Coyotes no longer on the hunt for star power
Arizona acquires Hall from Devils for picks, prospects
Taylor Hall was traded Monday. And this time it wasn’t a one-forone deal.
Not by a long shot.
There were seven pieces involved in the long-awaited trade that sent Hall, along with New Jersey’s Blake Speers, to Arizona for a first-round pick in 2020, a conditional third-round pick in 2021 as well as forwards Nick Merkley, Nate Schnarr and defenceman Kevin Bahl.
If it sounds underwhelming, it’s because New Jersey will retain 50 per cent of Hall’s US$6-million cap hit. Then again, the deal could look a lot better at the end of the season if Hall re-signs in Arizona or the Coyotes win the Stanley Cup.
If either one happens, then that third-round pick in 2021 will turn into a second-rounder. And if both conditions are met, another first-rounder could be coming New Jersey’s way.
Sounds ambitious, but don’t write it off just yet.
After all, this isn’t the same Coyotes team that Auston Matthews grew up watching. Even before Hall arrived, Arizona was a playoff team. Now with a former MVP forward on the roster, this looks like a legitimate championship contender.
“It’s a great spot for me,” Hall said in a conference call on Monday night. “I’m not here to guarantee any playoff predictions. But you look at the standings and they’re first in the division. I’m here to continue to help with that.”
Hall is joining the best team in the Pacific Division, a team that has a league-best .927 save percentage and a third-ranked goalsagainst average. But he’s also filling a massive offensive void. Despite the attention to defence, the Coyotes could use another sniper alongside Phil Kessel.
They don’t have a single player ranked among the top 80 in scoring and overall are ranked 24th out of 31 teams in goals per game. Conor Garland, the team’s leading goal scorer, has just 12 goals this season. By comparison, the Washington Capitals have six players who have scored as many times.
That’s where Hall comes in. The 28-year-old hasn’t been having an MVP type of season with New Jersey. But his 25 points instantly make him Arizona’s top scorer.
The post-season is what this trade is all about. It’s an experience that has mostly eluded the No. 1 overall pick since Hall entered the league nine years ago. Hall never made the playoffs during his time in Edmonton and qualified just once in New Jersey with the team winning just one game in 2018. Playoff success is also Arizona’s best chip to play in convincing Hall to stay.
The timing of this trade was awkward with Hall sitting out as a healthy scratch for backto-back games against Arizona and Colorado over the weekend, while the Devils tried to get a deal done before Wednesday’s holiday roster freeze.
“I was in limbo and I didn’t really know when it would happen,” said Hall, who had attracted interest from a handful of teams, including Colorado and Florida. “The last few days have been really tiring.”
Getting this done now was important for Arizona. It’s not that they needed Hall. Rather, they needed as much time as possible with him. Unlike the trade deadline, when there’s only six weeks remaining in the season, Arizona gets Hall for more than half the season and possibly the playoffs.
If Arizona can not only make the playoffs, but go deep, it could go a long way in convincing Hall that he doesn’t have to move again.