Sports
NHL Free Agency 2020: Latest Buzz on Taylor Hall, Ryan Reaves, Golden Knights
Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesLike every NHL offseason, all 31 of the league’s teams will have important decisions to make this summer regarding how they construct their roster for next season. And a crucial time for that to happen will be at the start of the free-agency period.Will Taylor Hall return to the Coyotes for the 2020-21…
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Like every NHL offseason, all 31 of the league's teams will have important decisions to make this summer regarding how they construct their roster for next season. And a crucial time for that to happen will be at the start of the free-agency period.
Will Taylor Hall return to the Coyotes for the 2020-21 campaign, or will he again be changing teams?
The Vegas Golden Knights have numerous players about to hit the free-agent market. Who will they bring back and who will they be cutting ties with before next season?
With the NHL currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, let's think ahead to the offseason and take a look at the latest buzz on these impending free-agency questions.
Hall, Coyotes don't appear close to extension
After getting traded from the Devils to the Coyotes in December, Taylor Hall continued to play at a high level and was a top scoring threat for Arizona. However, his time there may not go past the 35 games he played for the Coyotes this season.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Taylor Hall's agent, Darren Ferris, said the Coyotes have not approached him about a possible extension for Hall since the NHL was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March. Hall is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and if the league doesn't resume its season, the 28-year-old left winger may have played his final game for Arizona.
Perhaps the situation could change before the free-agency period begins and Hall could end up staying with the Coyotes, but it doesn't appear things are progressing that way at this point. In 35 games for Arizona, Hall had 10 goals and 17 assists to go with the six goals and nine assists he had for 30 games in New Jersey to open the season.
If Hall becomes a free agent, there should surely be plenty of teams interested. He's a former All-Star and Hart Trophy winner who still has plenty of years ahead of him. Any team that adds him would get a boost to one of its top lines.
Reaves likely to return to Vegas next season?
David Becker/Associated Press
Ryan Reaves was traded from the Penguins to the Golden Knights during the 2017-18 season. The last two seasons, Reaves has had the best years of his career and been a key contributor for Vegas as part of its fourth line.
That might not change anytime soon as The Athletic's Jesse Granger thinks the Golden Knights will bring back Reaves, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Granger wrote that he expects Reaves' salary to dip below $2 million per season but that the 33-year-old right winger will return for one or two more seasons in Vegas.
In 2018-19, Reaves had nine goals and 11 assists in 80 games in his first full season with the Golden Knights. This season, he had played in all 71 of their games while tallying eight goals and seven assists. He also averaged more than 10 minutes of ice time per game each of the last two seasons for the first time in his career.
Reaves won't become a top player in the league in these late years of his career, but he's proven to be a valuable player for the Golden Knights, which will likely continue should he return for the 2020-21 season.
What other decisions will Golden Knights make this offseason?
Reaves isn't the only Vegas player who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The Golden Knights will also have decisions to make on goaltender Robin Lehner, center Tomas Nosek and defensemen Jonathon Merrill and Deryk Engelland.
While Granger thinks Reaves will return to Vegas, his predictions for these other players aren't as certain. Granger wrote that financial decisions could lead to Lehner and Merrill not returning, while he also thinks the team could move on from Nosek.
Granger also suggested that Engelland, who is 38, could be nearing the end of his playing days and could move into a new role with the Golden Knights in a non-playing capacity. That wouldn't be a surprising decision as Engelland had six points, tied for a career low, in 49 games this season.
With this crop of players potentially hitting the free-agent market, the Golden Knights will have some decisions to make leading up to the offseason and potentially then have some holes to fill before next season.
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