According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, Ken Holland and the @Edmonton Oilers were one of the last teams in on acquiring @Taylor Hall from the @New Jersey Devils, until GM Ray Shero ultimately decided to pull the trigger on the trade with the @Arizona Coyotes.
A look at the teams that inquired on Taylor Hall, some more than others, why New Jersey traded him now, plus more in my Tuesday column:https://t.co/v54Ys30Hou
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 17, 2019
The column is, of course as it’s an Athletic piece, behind a paywall. But in short, after reaching out around the league, LeBrun believes that the Oilers were one of the eight teams that were initially seriously involved in trading for the left winger, and likely were one of the last three or four teams still negotiating with Shero and the Devils until the deal was ultimately made with the Chayka and the Coyotes.
According to LeBrun, the ask from Shero started with a high-end prospect, a first round pick, and a conditional pick, with the main targets for Shero being first @Philip Broberg and then @Evan Bouchard, neither of which Holland was apparently willing to deal, and was apparently even wary of parting with an unprotected first-round pick.
However, Holland remained in the trade conversation over the weekend, with other prospects being offered– LeBrun doesn’t mention who these players might’ve been, so that remains pure speculation, but the latest call-up for @Caleb Jones has been rumoured to be a “showcase” for other teams– hoping that the price would drop for Shero as other teams dropped out.
In the end, the Devils got what they wanted from the Coyotes– a first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, a 2021 conditional third-round pick,* defensive prospect Kevin Bahl, forward prospect Nick Merkley, and Nate Schnarr– and Taylor Hall is now on the roster of one of the Oilers’ divisional rivals for the remainder of the season, particularly one that they’re in a battle with to claim the Pacific division throne, and earn a strong playoff position.
Hopefully Holland is working the phones with another team else, because even after his team snapped their losing streak against the @Dallas Stars last night, goal-scoring is still coming at a premium and all of a sudden, the competition just got a whole lot tougher and the Oilers roster needs some help.
Now we wait.
*upgrades to a second-rounder in 2021 if either Hall re-signing or the Coyotes win a playoff round in 2020, and upgrades to a first-rounder 2021 if both Hall re-signs and the Coyotes win a playoff round in 2020.
