At this point, we all know Taylor Hall will not be with the New Jersey Devils much longer. What we will get in return for the former MVP is not known just yet, but it should vastly improve our team one way or another. There are reasons to be upset he will no longer be with us, Taylor Hall is a phenomenal addition to any team that acquires him. There is reason to believe though that the New Jersey Devils will be better off trading him now.
You have to believe in any trade for Hall, Ray Shero is seeking a defenseman that will be here for the long haul. The reason a trade has not gone through thus far is because the New Jersey Devils cannot be cheated in any trade. We must execute on this opportunity to excel this apparent rebuild the organization is still going through. Expect a defenseman, whether he is experienced or prospect, to be coming the Devils way along with a draft pick. That would be a win considering all Ray Shero did to acquire him was trade Adam Larsson one for one.
Now going forward, the team will be without a former MVP 1st line left wing, which is not easy to replace. This presents opportunity to younger players to see who can step up and fill those holes. the New Jersey Devils have played much better the last two games vs. Colorado and Arizona without Taylor Hall in the lineup. Possibly realizing that he will not be here, players are starting to find another gear to grab those extra minutes of ice-time.
It may be a surprise to some that a lineup without Taylor Hall is actually playing a lot better. Hall is an offense first forward, and his play shows that a lot on defense when the Devils are stuck in their own zone. There is a reason that Taylor Hall has over 10 breakaways this season and it is not because he was playing defense. If Taylor Hall did not register one point this season, his +/- would be -18 ( On ice for 18 goals against ) which is not very good. Even with his 25 points in 30 games, he is still -11 for the season, which is good for 25th worst in the league.
The Devils defense is not good, so all those goals against are not his fault. You expect five guys playing defense in your zone rather than puck watching, waiting to break the other way. This team needs to build a balance of defense that creates offense, and that will progress. Going forward, the Devils are going to be playing a lot harder to try to build confidence leading into the end of season. Unless there is a miraculous return for Taylor Hall and an incredible streak of wins this season at the moment is lost.
The Devils have to be optimistic about the team going forward. They are young in the forward category. Defensively, they have been let down by very inconsistent play. Expect that to change. If there is a fire sale to come, expect and hope for a completely different defensive core next season. This organization is going to turn it around, it is definitely taking longer than anybody would like but the future is bright.
Taylor Hall is going to change this team by no longer being apart of it and for the better. Ray Shero learned very quickly we cannot have a John Tavares situation in New Jersey and rightly so. Getting a massive return for our best player is all we can hope for at this point. What we will get is answer we will get another day,week or month from now. Have hope in the New Jersey Devils future, this team is going to turn it around and when it does you are not going to want to turn away.