Devils hold Hall out vs. Avalanche as precaution

The New Jersey Devils are withholding Taylor Hall from the lineup on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche for precautionary reasons, the team announced just before the opening faceoff.

The Devils had nothing to report on a potential trade, a club spokesman told reporters, including The Athletic's Corey Masisak.

However, there's been some traction in trade talks, so it's not worth it for the club to risk playing the 28-year-old at the moment, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Hall took part in the pregame warmup, according to The Record's Abbey Mastracco.

Devils general manager Ray Shero reportedly began listening to teams interested in acquiring the star forward recently, and the Avalanche are the perceived favorites to land him.

The 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner is a pending unrestricted free agent, and he's in the final campaign of the seven-year, $42-million pact he inked with the Edmonton Oilers in 2012. Edmonton traded him to the Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson in 2016.

Hall entered Friday's game leading New Jersey with 25 points in 30 games.