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Edmonton Oilers: Trading Taylor Hall is a Terrible Idea

By Kris Hansen

Jan 19, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Edmonton Oilers left wing Taylor Hall (4) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 19, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Edmonton Oilers left wing Taylor Hall (4) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ah. It’s that time of the year again where player X is struggling so player X MUST be moved!

This is a post I’ve been brooding all week after reading multiple ideas early last week, that the Edmonton Oilers should consider moving Taylor Hall.

This is a bad idea. A very bad idea.

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Why Trade Hall?

I’m going to try to reason why people would want to trade Taylor Hall.

  1. He lacks characters and intangibles!
  2. He tries to do it all by himself
  3. He’s not a true leader in the locker room, it’s McDavid’s team so Hall is instantly expendable.

That’s about it. Literally. These are the reasons I’ve been seeing. Two of them are pure garbage based on absolutely nothing. It’s pure speculation and based on stories from a friend of a friend from 4 years ago at a bar.

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The only considerable point is the second one where ehe does try to do it all by himself. To be fair, he has been doing that lately. Leon Draisaitl is starting to slow down and it’s a good guess to why (Is it an injury?Is it a long season he’s not used to?)

Now to why Trading Hall is a trade the Oilers would lose.

The Bad Idea

  1. Production. Taylor Hall produces. Right now, even with the slump he is in, he’s 12th in league scoring. Out of the Left Wings, he’s ranked fourth, but is only two points away from being the second highest left wing scorer (behind Jamie Benn.) Some of the Left Wings Taylor Hall is outproducing (although some are by the slimmest of margins): Alex Ovechkin, Daniel Sedin, Patrick Sharp, Henrik Zetterberg, Max Pacioretty, Gabriel Landeskog, Filip Forsberg, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash and Zach Parise. Taylor Hall is one of the best Left Wings in the entire NHL: I have him behind only Jamie Benn and Alexander Ovechkin. You trade Taylor Hall, you lose one of the best point producer’s in the NHL. Teams who do that, are usually losing those trades.
  2. Depth. Look at the Oilers roster. Look at the Roster on the Left Side without Taylor Hall. You suddenly have: Benoit Pouliot. Nail Yakupov? Zack Kassian on his off wing? That is a bigger void than trading Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Jordan Eberle (please note, I’m not saying trade those two either). The left side is not that impressive without Hall. If you trade Hall for a defencemen, you are creating a giant hole on the Left Wing side.
  3. Contract. Taylor Hall is on a steal of a contract. His cap hit is 6 million and is set to expire after the 2019-2020 season. For the type of production that Taylor Hall brings to the Edmonton Oilers, that’s a great contract. A lot of teams would love to have a near point per game player at a very cap friendly hit.
  4. Possession. Taylor Hall is a driver. I’m not the greatest at Fancy Stats, I will not proclaim that I am an expert either. Yet, looking at Vollman’s Sledgehammer Charts, Taylor Hall faces tough minutes and drives the play in the offensive zone. Is this not the type of player you want on a winning hockey team?

The Timing

The timing of these “Trade Hall” talk is hilarious. Not one person was suggesting to Trade Taylor Hall when the Edmonton Oilers were winning six in a row back in early December. Not one person was suggesting to trade Taylor Hall when he was producing at a point per game clip with Leon Draisaitl. Only now, do we hear people suggesting to trade Taylor Hall. Only when he is struggling is when the Hall doubters come out. Never when the player is producing. No, that’s when they are all hiding.

It’s an asinine notion to trade a player who produces at an elite rate in the NHL. It’s very rare that a team would even consider trading a player who is producing at a rate like Taylor Hall, that is signed to a long term, cap friendly contract like Taylor Hall, or is a solid possession like Taylor Hall. No, these people want to move Taylor Hall based on second hand libel. This guy is someone who has repeatedly said that he wants to win in Edmonton. He bleeds for the city. Yet, there are those out there that are ready to move him when he goes on a slump. It’s madness.

Next: Jordan Eberle Will Not Be Dealt Before Deadline

If the team ever moved Taylor Hall, I’m pretty sure that is a trade the Edmonton Oilers would lose quite badly. Trading Taylor Hall would be a terrible idea and I think it would be one that would set the team back. It would be one of those moves that a good team would not make.

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