Bruins win Taylor Hall sweepstakes, acquire forward from Sabres for Bjork, pick - CBC.ca

The banged-up Boston Bruins are getting a boost for their late-season playoff push by acquiring forward Taylor Hall in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres reached early Monday.

The Bruins also added checking line forward Curtis Lazar, who has missed the past six games with an upper body injury. Buffalo acquired fourth-year forward Anders Bjork and a second-round pick.

As part of the deal, the Sabres agreed to retain half of the remainder of Hall's one-year, $8 million US salary. The NHL's 2018 MVP was deemed expendable by last-place Buffalo, which is already re-tooling for the future beyond this season.

The Bruins have lost two straight following an 8-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Sunday. At 21-12-6, they hold the East Division's fourth and final playoff spot, and are four points ahead of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

The Sabres, by comparison, continue to be in sell-off mode with the team all but mathematically assured of matching the NHL playoff drought record of 10 seasons. Buffalo traded defenceman Brandon Montour to Florida on Saturday, and previously traded veteran centre Eric Staal to Montreal.

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The Sabres began sitting out Hall for precautionary reasons since Tuesday in anticipation of him being dealt.

Hall was the key to the trade because he was considered one of the few remaining impact forwards still on the market. Questions, however, have been raised as to whether his drop in production is the result of the 29-year-old having lost a step or because he's playing on a struggling Sabres team which is 29th in goals-per-game.

Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, was limited to two goals and 17 assists for 19 points in 37 games, and is in the midst of a 16-game goal drought. That's a considerable drop from his 2017-18 MVP season in New Jersey, where he posted career-bests with 39 goals and 93 points in 76 games.

Hall is on to his fourth team in two years. He was traded by New Jersey to Arizona last season, and then became a free agent after negotiations broke down with the Coyotes as a result of internal turmoil, which led Bill Armstrong taking over as general manager.

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2021-04-12 12:31:17Z
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