5 NHL teams that will regret not trading for Taylor Hall
By Mary Clarke
Taylor Hall is headed to Arizona after the NHL’s first blockbuster trade of the season, but there are teams that may regret not landing the star forward.
After a few weeks of will they or won’t they between the Arizona Coyotes and Taylor Hall, the NHL’s first major trade of the 2019-20 season has been made. It was not a shock to see the Coyotes land Hall, as Arizona was heavily linked to the forward over the last few weeks as rumors swirled around this story.
Now that the dust has settled on the trade, with the Coyotes overall giving up very little for what may amount to just a rental, it’s more than fair to see what the other teams in the hunt missed out on. Hall was linked to, at one point, five or six teams at various points during the process, with teams like the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues and Florida Panthers featuring prominently.
The Panthers dropped out of the race early on Monday, signaling that it was Arizona’s race to lose after the Avalanche cooled off after being one of the frontrunners for Hall. Not one Metropolitan Division team was mentioned as a potential landing spot for Hall, which makes sense given how the Devils likely would not have wanted to trade their star forward to help someone in their own division.
Given what is known, and how little of Arizona’s current active roster they had to give up in exchange for Hall, it’s clear a handful of teams missed out on nabbing the NHL’s biggest trade target this season. Hall is a gamble for the Coyotes as he is very likely to test the free agent market come July 1, but if he helps Arizona win their first Stanley Cup in the desert, all will be forgiven.
Here are five teams we believe will regret not making the necessary moves to nab Hall.
5. Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens reportedly had interest in acquiring Hall this season, but ultimately could not hang with the big names at the end of the day. Montreal had the cap space to make a move, as their current cap space of $7.1 million — according to CapFriendly — would have been enough to snag Hall with the Devils retaining 50 percent of his current contract.
With forward Jonathan Drouin injured, Hall would have been a jolt to the Canadiens’ lineup as the team looks to keep pace with the Atlantic Division. Montreal is currently fourth in the Atlantic with a 15-12-6 record and 36 points on the season. Though the Canadiens are three points out of a wild card spot, they’re also only three points out of second place in the Atlantic.
Boston’s top spot in the division is all but assured this season, but Montreal is right in the thick of it for a top three spot in the Atlantic as teams like Tampa Bay and Toronto remain in the mix. Nabbing Hall would have given Montreal a leg up on the competition in the Atlantic, as adding a top-line winger would have a trickle down effect to the Canadiens’ lineup that would only be bolstered by Drouin’s eventual return.
Montreal staying out of the race for Hall makes sense, as they believed the asking price to be too high for a rental, but in hindsight the Canadiens no doubt should have stayed in the running with the price that low.