NHL trade grade: Devils get underwhelming return for Taylor Hall

It’s always tough to grade trades at first glance, but it appears the New Jersey Devils didn’t get a very strong return from the Arizona Coyotes for Taylor Hall. Here’s a look at the NHL trade grade for the first big trade of the season.

The New Jersey Devils were hoping to keep Taylor Hall around long-term, but their struggles this season ensured that wasn’t going to happen. They made the best of it, though, by trading him to the Arizona Coyotes. It’s the first huge NHL trade of the season and could open the floodgates of the trade market.

However, the return is a bit underwhelming, to say the least. The Devils had numerous teams interested in him, but weren’t able to talk a team into giving them a top-notch prospect. That’s something they probably could have gotten for Hall, and frankly, should have gotten for him.

Let’s take a look at the return for the 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner.

On top of that, New Jersey retained 50% of Hall’s cap hit. Now, let’s take a look at the trade from both sides.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

This return might seem huge. In terms of quantity, it certainly is. The Devils are getting at least one first-round pick, and it comes in what appears to be a very deep draft. That pick, though, is lottery-protected, so it if it’s in the top three, New Jersey will receive the Coyotes’ 2021 pick instead.

The conditions of the third-round pick are a bit complicated, but the Devils press release outlines them pretty well.

"The conditions on the 2021 pick are as follows: the third-round pick in 2021 becomes a second-round selection if Arizona wins a Stanley Cup Playoff round OR Taylor Hall re-signs in Arizona. The third-round pick in 2021 becomes a first-round selection if Arizona wins a Stanley Cup Playoff round AND Taylor Hall re-signs in Arizona. If neither condition happens, New Jersey still receives the 2021 third-round pick."

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There’s a decent chance the Coyotes will win at least one playoff round so that third-round pick could become a second-round pick. Of course, it’s not a guarantee. The conditions involved to get a second first-round pick are a bit much, though, so I wouldn’t expect the Devils to get a second first-rounder for him.

However, the prospects involved aren’t too impressive. I’m a fan of Kevin Bahl, who was drafted by the Coyotes in the second round of the 2018 draft (55th overall pick). He’s a 6’6″ defenseman who has an NHL ready frame at 229 pounds. Bahl is very solid in the defensive zone and he’s remarkably good in transition for someone as big as he is. His skating stands out to me too.

That said, I just don’t see too much offensive upside in him. He had 34 points in 68 games last season for the Ottawa 67s. Admittedly, I have not seen him play yet this season, but for what it’s worth, he has 20 points in 27 games. Bahl should be an NHL defenseman, but I don’t think he’ll be a very impactful one.

Nick Merkley was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He has played in one NHL game for the Coyotes. Merkley has put up fairly impressive numbers in the AHL, posting 31 goals and 89 points there in 109 games. He hasn’t really gotten a chance in the NHL, but he should get chances with the Devils. There might be something there with him, but generally, players are fairly close to who they’re going to be once they turn 22.

Nate Schnarr was drafted by the Coyotes in the third round of the 2017 draft. He put up over 100 points in his final year in Canadian Juniors. In the AHL this season, Schnarr has 9 points in 22 games. He’s a big forward, as he’s listed at 6’3″. But I don’t think he’s ever going to be a very good NHL forward, as his skating is average at best.

GRADE: C-. The picks are right around what I expected. But the Devils couldn’t even manage to get a great prospect for him. History shows the pricetag should have been at least one first-round pick and a great prospect. The Devils only got the former. I’ll be a bit generous to them because the Avalanche didn’t want to give up Connor Timmins. But still, they should have gotten better.

ARIZONA COYOTES

This feels like a pretty great trade for the Coyotes. Obviously, adding a guy like Hall is never a bad thing. Heck, for the offensively challenged Coyotes, it’s a great thing. And they gave up zero current NHL players for him.

The Coyotes paid a very reasonable price for Hall. Rental forwards typically cost a first-round pick and maybe another conditional one. These conditions will be very hard for the Coyotes to reach. And if they do, they’ll happily give the Devils another first-round pick.

This shows the Coyotes are making a push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Frankly, I love it. The Coyotes already have a strong system and some excellent goaltending. They’ve lacked a scoring punch even after trading for Phil Kessel. Hall should make them a more dangerous team and it gives them a unicorn – a wing who can impact games on any given shift.

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GRADE: A. It’s about time the Coyotes give the state of Arizona something to rally behind. They’re a really fun team and I think this trade is going to do wonders for them both on and off the ice. Even if they can’t keep Hall around, it’s going to get people excited about the Coyotes.

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