The Edmonton Oilers are in yet another transition period and this time around there are rumors about Taylor Hall being potentially available.
Hall is one of the few things that isn’t an issue in Edmonton. For the record I think it would be a gross error for them to trade him away. The real move(s) should be to move on from the same executives who have been around for this demise, namely Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish.
But since they are still gainfully employed the Oilers will be prone to mistakes. ESPN's Pierre Lebrun also threw a little bit of gasoline on the fire by saying that the Penguins and Bruins would be two teams to watch in a deal for Hall so let’s entertain this Taylor Hall idea.
Who is Taylor Hall?
He is one of the best wingers in hockey, a superstar stuck in a terrible situation. He is only 23 years old. He is cost controlled at under market value ($6 million) until 2020.
For the Penguins to acquire that kind of talent they would have to come strong. The Penguins could put together a package that would catch Edmonton’s attention. It would sting, but Pittsburgh could make that trade from a position of strength.
The Oilers are dreadful at the defense position and they could use some help at center as well.
The Penguins first round pick is going to be in the 20’s so it doesn’t carry the same value as what some of the other teams bidding for Hall’s services could provide.
Sean Gentillie of the Sporting News had the following as a trade proposal :
Olli Maatta, center Brandon Sutter, one of defensemen Scott Harrington and Brian Dumoulin
Moving Olli Maatta is going to rub some Penguins fans the wrong way but the Penguins loaded up on defensive prospects and that is where their strength lies. The Oilers aren’t going to take a chance on players with very minimal NHL experience. They are going to want somewhat of a proven sample size in the NHL, Maatta has that. Perhaps none of the other prospects ever play as well as Maatta but they don’t have to. They just need to be NHL caliber players. You can survive with a defense corp. of Letang, Ehrhoff/Martin, Despres, Harrington/Dumoulin, and Pouliot.
Not many teams can boast that kind of depth.
Brandon Sutter is flashing some nice offensive ability this season but he is not going to fit into the Penguins price point after his current deal is over. The Penguins also do not have enough good wingers to go around to keep him in his current situation, unless you want to take from Crosby/Malkin. A big reason he is more noticeable this year in a positive way is because his quality of teammate is at an all time high for his career.
If you are going to go all-in on a trade, Hall is the kind of player you do it on. The assets given away will not cripple the Penguins organization.
The only catch with a potential Taylor Hall trade for the Penguins is that it would more than likely have to happen around the draft. Olli Maatta is currently on IR and thus cannot be a part of any transactions. Will Hall be traded by then?
I would aggressively pursue Taylor Hall. If he is that good in Edmonton’s terrible environment just imagine the damage he would do with Sid. Crosby has only played with one elite winger (Hossa) and it was only for a few months. Hall, Hornqvist, Kapanen, Bennett is a very talented group of wingers to move forward with and if you can’t count on Bennett you would still have Kunitz or Dupuis to lean on.
As long as the Penguins continue to make bargain signings like Blake Comeau, Marcel Goc, Steve Downie, and Rob Klinkhammer their salary cap structure and forward depth will be just fine.
I’m game for the Taylor Hall sweepstakes even if the Oilers shouldn’t be.
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The Nashville Predators are a team that I believe should aggressively pursue Taylor Hall. I would offer up an unlikely piece. You can find that
here.
What kind of situation does it take for Brooks Orpik to find himself in a shootout? When it is an NHL record 20 round shootout. How did Orpik do? Probably not what most people expected him to do
Come to think of it was Orpik ever the mustache boy? Should we have seen this coming?
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