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New Jersey Devils: What If Taylor Hall Went To Ottawa?

By Nick Villano

OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 19: New Jersey Devils Left Wing Taylor Hall (9) battles with Ottawa Senators Defenceman Chris Wideman (6) during first period National Hockey League action between the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators on October 19, 2017, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 19: New Jersey Devils Left Wing Taylor Hall (9) battles with Ottawa Senators Defenceman Chris Wideman (6) during first period National Hockey League action between the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators on October 19, 2017, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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A new rumor has been swirling that has New Jersey Devils fans asking “What if?” Luckily, Ray Shero swooped in and made the one-for-one trade for Taylor Hall.

Sports are full of “What Ifs?” Today, the New Jersey Devils fans are happy that’s all they have to ask.

Darren Dreger spoke on Edmonton’s TSN 1260, as reported by FanRag Sports, saying that the Edmonton Oilers were working on a Taylor Hall trade with the Ottawa Senators before talking to the Devils. A trade was in place to send Hall to Ottawa in exchange for Cody Ceci.

Dreger says that while the Senators were trying to get the trade cleared with ownership, Devils GM Ray Shero came in and offered Adam Larsson.

So we have to ask, how different would the Devils look now if Hall was a member of the Senators?

Personally, I think this trade affects this year more than last year. The Devils were going to be bad no matter what happened last season. Cory Schneider wasn’t himself. The offensive depth wasn’t there. Being a bad team in 2016-17 was always in the cards.

What changes is everything that happened from this offseason on.

For one, Taylor Hall was the player who scored in overtime to beat the Vancouver Canucks on January 15th. If the Devils lose that game, they would switch spots in the lottery order. Obviously, a lot could have changed with the Devils record minus Hall, but just think that Hall’s biggest goal in his first season with the Devils actually helped them get the number one overall pick in the draft.

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If the Devils were any worse, they would not have gotten Nico Hischier. It’s weird to think about, but it’s the truth. So instead of Hischier, who was NHL ready at the draft, they could have chosen between Elias Pettersson, Cody Glass and Casey Mittelstadt. Obviously, Mittelstadt is killing it in World Juniors right now, but he isn’t Hischier.

Shero may have been a little more desperate to get talent on the Devils if Hall wasn’t a part of this roster. Offensive talent is hard to come by, especially that of Hall’s caliber. Would Shero try and make a move for Matt Duchene, giving up much better assets than he did to get Hall? Or would he throw big money to sign Kyle Okposo?

Again, there’s a huge ripple effect to the Devils keeping Larsson and losing Hall. One of the biggest changes is I think Will Butcher signs elsewhere. The offensive dynamo on the blue line likely signs with the Los Angeles Kings or another team in a better position to give him a shot on a good team.

The Devils might even still be sitting on Mike Cammalleri and Devante Smith-Pelley just to make the salary cap work. I doubt Shero cuts those two if he doesn’t have Hischier or Hall.

Next: New Jersey Devils: Nico Hischier Enters The Calder Race

Obviously, the Devils are much better off with Hall on the team. He’s the leader of this locker room, and drives play on the ice. It helps that he’s on pace for a career year. I highly doubt the Devils would be anywhere close to a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division without Hall, let alone leading in point percentage. This is one What If? that went the Devils way.

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