WHAT THE HALL JUST HAPPENED, DEVILS?
Return for former MVP underwhelms, something the Oilers know all too well
Once the jokes were made that this wasn’t a one-for-one trade, the immediate reaction following the long-awaited deal that sent Taylor Hall from New Jersey to Arizona on Monday was universal.
That’s it? That’s all the Devils got for a Hart Trophy winner? A couple of draft picks and some middling prospects?
While the Oilers have spent more than three years getting criticized for how little they received for Hall when they dealt him to the Devils in exchange for Adam Larsson, at least they got someone who had been selected fourth overall in the draft and at the time was considered a top-pairing defenceman with plenty of room to grow.
This time, the returns seemed even less impressive.
Arizona didn’t have to part ways with centre Barrett Hayton, whom the team selected fifth overall in 2018. Nor did they give up defenceman Victor Soderstrom, who went 11th overall in this year’s draft. All it cost them was a first-round pick (likely in the 20s), a third-round pick in 2021 and prospects Nick Merkley, Kevin Bahl and Nate Schnarr.
Worse yet, the Devils also packaged Blake Speers in the deal and agreed to retain 50 per cent of Hall’s contract.
For Calgary, Edmonton and the other teams who had reportedly been interested in acquiring Hall, you had to wonder why they didn’t make a similar offer? Then again, maybe Arizona gave up more than we think.
Of the two prospects who went to the Devils, Bahl is the one worth watching and the one who could end up swinging this trade in New Jersey’s favour.
“The thing with Kevin is he keeps getting better and better,” said James Boyd, general manager of the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s. “A lot of the stuff that he does won’t show up on the score sheet, but he’s played against the top players in the OHL for the better part of two years and we’ve been successful for those two years.”
A second-round pick in 2018, the 19-year-old defenceman is six-foot-seven and 240 pounds. That’s not a typo. Bahl, who will represent Canada at the world juniors, is a physical beast.
“His huge size and surprising mobility make him very attractive as a potential middle-pairing defenceman in the NHL,” said North American Central Scouting’s Mark Seidel. “He has a level of nastiness that is rare these days. Lastly, he has a huge shot that can be used on the power play.
“Don’t be surprised if Devil fans feel a lot better about the trade at the conclusion of the world juniors once they get to know him.”
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT
John Chayka won’t say it, but the Coyotes GM probably thought he had already traded for Hall when he acquired Phil Kessel last summer. But last time we checked, Kessel was stuck on the third line with just seven goals and 19 points as well as a gaudy minus-18 rating (the next worst player on the team is minus-4) … Hall’s first point as a Coyote arrived with less than three minutes remaining in the third period of a tied game, when he outraced and outhustled a Sharks defenceman for a loose puck and then set up the winning goal. Can you imagine Kessel doing the same? … While we’re piling on Kessel, it’s only fair to point out that Alex Galchenyuk, the player Kessel was traded for, has been a complete disaster in Pittsburgh with just two goals and 10 points in 25 games … Biggest
reason why Hall was dealt in December rather than at the Feb. 24 trade deadline: he’s healthy. Based on Hall’s injury history — he missed 49 games last season — Devils GM Ray Shero couldn’t be sure that would be the case two months from now … Next up for Shero is finding a team to take on the remainder of P.K. Subban’s contract, which carries a $9-million cap hit and expires in 2022. With just two goals and five points in 32 games, don’t expect there to be a lot of takers.
HERE’S ONE FOR YOU
It might have been odd to see Ottawa’s Thomas Chabot log close to 38 minutes Tuesday in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. But even stranger was that reigning MVP Nikita Kucherov, who scored the opening goal but finished the game with a minus-1 rating, was benched after taking just one shift early in the third period.
It’s another way of saying that beyond their disappointing record, this year’s version of the Lightning looks nothing like the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy a year ago … The top 30 scorers in the NHL as of Tuesday included nine Canadians, seven Americans and 14 players representing six other countries. That’s a healthy mix. In other words, please send Nhlers to the Olympics in 2022 (or at the very least, it’s time for another World Cup).
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH
Let me get this straight: the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed that assistant coach Marc Crawford, who has been on a leave of absence since Dec. 2 after several former players came forward with examples of abusive conduct, has “proactively sought professional counselling” from 2010 onward to correct his past behaviour. They also confirmed he’s done nothing remotely wrong since the team hired him in the summer. So why is he suspended until Jan. 2? If he’s changed — and it appears he has gone to great lengths to do so — then why punish him at all? I can’t imagine this happening if he were the head coach … With Hall joining the first-place Coyotes and the Golden Knights back to full health — and playing like a team that knows how good it is — making the playoffs just got a lot more difficult for Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. If the standings shake out the same way as last year, when both wild cards from the West came out of the Central Division, the Oilers, Flames and Canucks (along with the San Jose Sharks) could be battling it out for just one final playoff spot.
RE-SIGNING MIKHEYEV COULD BE COSTLY CHOICE
Ilya Mikheyev was ranked fourth in rookie scoring with six goals and 19 points after 35 games.
At this pace, he probably won’t edge Colorado’s Cale Makar, Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes or even Buffalo’s Victor Olofsson for the Calder Trophy. He could finish the season with somewhere around 15 goals and 45 points.
That’s roughly what Kasperi Kapanen (20 goals and 44 points) and Andreas Johnsson (20 goals and 43 points) each had last year in what was their first full season in the NHL. And those were forwards who had the luxury of playing on Auston Matthews’ wing.
Does that mean Mikheyev, who has mostly been receiving third-line minutes, deserves a similar salary to what Kapanen ($3.2 million) and Johnsson
($3.4 million) received when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer?
Technically, yes. But for a team that cannot even afford to pay a backup goalie more than $700,000, re-signing the 25-yearold for $3 million or more could be difficult — especially if you hope to retain Jake Muzzin and/ or Tyson Barrie, who are both pending unrestricted free agents.
It won’t be as difficult as re-signing Mitch Marner or even William Nylander the last two summers, but it could push GM Kyle Dubas into a financial corner where he has to choose between three players who are around the same age and provide similar skill sets.
There is a chance Dubas might not be able to afford to sign Mikheyev, while keeping Kapanen and Johnsson. Not at that price. And not with Pierre Engvall also looking like he could be deserving of more minutes and the similarly skilled Jeremy Bracco knocking on the door in the minors.
If you had to choose only two, who would you rather have: Mikheyev and Kapanen? Mikheyev and Johnsson? Or Kapanen and Johnsson? Then again, maybe there’s a fourth option that includes trading Nylander and his $6.962-million cap hit for a defenceman on an entry level contract, while hanging onto Mikheyev, Kapanen and Johnsson. After all, when it comes to their combined salaries, you can get two for the price of one.
TOFFOLI AT THE TOP OF THE TRADE BOARD
Now that Hall is off the market, the list of players who can help an ailing team got significantly smaller. Here are three you probably won’t have to give up a first-round pick to get:
Tyler Toffoli, Los Angeles
Contract status: one year remaining, $4.6 million
It’s been several years since Toffoli scored 30 goals. Heck, he is barely on pace to reach the 20-goal mark at his current pace this season. But put him with the right forwards — cough, Connor Mcdavid, cough — and that could change in a hurry.
Wayne Simmonds, New Jersey Contract status: one year remaining, $5 million
For teams looking for grit and a net presence on the power play, Simmonds definitely fits the bill. That’s why Nashville acquired him at last year’s deadline and why New Jersey signed him this summer. Just don’t expect him to play on the top two lines anymore.
Zach Bogosian, Buffalo
Contract status: one year remaining, $5.143 million
The Sabres’ logjam on defence has forced Bogosian out of the lineup, where he is now reportedly seeking a trade. The problem is teams don’t really know what they’ll get out of the 29-year-old, who always seems to be battling one injury or another and has played in just 10 games this season.