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Edmonton Oilers sign Hall to 7 year extension
By
DEREK VAN DIEST, QMI Agency
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  Edmonton Oilers' Taylor Hall speaks to the media at Rexall Place, Monday April 9, 2012, after the Oilers finished their 2011/2012 season. (QMI Agency/DAVID BLOOM)
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The Edmonton Oilers have locked up one cornerstone and it's expected they'll soon tie up another.
On Tuesday the team announced they had signed winger Taylor Hall to a seven-year, $42-million extension.
The deal will pay the former first overall pick $6-million per season.
"This is something that I've been thinking about for a long time, probably since the season ended," said Hall. "To get it done in a fashion that is really comfortable for both sides, I think that was very important." Hall will be heading in the final year of his entry-level contract this season and was due to become a restricted free agent at its conclusion.
It's expected Jordan Eberle, who is also heading into the final year of his entry-level deal, will also sign an extension soon.
"We've had some pretty good dialog throughout this whole thing," Hall said. "I think his should be done pretty soon, I can say though.
He wants to be here as do I and I think it's only a matter of time before it all settles and we can just go play hockey."
Regardless, Hall, 20, is happy with the commitment the team has made to him.
"When they said seven years, I didn't blink," Hall said. "I'm comfortable being here for that long. Hopefully by that time, we're a perennial threat, that's my goal and that's my mind set when I signed the deal."
derek.vandiest@sunmedia.ca
Twitter.com/SUNdvandiest
