The deal is widely viewed as a huge win for New Jersey and a colossal failure for Edmonton, and Hall can’t help but scratch his head over what Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli was thinking.
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Taylor Hall is without a doubt one of the most dynamic scoring wingers in all of hockey, as evidenced by his averages of 28 goals and 70 points per season since entering the league as the first overall pick in 2010.
Larsson was selected 4th overall by the Devils in the 2011 draft. Just how good was Taylor Hall, and why do I care?
“I’d be very content with having to take the other one”, Chiarelli said prior to the 2010 draft, when he had the choice between Hall and Seguin.
“I have a pretty deep connection to the city of Edmonton, and I felt like I did everything I could there”. His regular season TOI in Nashville last year was his lowest in five years, and many people’s lasting memory of him in a Preds uniform was the ghastly Game 7 effort against San Jose in Round 2. His 2015-16 campaign saw him tally just 3 goals and 15 assists, while skating in every game for the Devils. He scored 80 points in 75 games as a 22-year-old, and has scored 25-plus goals three times already. Larsson was a big piece for New Jersey, but acquiring a top National Hockey League player like Taylor Hall for Larsson is an unreal value and a trade that Shero had to make. Hall has scored 25 goals or more three separate times in his career, and on a team that has a collective +/- rating of -296 since he made his National Hockey League debut in 2010, Hall has maintained a very respectable career rating of -27, finishing worse than -9 only once in his career. I’ll take responsibility for being wrong, but I’ll also take responsibility about being right.
The Devils traded defenseman Adam Larsson for winger Taylor Hall straight up. Subban is a polarizing player, uniquely talented and perhaps the league’s most marketable player.
“Today we completed an important transaction that I’m convinced will make the Canadiens a better team”, he said. He had 132 goals and 328 points in 384 career games. Edmonton would likely be happy with Larsson evolving into a capable piece of their top-four on defence. “Whether the fans want the glitz and glamour and (a) spectacular player, the guys on the team that are getting the puck and getting that first pass they’re going to like him”.
It’s not like the Devils have a line of qualified candidates to replace Larsson on the top pair to Greene’s right.
And he has four years left at $6 million per season, reasonable money in today’s market.
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He played mostly wing in Edmonton but has been experimented with at center in the past. I know you’ll miss Hall, but you may end up loving Larsson.
