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New Jersey Devils: Taylor Hall Point Prediction For 2018-19 Season

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 18: New Jersey Devils left wing Taylor Hall (9) during the first period of the First Round Stanley Cup Playoff Game 4 between the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 18, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 18: New Jersey Devils left wing Taylor Hall (9) during the first period of the First Round Stanley Cup Playoff Game 4 between the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 18, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Over the next few weeks, Pucks and Pitchforks will release their points predictions for every starting player on the New Jersey Devils main roster. Tonight, we predict the defending Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall.

Last year, there was no predicting exactly how good Taylor Hall was going to be. We all had aspirations that his second year with the New Jersey Devils would be better than his first, but we had no idea what was about to come.

Whether it was his short-handed goal against the Montreal Canadiens, his 26-game point streak, his seven game-winning goals or his goal to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in March, there were too many great moments to count.

Hall ended up with 39 goals, 54 assists, and a Most Valuable Player award. He had a ton of firsts last season. It was his first playoff performance. He recorded his first 30-goal season in his career. Last year was the first time Hall was better than +10 for a season. He posted or tied career highs in every major stat except penalty minutes and shots on goal.

Something just clicked for Hall. It likely had a lot to do with his center.

Hall never really got the chemistry we were hoping for with Travis Zajac. Despite being a great passer, Hall needs something more than that. He needs a legitimate threat to open up space for him. Zajac is not a scoring threat. Nico Hischier, however, is a scoring threat.

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That leads us into what to expect from Hall this season. Hischier will become a bigger threat this season, so does that mean more points for Hall, or will he have to share some of his stats?

This will likely mean a little bit of both. Hall will likely lose some of his goals if Hischier can continue his scoring ways (Hischier scored 12 of his 20 goals from February on). However, Hall will likely get more assists.

Hall will also get more assists if he can get a consistent right winger. He played with Jesper Bratt and Kyle Palmieri last season. Palmieri missed 20 games due to injury, and Bratt hit one of the worst rookie walls the Devils have ever seen. If the team an get some kind of consistency from their top line right wing, especially on the score sheet, then Hall’s numbers will go up.

When predicting Hall’s end of season line, his best case scenario is he could break 100 points, but that’s his very best case scenario. It’s more realistic that he’s regress to 35 goals, but will add a few more assists. So here’s the official prediction:

Goals: 35
Assists: 58
Points: 93

Yes, I know he ends up with the same exact point total as last year, but we need to be happy with that. I expect the Devils to have a much more balanced offense, and Hall will not need to score as much. He will because he’s amazing,

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