The Boston Bruins have been without Taylor Hall since March 2, when he was placed on long-term injured reserve, and while he has been seen skating, head coach Jim Montgomery fought back against a TSN report that stated that Hall was being held out for salary cap reasons.
TSN Insider Darren Dreger said on a recent edition of “TSN Insider Trading” that Hall was being held out due to the Bruins not having the required cap space to reinstate him.
“We know, according to reports and video, that Hall has been skating with the Bruins for several days now. Sources say that he feels he is ready,” Dreger said. “The problem is the Bruins don’t have the cap space to activate Hall. Now the NHL playoffs are less than three weeks away, so it’s going to be interesting to see how the Bruins manage this situation or, if like the Tampa Bay Lightning a few years ago, they try and stretch it out until the start of the postseason so it’s something that I’m sure other clubs are paying attention to as well.”
After Boston’s 2-1 loss on Tuesday, Montgomery was asked about the report, and the Bruins head coach said that it was false.
“The only thing I can say is that I know he is not cleared. That’s what I know, so that report to me is false,” the head coach said.
While Boston has done just fine without Hall, they surely would like to have him back. In 58 games played, the winger has tallied 16 goals and 20 assists.
It will be interesting to see when exactly Hall does make his return. There is no doubt that Hall will be a part of the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup and will require some time to get up to game speed before the postseason. Boston has less than ten games left in the season, with an April 13 road game against the Montreal Canadians being the regular season finale.
Boston’s next appearance on the ice is on Thursday when the Columbus Blue Jackets hit the ice. Bruins fans will be hoping to see Hall on the ice come game time.
