearly excited to have Hall on his team, and kudos to he and Sabres GM Kevyn Adams for convincing Taylor to sign in Buffalo. I know I’ll probably be tuning into more Sabres games just to see him play alongside Eichel. It should be must-watch TV.
And on top of that, I can’t wait to see Hall as a UFA after next season, too.
On Twitter: @zjlaing