Dreger: Hall “wants to stay” in Boston, talks ongoing

By most accounts, Taylor Hall’s return to the Boston Bruins has had “pending” stamped on it since the season ended.

The Bruins want him back. Hall wants to return. Good times.

However, there’s always a chance for a wrench to get thrown in those plans, whether it’s in the form of the team not wanting to commit to too much term or the player asking for more money.

In Hall’s case, things appear to be trending towards a return to Boston, but there’s still work to be done, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

In tonight’s Insider Trading segment, Dreger shared his insight on the Bruins/Hall situation:

“Taylor Hall wants to stay with the Bruins. He feels like he’s a real good fit there. He wants to give them a chance to get a deal done until July 28, when the free agent window opens entirely.”

Dreger ended that segment with what should be good news to Bruins fans:

“Work to be done, but there’s at least some optimism between the two sides.”

Overall, it seems like things are progressing pretty much as most of us expected: the sides would have conversations, try to get the framework of a deal in place, then circle back Thursday morning (after the Expansion Draft ends).

(Side note: The TSN crew also discusses the Wild having issues signing Kirill Kaprizov in the segment linked above. After the season he had, can you imagine what happens in Minnesota if he skips town for the KHL due to cheapness from the Wild? Bedlam.)

Frankly, we all knew the B’s wouldn’t be announcing any kind of Hall deal prior to the Expansion Draft, as all that would do is complicate their Seattle plans.

Still, it’s good to hear from people in the know that both sides appear to be in a decent place; of course, as mentioned above, things could always change.

Hall was a great fit during his brief stint with the Bruins. Here’s to hoping that once Seattle’s done raiding rosters, that stint continues for several more years.