Boston Bruins: 3 players with the most to prove in the 2021-22 NHL season

No. 2: Taylor Hall

The Bruins made one of the bigger Trade Deadline splashes in their recent memory by going out and landing Taylor Hall last season. The former league MVP was laboring through a horrid season with the Buffalo Sabres, but he quickly turned things around once he landed in Boston. His two goal output over 37 games with the Sabres was matched in just three games with the Bruins.

Hall’s start to his tenure in Boston was good, but did leave a bit to be desired. The second line struggled at times to all stay on the same page throughout the playoffs, and their lack of production really hurt the team. With Krejci now out of the picture, the second line is Hall’s to run.

After signing a four year deal this past offseason to stay in Boston, the B’s are going to be leaning on the former MVP to be the main source of production from the second line. Whether or not Hall can do that remains to be seen. He nearly managed a point per game in the regular season for Boston after managing 14 in 16 games, but only managed five points in 11 postseason contests.

Hall won’t be alone, considering he will have Craig Smith back in the fold, and the talented Charlie Coyle joining them on the second line. But when the top line is struggling, all eyes are going to fall on Hall, and it will be up to him to ease the struggles of the Perfection Line from time to time.

Whether or not Hall is up for the task remains to be seen. He showed glimpses of his talent at times throughout the postseason, but the second line never seemed to click, and it killed Boston in the end. Many detractors have claimed Hall is washed, and that his MVP season was a fluke. Now that he has found himself with more responsibility on the second line, Hall has a chance to prove his haters wrong, and whether or not he succeeds could be key to the Bruins overall success.