This season has been a challenging one, to say the least for the Buffalo Sabres. We’re not even halfway through the season and they’re out of the playoff race. They’ve dealt with scoring droughts to key players, injuries, and inconsistent performances throughout the season.

Taylor Hall is one of the players I mentioned that is going through a season-long scoring drought. He only has two goals in 25 games. That’s not the type of scoring production the Sabres were hoping for when they signed him to a one-year deal for $8 million in the offseason.

Poor Finishing

The frustrating part is that his inability to finish is overshadowing a strong season for the 29-year-old winger. Outside of his MVP season with the New Jersey Devils, Hall hasn’t been an elite finisher. Since the 2014-15 season, he has shot 8.4% outside of the 2017-18 campaign with the Devils when he shot 14.03%.

This season is at another level with shooting luck even if you take into account his below-average finishing talent. He’s shooting 3% in all situations through 25 games. According to Moneypuck, he’s shooting 4.5 goals below expected at 5 on 5 and 5.5 goals below expected in all situations. Both of those are the highest (lowest?) in the league among players to play at least 100 minutes.

He’s on pace for 52 points per 82 games, but only on pace for seven goals per 82. The 52 point pace isn’t bad for a team that is the worst at putting the puck in the net in the league, but not what you’d expect from an $8 million forward.

Driving Play

Let’s set the goals and points aside because that’s what people continue to get caught up in when evaluating Hall’s season. The shame is that he’s having one of the best offensive impact years of his career.

You can see above in Micah McCurdy’s isolated impact chart how good he has been at driving offense for the Sabres. We also get a look at how atrocious his finishing impact is.

The initial reaction seeing this may have you thinking that playing with Jack Eichel is helping Hall in this regard. That’s actually not the case. You’ll see below in one of Micah’s shot rate charts from this season that he’s generating offense when he’s on the ice and Eichel is not.

Corey Sznajder’s tracking data also gives us a glimpse at how he’s contributing to the offense without putting the puck in the net. In Corey’s data below, you’ll he’s one of the best forwards in the league in high-danger passing per 60 minutes.

This again gets back to how the poor finishing ability of the team overall is impacting his production levels and why need to look beyond just points to fully evaluate a player’s performance.

It’s a shame that Dylan Cozens was injured the other night because he found some chemistry with Hall. The goal below is an example of that and also showcases Hall’s high-danger passing creating results.

Transition and Forechecking

An area of the game that Hall has been important is creating offense off the rush. The Sabres overall are poor by league standards, but he’s one of the few on the team that can do it.

We see above in Corey’s data that he’s one of the better forwards in the league generating scoring chances off of controlled entries. Scoring on the rush gives you better odds of scoring than facing a set defensive structure. Plays like the one below from Hall are what the Sabres need to generate more of if they want to consistently put the puck in the net.

Another underrated part of his game is his ability to pressure the opponent on the forecheck. He’s not the biggest player, but he excels at puck recovery. He knows how to attack the defender to create a turnover or win-back possession. His most recent goal is a perfect example of this. He causes a turnover and then drives the net to put the rebound into the net.

Below is another example of his forechecking resulting in a goal. He wins the battle on the wall for the puck to get it to Cozens and he finds Reinhart in front.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Hall has had a strong season that is being overshadowed by goal-scoring numbers. A lot of people are going to sleep on him because of the production levels. The benefit of the low production is that the Sabres may get a good deal if they do decide to re-sign him. Reports have indicated that both sides are interested in an extension.

The Sabres can’t commit to him long-term with him turning 30-years-old next season. However, a three-year deal with a cap hit of around $6 million could work. Especially if they utilize him as a winger that can play with Cozens for the next few years as he gets comfortable in the NHL as a centerman.

Data via: Moneypuck, Hockeyviz.com, and Corey Sznajder

Photo Credit: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images