Puck Prose
Fansided

NHL trade rumors: 3 teams who should trade for Taylor Hall

By Dave Stevenson

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 28: Taylor Hall (9) of the New Jersey Devils skates during the second period of the NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens on November 28, 2019, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 28: Taylor Hall (9) of the New Jersey Devils skates during the second period of the NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens on November 28, 2019, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
nhl trade rumors taylor hall
Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images /

3. Edmonton Oilers

Who says you can’t go back home? Hall started his career with the Edmonton Oilers before being traded in the now infamous one-for-one Hall for Adam Larsson deal back in 2016. Two years ago, I would have laughed at the thought of him returning to Edmonton. But now it seems a bit more possible.

First of all, the Oilers are leading the Pacific Division. I wouldn’t call them Stanley Cup contenders because of their overreliance on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but they’re pretty darn close to being Stanley Cup contenders. Hall would help the Oilers solve that issue of relying a bit too much on their two best players.

Edmonton needs to at least one wing, probably two, to be taken seriously and ensure any regression they suffer isn’t too significant. McDavid, Draisaitl, James Neal, and Zach Kassian have combined for 56 goals. The rest of the Oilers forwards have scored a combined 20 goals. That’s not going to cut it.

More from Puck Prose

What Would It Cost?

As I said, their 2020 first-round pick must be included. Kailer Yamamoto, Evan Bouchard, and Caleb Jones are three prospects who could be included. It’s reasonable to expect at least one of them would be heading to the Devils.

The tricky part is, the Oilers are projected to have about $3.3 million of cap space at the trade deadline. Hall’s cap hit is $6 million. Depend on how long Matthew Benning is on the long-term injured reserve list, that could make a trade difficult, but not impossible.

Adding someone like Sam Gagner (who will be a UFA after the 2019-20 season) would help make the trade work financially. But the Oilers might have to include a little bit more in that scenario.

Home/Rumors