The Arizona Coyotes are running out of time to re-sign Taylor Hall

A new report from Taylor Hall’s agent Darren Ferris has stated that the Arizona Coyotes have yet to reach out to the forward about a contract extension.

Though the NHL may be on a pause due to the coronavirus, the inner machinations of the league are still in play behind the scenes. With the NHL’s 2020 free agency period likely to be in flux this summer given the season pause impacting the season calendar, it’s hard to say when we’ll see the signing of free agents this year given the league’s shifting timeline.

For players such as Taylor Hall, the uncertainty around the free agent market this season may not be a good thing for the Arizona Coyotes forward. Over the weekend, in an interview with SiriusXM’s Hot Stove, Hall’s agent Darren Ferris spoke on pursuers around Hall and if the Coyotes were apart of it with a potential contract extension.

In short: “No.”

While it’s probably not time to hit the panic button yet if you’re a Coyotes fan, the optics of having Hall’s agent come out and say the team has not reached out to his client isn’t great. Of course, Ferris no doubt has his own agenda to push for Hall to get him the most money he can this offseason, so we’re likely not seeing all sides of this story.

This season, Hall was the biggest trade prize in the months before the deadline. In December, the Coyotes snagged the 28-year-old forward in the last year of his seven-year, $42 million deal that averages out to a cap hit of $6 million a season. There’s no doubt Hall wants more money as a former No. 1 overall pick, and if he can’t get it from the Coyotes he’ll likely go elsewhere in free agency.

Will the Coyotes re-sign Taylor Hall?

Hall has been a mixed bag for the Coyotes this season, putting up 27 points in 35 games in Arizona after his trade from New Jersey. Since February, but before the season went on pause, Hall had put up 11 points in his last 17 games and was still playing below fan expectations.

The Coyotes, however, were just four points out of a wild card spot — with a legitimate chance of making it in — before the season was put on pause. Hall likely was set to be a major factor in the Coyotes’ playoff push, but with the season pause no one knows if we’ll get a regular season at all when play is allowed to resume.

Hall, for what it’s worth, is not worried about his upcoming free agent status, according to a late March interview with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

"It is definitely a weird time to possibly be a free agent, but there’s so much uncertainty throughout the league… throughout the world, really. So I’m not as worried about free agency as I am about getting back to hockey and hoping that we can somehow get into the playoffs. I think everyone just wants some normalcy back in their lives."

Also in late March, Coyotes general manager John Chayka sat down with The Athletic’s Craig Morgan for a Q&A, which did not dispute anything Ferris said in his recent interview.

“I have shared some calls with Darren. I think we’re both just trying to get our head wrapped around this scenario here and how it affects the Coyotes; how it potentially affects Taylor. It’s unique. I don’t have an answer for you other than to say, no, we haven’t exchanged numbers or anything like that.”

Given the pandemic situation, it’s fair that talks have stalled as bigger matters take precedence. However, the Coyotes will have major decisions to make on the fate of Hall, who may have already played his last game in Arizona.

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