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New Jersey Devils: Taylor Hall Falls Outside Of Top-40 Players

By Nick Villano

OTTAWA, ON - NOVEMBER 06: New Jersey Devils Left Wing Taylor Hall (9) prepares for a face-off during first period National Hockey League action between the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators on November 6, 2018, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - NOVEMBER 06: New Jersey Devils Left Wing Taylor Hall (9) prepares for a face-off during first period National Hockey League action between the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators on November 6, 2018, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils best player fell outside of the NHL’s top-40 players in the entire league. Taylor Hall shows how the league feels about the Devils on a national scale.

One year ago, the New Jersey Devils were celebrating the first ever Hart Trophy winner in franchise history. Patrick Elias, Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise all had great seasons with the Devils, but never did they come close to the MVP. Taylor Hall went home with the award.

That offseason, the NHL named Taylor Hall as the ninth best player in the entire league. He carried the Devils on his back all the way to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hall deserved the honor after an amazing season. There were times where he was unstoppable, and on more nights than not he was the best player on the ice.

Then, this season went awful. He was on a decent points pace with 37 points in 32 games. Despite being on a really bad Devils team, he was still producing at an MVP level. Then, his knee went out. It was a long, arduous process, He ended up missing the rest of the season with said knee injury.

It’s no surprise that Taylor Hall didn’t make the top-ten again. He’s honestly not in the top ten when considering injury as a factor. However, where he ended up on the NHL’s list is truly just wrong. Hall ended up in the 41st spot on the NHL’s list.

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He did end up ahead of players like Elias Petterson (seems like they just wanted a name at 50) and Jack Eichel, but it will be interesting to see who the NHL eventually puts ahead of Hall on the list. The analysts said they expect him to be higher on the list next year, which is strange. Why not just put him higher on the list this season? Obviously the injury ruined his ranking, but this seems like an overcorrection.

Now, it seems the only player with any chance to make it higher on the list in a New Jersey Devils uniform is P.K. Subban. Although after a “down” season from the year before, he might not make the list at all.

That means despite major upgrades this offseason, the Devils don’t have a top-40 player on the roster. Is that a playoff team when there’s not a top-40 player on the roster? Well, obviously we don’t agree with the NHL’s list, so it doesn’t really matter. However, it’s surprising to see how far Hall has fallen. Out of sight, mostly out of mind? Either way, we also believe we will see him much higher on the list next season, and hopefully again in a Devils uniform.

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