Edmonton Oilers: Eberle Talks Hall, McDavid as Leader

Edmonton Oilers right-wing Jordan Eberle has been mentioned in trade rumours for years now, but this off-season was the first time it seemed like he could actually be on the move. However, it would instead be his long-time teammate and good friend Taylor Hall on his way out of town.

“The day that it happened was actually the day of (my sister’s) wedding,” Eberle said of the Hall trade on Sportsnet 590 The FAN in Toronto yesterday. “I didn’t have my phone on me. I went back to go grab it after the ceremony. I had about 90 text messages on my phone. So immediately I was thinking I got traded, or you’re not really sure what happened. Then you look, and you start to find out it’s Taylor.

“It’s tough to see a friend go. Me and Taylor grew up playing with the Oilers, came in together, lived together and obviously are very good friends. So it’s tough to see a guy like that go, but on the other side, obviously we get a very good defenceman. So it’s something that I know we needed.”

Eberle spoke to Hall on the phone shortly after learning he had been traded and was likely able to understand better than most why the former first overall pick was so disappointed to be leaving Edmonton.

“More than anything, I think you feel like you let down the team a little bit,” Eberle said. “We haven’t made the playoffs here and that’s the end goal, and the end goal is to do well. When you get drafted, and you come in, and you want to be one of the guys to turn things around, and then you kind of get that opportunity taken away, I think you’re kind of a bit hurt. So I’m sure he went through that a bit.”

Last season, Eberle had the opportunity to play with generational talent Connor McDavid down the stretch and developed quick chemistry with the superstar rookie. Eberle scored 14 goals in 32 games with McDavid, which would have put him on pace for a career-high in goals if he had continued to produce at that clip (.44 goals per game) for an entire 82 game season.

“I think we definitely had some success last year together,” Eberle said on playing with McDavid. “It’s funny the way it worked because when I got injured, he got injured the next game when I came back. So we really didn’t have a chance to play together until after the All-Star break.

“To play with a player of his calibre, the one thing I think you have to be able to do is think the game at a high level like him. He’s always making plays and he’s always almost ahead of the game, so you have to be able to do that with him.”