The New Jersey Devils hoped their rebuilding efforts finally would lead them back to the postseason.
Whoops!
Instead of living up to that expectation so far, they’ve instead been an unmitigated disaster this season, which led to the firing of head coach John Hynes earlier this week. This comes after a summer in which New Jersey landed Jack Hughes with the top pick in the draft, traded for PK Subban and Nikita Gusev, and signed Wayne Simmonds. All of this seemingly was in an effort to convince pending free agent Taylor Hall to re-sign in Newark after this season.
But the Devils are the second-worst team in the NHL right now, 11 points out of the second wild-card spot. The St. Louis Blues proved last season that teams can make magnificent turnarounds near the new year, but banking on that happening as the rationale for not trading a star talent in Hall whilst miles out of the playoff race probably wouldn’t be a prudent move for general manger Ray Shero.
So, unsurprisingly, it appears the Devils are interested in seeing if they can swing a trade involving Hall. And in his 31 Thoughts column published Wednesday, SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman listed five teams believed to be pursuing a trade for Hall.
“(The Devils) badly need defence, which is why there’s a lot of focus on Colorado as the perfect trade partner. The Avalanche have plenty of defensive prospects and think they can win. Several teams believe Arizona is making a serious effort. Hall is what they need, too. It’s believed Dallas and St. Louis are among other pursuers.
… I do think Edmonton’s interested, but there’s a limit. I’m not convinced the Oilers will pay what New Jersey wants.
Pardon the pun, but it would take quite the haul to land the 28-year-old, and teams might be reticent to make the deal if there’s no guarantee he’ll sign a new contract once traded. But if a team needs help up front and thinks it’s a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season, Hall is the type of guy you bet the house on.
