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The New Jersey Devils will most likely be sellers once the trade deadline comes along, but there is one piece they should be willing to make a major move for: Taylor Hall.
Hall was rumored to be made available by the Edmonton Oilers after feeling like he wasn’t progressing like they had wanted. Despite having superstar prospects like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov, along with Hall, the Oilers are having a worthwhile season.
The Oilers are currently in last place in the NHL. They are 10 points behind the Devils, who are currently in second-last place in their division. The Oilers are more than bad — they are borderline unwatchable.
So what would the Devils have to trade to acquire Hall? They would almost definitely have to trade multiple young defensemen in the deal. Adam Larsson would most likely be the main piece that the Oilers would target. He is finally showing his competence when given his opportunity. He is one of the only solid players on a weak Devils defense.
Despite their play so far, the Devils’ defense has a lot of potential. Beyond Larsson, they have Eric Gelinas, Jon Merrill, Damon Severson and Seth Helgeson all being 24 and under.
To bring a potential superstar like Hall to the Devils, it is going to cost them multiple high-level prospects. It would be well worth it, however. Fans already know he can play with one of the Devils’ young stars Adam Henrique. Those two would be a lethal duo for the next decade of Devils hockey.
The Devils need desperately to get younger up front. They currently don’t have a forward under the age of 29 besides Henrique. It will be worth losing some of their defensive prospects to give them peace of mind knowing they have two amazing forwards of the future. The trade could look something like Larsson, Helgeson, Marek Zidlicky and a first-round pick for Taylor Hall.
The Oilers could possibly ask for more depending on what the market says, but not many teams can offer the type of defenseman that Larsson is at the age he is. The only downfall to the deal is Larsson is currently under a one-year contract. The Oilers would need to know that they could re-sign Larsson before they would pull the trigger.
The deal may seem unlikely for many reasons, but it is something that Lou Lamoriello needs to see if it is possible. It seems like the Devils would have players the Oilers would be looking for in return. It wouldn’t be a move for this year, but one for the next 10 years. Losing Larsson would hurt, but it wouldn’t kill this team thanks to the plethora of young defenseman on the team and in their system. They need to try to make this move.
Nick Villano is the New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports. He also adds to the site’s NBA, MLB and NFL content. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.
