One Man’s trash
… Is still trash if said trash continues to be a drastically underachieving ass hat.
Time will tell, but all immediate signs point to a motivated Taylor Hall on his lonely drive across the desolate tundra of upstate NY. If you never taken that drive, don’t.
I first made that journey on a boys trip to Cortland in the dead of winter at the dead of night. After a dozen road sodas and two times through the bootleg reggae CD of one, Mek Dem Know, we were all paralyzed by the sheer nothingness. The lights of Utica looked like Vegas from the space shuttle after a few hours. That’s all to say, when Taylor hits that shit heap of a highway, The Mass Pike, he should find that his turn tables have turned again. Welcome to Boston.
Don Sweeney picked up the 2018 MVP and his 3rd line buddy, Curtis Lazar for a song. It’s no secret that there is risk with Taylor Hall from his abysmal play this season to the character issues that jettisoned him from NJ and followed him to Arizona. If Hall can replicate a decent portion of his best season alongside Krejci, the Bruins may have that secondary scoring punch they have been devoid of all season. Is it enough for a cup run? Meh.
It will be interesting to see what Cassidy does with the lines. Hall most known for his Hart Trophy season where he burried 39 goals isn’t necessarily that type of high end scorer. To be fair his last few seasons have been marred by the previously mention shitty attitude, but Taylor projects more as a play maker. How does that gel with the ultimate creator in Krejci? Do they keep Pasta on the second line to clean up open looks Krejci and Hall find him? Craig Smith as come alive recently. I would think either of the top two lines should continue to elevate his play. Maybe Krejci can tap into Hall’s one time high end goal scoring ability. They have certainly given themselves some options, again it really all depends on how big of a turd Taylor Hall is or is not in the locker room.
I think the win here is you didn’t sacrifice a big part of your future and the upside is pretty high. In addition to the Buffalo trade, Mike Reilly is coming over from Ottawa. He will fill in immediately as a top 4 pairing with offensive ability. You hopefully bolster a questionable D core while giving yourself a shot a production moving forward over the next few seasons.
Hall has already expressed interest in an extension and let’s not forget his ex Sabres teammate in the caravan from Buffalo once ate a hamburger directly off the ice after a win in Boston. That’s the “lead by example” kind of play this team needs on the lower lines. Take note Coyle.