When the Edmonton Oilers drafted Connor McDavid first overall in 2015, he was able to join a team that already had a deep forward group.

Leon Draisaitl was coming off his first full season in the league, unbeknownst to anyone the offensive ceiling he would hit in his years that followed. Jordan Eberle, at 24, was already one of the longest serving members of the team, while 2011 first overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was still finding his way playing tough minutes.

Then you had Taylor Hall, who, in the prior year, was limited to just 53 games, scoring 14 goals and 38 points.

Hall and McDavid would be roommates, alongside Luke Gazdic, in that 2015-16 season, as the three grew close. Nobody knew that Hall would be traded after McDavid’s rookie season in the infamous one-for-one deal for Adam Larsson, but what became clear Sunday night was just how highly Hall thinks of the Oilers superstar.

“If there is anyone who deserves to win the Stanley Cup, it’s him,” Hall said after the game to Sportsnet’s Gene Principe.

High praise for one of the league’s best.

The Hurricanes have marked Hall’s seventh team, having gone from the Oilers to the New Jersey Devils, to the Arizona Coyotes, to the Buffalo Sabres, to the Boston Bruins, to the Chicago Blackhawks before arriving in Carolina.

Hall appeared in 80 games this season, scoring 18 goals and 48 points, adding another seven goals and 19 points in 19 playoff games. He spent the majority of the season alongside Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake on the Hurricanes’ second line, and the trio was nothing short of dominant.

The three played 551 regular season minutes together at five-on-five, outscoring the opposition 35-25, controlling 61.7 per cent of the shot attempt share, and 58 per cent of the expected goal share. In the playoffs, they were even more dominant, as in 211 five-on-five minutes, they outscored the opposition 18-7 for a 72 per cent goal share, 63.9 per cent of the shot attempt share, and 68.2 per cent of the expected goal share.

“He brings a blend of speed, skill and heaviness that really fits for us,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said of Hall. “He has the ability to get pucks into the zone, win pucks along the way and he has the vision and creativity and skill to get pucks to the middle and create scoring chances off it. We spend a lot of time in the offensive zone, and we need players like him who can not just win the battle along the wall but get it to premium ice and create those top-tier chances and he’s been able to do that for us.”

Hall has two years left on his contract with the Hurricanes, carrying a $3.16 million cap hit.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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