3 reasons why the Edmonton Oilers lost the Taylor Hall trade

3. Adam Larsson Isn’t That Good

This is not an indictment of Larsson. He is a mighty fine defenseman who has proven that he is an NHL-caliber blue liner. It isn’t easy to find guys who can play 20+ minutes a night and Larsson is one of them. He’d be a welcome addition to more than half of the NHL teams’ respective second pairings. However, considering what the Oilers could have feasibly gotten for Hall, Larsson is a horrible return.

Let’s consider some of the defensemen who the Oilers should have been targeting. There’s a very good defenseman with the St. Louis Blues named Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk for Hall would be a horrible trade too, but at least Shattenkirk is a legitimate top pairing defenseman. If you extend him, even better.

Hall is one of the best forwards in the league and there isn’t much of an argument against that. So why trade him for anyone other than a defenseman who you could say the same of? The Oilers’ need for a defenseman was obvious, but not desperate enough to warrant trading Hall for pennies on the dollar.

Why not P.K. Subban? That’s the kind of talent the Oilers should have targeted. They should have asked for a top return and not budged until they got it. Instead, they are stuck with Larsson.

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