Taylor Hall Traded to Boston Bruins for Anders Bjork and One Draft Pick

Early on Monday, April 12th Don Sweeney swung his second and more important trade in acquiring Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar. Hall, the biggest name in the trade should be the spark plug to fix the Bruins depth scoring issue. The shocking trade should get Bruins players and fans excited for their push to playoffs and hopefully a deep playoff run.

How Do the Boston Bruins Benefit From the Taylor Hall Trade?

The acquisition of Taylor Hall just turned the Bruins from a playoff contender into a serious Stanley cup tender. Since entering the NHL in 2010 Hall has been a feared scorer. In his 11 season NHL career, Taylor Hall has played 664 games and scored 220 goals to go along with his 362 assists. Some people might think Taylor Hall is washed up as over the past few seasons he has not been nearly as effective as he was when he played for the Edmonton Oilers and early on his New Jersey Devils tenure. Don’t fret Bruins fans because Taylor Hall has been playing with some players that are not nearly the caliber of players he will be playing beside in Beantown. 

Taylor Hall will most likely find himself playing on the second line with David Krejci and Jake Debrusk which is a huge upgrade over the players he had to play with on the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres. When Hall makes his highly anticipated Bruins debut on Tuesday, April 13th against the Sabres he will be wearing number 71. Now that Krejci has some adequate wingers for the first time since the 2013 Stanley Cup year the Bruins top-six forward group looks amazing and poised for a deep and successful playoff run.

The second player that the Bruins acquired in the trade is Lazar. Lazar is the former first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators. Unfortunately, he never lived up to his potential and now he has found himself bouncing around the league. He has played stints with the Senators, Calgary Flames, Sabres, and now the Bruins. Lazar has played in 317 NHL games but he has only scored 25 goals and 45 assists.

Once Lazar recovers from his lower-body injury he will be a nice addition to the Bruin"s bottom six. Clearly, he will not light up the scoreboard but he will be a solid player on both sides of the ice as he is defensively responsible and sometimes can put the puck in the back of the net.

How Do the Buffalo Sabres Benefit From the Taylor Hall Trade?

Well, the positives that come from this trade for the Sabres are hard to find. The first positive is acquiring a second-round draft pick. A rebuilding team such as the Sabres needs as many draft picks as possible to try and successfully draft good players. The second-round pick has the possibility to eventually draft a decent player to the organization. 

The other asset the Sabres got in return for Taylor Hall is a 24-year-old forward by the name of Anders Bjork. A former star of the Notre Damn Fighting Irish, Bjork has turned into a pretty good NHL player during his time with the Bruins. In 138 career games in the NHL Bjork has scored 16 goals and 23 assists. For most of his time with the Bruins, he served as a member of the bottom six. If he is given more of a chance to play and use his skills in Buffalo then he may be able to increase his production and become a key part of the Sabres rebuild.

Final Thoughts on the Taylor Hall Trade

This trade is a home run from the Bruins" perspective. They acquire what they hope is the answer to fix their depth scoring issue without giving up any major pieces of their team. Hall should gel with Debrusk and Krejci to create one of if not the best second lines in the entire NHL. Lazar will also be an important depth player for Boston once he returns from injury. While it is sad to see Bjork leave Boston it is well worth it for the potential benefits Taylor Hall can bring.

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