The New Jersey Devils have a superstar in Taylor Hall. If he plays like we know he can this season, he will compete for the Hart Trophy again.
The New Jersey Devils have a superstar player on an expiring contract. Taylor Hall is one of the best offensive players in the National Hockey League. He is the definition of a game breaker, and he knows that if he has a really good year he is going to get paid handsomely. That could lead to him being in the conversation for the Hart Trophy once again.
He won the MVP in 2017-18 as his 93 point campaign led the Devils to the postseason for the first time in half a decade. He was injured for most of the 2018-19 season, but before getting hurt he was on a very similar point pace. He had 37 points in 33 games, putting him on pace for a 92-point season.
He missed the rest of the year, but all signs point to him being 100% healthy with something to prove. Hall wants to be the face of a franchise and be paid as such. We all hope that team is the Devils, but no matter what happens you can expect the Devils to benefit from that fact this year.
The Devils have some new additions this year that should help Taylor as well. He has never played on a team with a defenseman as good as P.K. Subban. Subban can move the puck to the forwards unlike any other guy on the team, and he can shoot the puck creating rebounds and other opportunities. All of the forwards will benefit from having P.K. on their team, but Hall will especially because he is such a special player.
If Jack Hughes hits the ground running and plays on a line next to Hall, that will take some of the opposition’s best players off of him as they will have to tend to both lines. There is also more help on the power-play with Hughes, Subban, Nikita Gusev, and Wayne Simmonds. A net-front presence like Simmonds might really help an elite playmaker like Hall with the man advantage.
All of these variables should propel Hall back into the MVP conversation. There are guys like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, and Patrick Kane amongst others to worry about as far as MVPs are concerned but if he has another season like 2017-18 he will certainly be in the conversation. You should expect Hall to have a monster season for the Devils and be very excited about it.