Taylor Hall not interested in signing long-term deal with Devils

As they hone in on the No. 1 pick later this month, the New Jersey Devils may have to prepare for a future without Taylor Hall.

The New Jersey Devils will have the No. 1 pick in the draft later this month, so the future looks pretty bright. But according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, 2018 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall is not interested in signing a contract extension right now.

Led by Hall and his 93 points (39 goals, 54 assists), the Devils rose up and made the playoff in 2017-18. But a knee injury limited him to just 33 games this past season, as he did not play after Dec. 23, and New Jersey tumbled to 72 points and last in the Metropolitan Division.

Hall has one year left on his contract, with a $6 million cap hit. Pagnotta further reported Devils general manager Ray Shero has had open dialogue with Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, but a contract extension is not in the cards.

Via text message, Ferris briefly responded to The Fourth Period without specific comment to an inquiry on Hall’s contract situation.

“Ray and I communicate regularly and to respect the process I am unable to provide you with any details,”

Things can and do change, but the Devils may be forced to move toward trading Hall this offseason if extension talks don’t get any traction. The Ottawa Senators were in a similar predicament with with looming contract year defenseman Erik Karlsson a year ago, and they finally traded him to the San Jose Sharks in September.

The Devils are projected to have the second-most cap space in the league ($35.6 million, according to CapFriendly), so they will be able to make some notable additions if they wish to. A top-line veteran center looks like a particular order, which would then push 2017 No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier down to the second line and improve the team’s offensive depth. Such an addition would also, presumably, change Hall’s current stance on a long-term deal in New Jersey.