Top 10 Who Got Away: Taylor Hall

5 years ago

From the moment the trade that sent Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson was announced June 29, 2016, there wasn’t any doubt that Oilers’ GM Peter Chiarelli had made an over-payment in giving up what he did to get what he needed. The only question now, with the answer still to be determined, is how much of an overpayment the Hall-for-Larsson swap might turn out to be in five years or so. I’m leaning toward epic.

Hall, still only 26, is coming off a career-high 93-point season in his second year with the Devils. It’s a campaign that has Hall as a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP. Despite a difficult 2017-18 season, Larsson has been what he came to Edmonton billed as — a hard-nosed, top-four D-man who bangs bodies, blocks shots and takes care of his own end first. Larsson has been the kind of blueliner the Oilers needed and Chiarelli was willing to pay a premium for. That said, when the premium is giving up a MVP candidate, as is the case here, I hope New Jersey GM Ray Shero at least bought Chiarelli a box of chocolates and sent him flowers.

Taylor Hall

Left Wing — shoots L
Born Nov 14th, 1991 — Calgary, ALTA
Height 6.01 — Weight 205 [185 cm/93 kg]

Drafted by Edmonton Oilers

Round 1 #1 overall 2010 NHL Entry Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S%	ATOI	Awards
2010-11	19	EDM	65	22	20	42	-9	27	11.8	18:13	Calder-9
2011-12	20	EDM	61	27	26	53	-3	36	13.0	18:13
2012-13	21	EDM	45	16	34	50	5	33	10.4	18:37	AS-3
2013-14	22	EDM	75	27	53	80	-15	44	10.8	20:01	AS-4
2014-15	23	EDM	53	14	24	38	-1	40	8.9	19:13
2015-16	24	EDM	82	26	39	65	-4	54	9.1	19:12	AS-8
2016-17	25	NJD	72	20	33	53	-9	32	8.4	19:20
2017-18	26	NJD	76	39	54	93	14	34	14.0	19:09
6 yrs		EDM	381	132	196	328	-27	234	10.6	18:58
2 yrs		NJD	148	59	87	146	5	66	11.4	19:14
Career			529	191	283	474	-22	300	10.9	19:03

PLAYOFFS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TOI	ATOI
2017-18	26	NJD	5	2	4	6	-1	6	21	9.5	103	20:38
Career			5	2	4	6	-1	6	21	9.5	103	20:38

WITH THE OILERS

Hall was a polarizing figure in Edmonton, to be sure. The two-time Memorial Cup MVP with the Windsor Spitfires was the best player the Oilers had every year he was here until Connor McDavid arrived, but the team never made the playoffs or came close to winning anything — aside from the NHL draft lottery. That wasn’t Hall’s fault, but it most certainly became his problem as the Decade of Darkness unfolded and frustrated fans vented and rightfully demanded results. Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle weren’t enough to get it done. Something had to change.

In many ways, Hall paid for the ineptitude of an organization that just couldn’t get things right and put the proper pieces together during his time here. How many “culture” changes did we see in that span? Some critics labelled Hall as a me-first guy. Others insisted he’d have a problem playing with McDavid — if not out on the ice then in the dressing room and on the marquee as second-banana. After one season of overlap with McDavid — Hall led the Oilers with 65 points while McDavid was limited to 45 games with a broken collarbone — Chiarelli made the move to get Larsson.

DOWN THE ROAD

Feb 27, 2017; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils left wing Taylor Hall (9) reacts to being called for a tripping penalty during overtime against the Montreal Canadiens at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Hall, you might recall, took the trade personally. “I think it’s safe to say I’m a very motivated player now,” Hall said the day the deal was announced. It seems Hall’s been pretty motivated this entire season after getting warmed up with 53 points in 72 games with the Devils in 2016-17. “I’m still very motivated,” Hall said this March during his 26-game point streak with his MVP season shaping up. “It’s more about, how can I help my team here? How can we get into the playoffs? That’s been my motivation, more so this year than last.”

Simply put, the Oilers created a huge hole on LW, one they still haven’t filled despite the lucrative contract they handed Milan Lucic, by trading Hall for Larsson. Hall is an MVP finalist who is in the prime of his career with, you’d think, several good seasons ahead of him. How would Hall look now with McDavid, or driving another line on his own for coach Todd McLellan, moving forward? That, we’ll never know. For now, Hall ranks No. 6 on this list, but I get the feeling that’ll change before very long.

This series of various Top 10 lists will focus on the post-1990 Oilers – the players who haven’t played on a Stanley Cup winner in Edmonton.

Previously in this Series:

Nation Takes

Oilers Talk