HALL NOT RESTING ON HIS NEW STATUS
HArt Trophy winner hungers to keep improving, win Cup, writes Terry Koshan.
OAKVILLE, ONT. Taylor Hall has a miniature replica of the Hart Trophy at home and each time he glances at it he is reminded thathewouldlovetoputthe Stanley Cup beside it one day.
Three weeks after the New Jersey Devils winger won the Hart as the most valuable player in the National Hockey League, the desire to get back on the ice in 2018-19 and prove it wasn’t a one-time season grows stronger.
“Now that I think maybe I have vaulted myself up into that tier of players, you want to stay there,” Hall said Wednesday at Glen Abbey at the NHL Players’ Association annual charity golf tournament.
“The guys who are great year in and year out, they play well right from the start of the season, they carry their teams to the playoffs, and hopefully I can make that happen again this year and not just be a guy who has a good year and falls back. I am pretty committed to having another successful season.”
For Hall and every other player in the NHL, it’s the Cup or nothing. Certainly, Hall is proud of the season the Devils had — they made the playoffs with 97 points after finishing last in the Eastern Conference with 70 points in 2016-17 — but that success goes only so far. The Devils were eliminated in five games in the first round by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Definitely a successful season, but at the same time, I watched playoff hockey for a month and a half before the Cup was handed out, so we’re a long way from where we want to be. But I think it was a great first step,” Hall said. “We won one playoff game. We’re one playoff win ahead of where we were last season, so we have to be proud of that, but we also have to know there is a long way to go. It’s hard to get out of the basement, it really is. It’s hard to make the playoffs.”
What did Hall observe as the playoffs culminated with the Washington Capitals winning the Cup?
“Their top guys are doing their thing, they are playing well, (Alex) Ovechkin had 15 goals,” Hall said. “But it’s the (Devante) Smith-Pellys, it’s the Jay Beagles, it’s those guys who are really making the differences. That is just part of evolving as a team, getting guys into their roles and getting guys used to what they have to do.”
You won’t find a player in the NHL who doesn’t hold John Tavares in high regard, considering the way the centre plays the game and carries himself in public.
Still, Hall is glad Tavares departed the Metropolitan Divi- sion when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Hall can envision the trouble the Leafs’ centre depth of Auston Matthews, Tavares and Nazem Kadri will give the opposition.
“There is going to be some mismatches, for sure,” Hall said. “No matter who they play against, they are going to find a way.
“You will probably see them have a very good home record with (Leafs coach Mike) Babcock being able to match up and really have the players he wants out there. (Tavares) went there because they are a strong team, they have a bright future and I think everybody sees that.”
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr doesn’t want to peer any further into the future than necessary.
The collective bargaining agreement with the NHL expires after the 2021-22 season, but both the league and the players have the choice to opt out of the deal in September 2019. The NHL can opt out by Sept. 1; the players can opt out by Sept. 19. There is a possibility the 2020-21 season would involve a work stoppage.
“It’s too early,” Fehr said Wednesday. “The notion that we sit there and say, ‘Gee, what are the players going to be thinking a year from September? What’s the league going to be thinking a year from September?’
“IfthiswasJulyof2019,I might be willing to hazard a guess. What we will do in the fall is say (to the players) these are the potential issues, this is what the league might do or not do, this is what your options are, how do you guys feel about things? My experience is that a consensus develops over time and players turn their attention to it the more closely it appears.”
One reason why the at-times controversial Evander Kane was a fit in the San Jose Sharks’ room after he was acquired from Buffalo in February: “Our dressing room is very welcoming, very open,” Sharks centre Logan Couture said. “There are a lot of different characters, you could say, in our room, whether it’s Brent Burns or Jumbo (Joe Thornton) or Kaner. No one judges what has happened in (Kane’s) past. Judge him by what he brings to the rink when he is with the Sharks. He played well.” … The NHLPA golf classic has raised more than $3.6 million for charities since its inaugural year in 1993. The NHLPA was anticipating raising more than $100,000 on Wednesday.