Buffalo Trades Taylor Hall To Boston
As the trade deadline closed on Monday, April 12, the Buffalo Sabres kept themselves busy leading up to 3 pm ET. The day prior to the deadline, Buffalo made the move all of the NHL was waiting for. Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar were traded to the Boston Bruins for Anders Bjork and a second round pick in 2021.
Taylor Hall came to Buffalo prior to this season on a one year, eight million dollar deal. The Sabres agreed to retain half of Hall’s salary in the trade to Boston.
Hall has been long known as a top forward in the NHL, but severely under performed in his time with Buffalo. Hall had two goals and 19 points in 37 games played.
In addition to Hall, Curtis Lazar will no longer be a member of the Buffalo Sabres. This season with the Sabres, Lazar had five goals and nine points in 33 games played.
In return, the Sabres add Anders Bjork to their lineup. The 24 year old winger and former fifth round draft pick comes into Buffalo with five points in 30 games with Boston. Furthermore, Sabres Interim Head Coach Don Granato has a history with Bjork with the US National Development Team.
Brandon Montour Traded To Florida Panthers
In addition to Hall and Lazar, the Buffalo Sabres trade deadline moves also included defenseman Brandon Montour. Montour was sent to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a third round pick in the 2021 draft.
Montour came to Buffalo from Anaheim during the 2018-19 season. In that time, Montour tallied 42 points in 112 games and was a keep component to the Sabres defensive core.
Trade Deadline Summary
Less than an hour after the deadline closed, there is a lot to unpack as to why the Sabres made the moves they did. The biggest concern regarding the Hall trade is was the return worth what Buffalo was sending. In simple terms, yes it was.
Although Hall is still highly respected, he has had a less than stellar season to this point. On top of that, Hall is a free agent at the end of this year. If the Sabres would have decided to hold onto Hall for the rest of the season, they likely would have lost him for nothing.
As far as Curtis Lazar is concerned, he was a solid role player for the Buffalo Sabres. Even with Lazar fitting in well as a third or forth line forward, offensive production was not his strong suit.
In return, Anders Bjork is a young forward with remaining untapped potential. Bjork was apart of a Boston line up flooded with offensive talent that limited his role. In addition, the fact that he has a history with current Head Coach Don Granato means that Granato knows exactly what he is getting in a player like Bjork.
The Montour deal, similar to the Hall deal was very fair. Montour is also an unrestricted free agent after this season. In a similar situation as Taylor Hall, the Sabres were more than likely to lose Montour for nothing had they held onto him. Furthermore, the Sabres have plenty of current an upcoming NHL caliber defenseman to sift through without Montour.
The Buffalo Sabres next game is scheduled for Tuesday, April 13 against the Boston Bruins.
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