With many people left curious about the whole Taylor Hall meeting between Darren Ferris and Ray Shero, Abbey Mastracco of Northjersey.com tweeted out “Devils’ GM Ray Shero said his lunch with Taylor Hall’s agent went well.” Abbey noted “he divulged no other details.” To come to think of it, it sounds like maybe Ray Shero and Darren Ferris are agreeing on possible money and term ideas. The other part is maybe it went well in the sense of Shero exploring options to possibly find trade suitors for Taylor Hall.
What are the outcomes of this meeting? Well, as Abbey Mastracco put it, the other details are obviously private information. So at this point if all went well and Ferris did have a good pizza lunch with Ray Shero, then maybe Hall gets re-signed. However Hall did say before the season started “playoffs or bust.” Also, make no mistake fans still hate the fact that Hall taunted his own fans after scoring a goal versus Philadelphia. After the game before, Taylor Hall should not have spoken so sour about fans booing with the team underperforming.
To kinda get a feeling over the past month, it feels Taylor Hall wants out. However does he like the idea of a young and upcoming Devils team trying to build towards the playoffs? That’s a case to be seen. If Hall does want out and Shero gets the green light from Hall and Ferris, then maybe there are a bunch of teams willing to give up a king’s ransom dealing with the Devils.
Gord Miller of TSN replied to my tweet on the whole Taylor Hall situation, saying “This is going to drag on, I’m afraid.” If Gord Miller and Abbey Mastracco are reading into the tea leaves carefully it sounds like both Shero and Ferris will take their time. So if Hall does want to get traded it’ll require a “sign and trade.” If Hall does get moved my hypothesis is well before NHL trade deadline regardless of the standings with the biggest return on investment.
If Taylor Hall does want to stay in New Jersey and re-sign long term he’s likely pulling off a Steven Stamkos re-signing before July first. If things go completely sour because of John Hynes’ coaching and player mismanagement you have to trade Taylor Hall because Hall wants to go to a playoff primed team. Having Hynes being babysit by Tom Fitzgerald on the Devils bench for this long it’s time to move on from John Hynes.
Moving on from Hynes’ old system would hold every player accountable. If Hall likes or dislikes a new coach in New Jersey then trade or not to trade is still up in the air. The final word likely come from Hall himself to Ray Shero whether he wants out or not (likely wants out) in that situation. Every Devils fan and wants this nightmare of a conundrum to finally be over and focus on our beloved Devils.