New Jersey Devils: Playing Taylor Hall For First Time Since Trade

The New Jersey Devils are on a losing streak for the first time this season as the Philadelphia Flyers took care of them twice in Newark. There were a lot of issues and the Flyers are a good team, so it made for two tough losses. It was especially tough in the second game because they played better than Philly but couldn’t beat Carter Hart more than once. Now, they turn their attention to the Buffalo Sabres where they will meet an old friend.

The New Jersey Devils are going to play the Buffalo Sabres for the first time this season.

The Buffalo Sabres are a team that is similar to the New Jersey Devils in a lot of ways. They have mixed expectations for the season in terms of wins, losses, and playoff potential, but they want to see some of their young guys develop for the future. They do, however, have former New Jersey Devils star Taylor Hall in the mix. Hall signed there on a one-year deal after being traded from New Jersey to the Arizona Coyotes where he only finished out the 2019-20 season.

Hall is a bit of a liar in the eyes of most Devils fans. When he was with the Devils on an expiring contract, all he kept saying was that he wanted to be on a team that has a chance to win. So what does he do? He goes to the Buffalo Sabres who haven’t made the playoffs in going on a decade and have the longest postseason drought in the National Hockey League. That is almost double the Detroit Red Wings, whose four years is the second-longest drought.

Now, it was probably a smart decision for him to bet on himself and go play with Jack Eichel who is one of the best 10 centers in the league. Those two are very good as a pair. That can open a lot of doors for Hall. If they aren’t in a playoff spot by the trade deadline, a contender would absolutely want him and that could up his free-agent value going into 2021-22.

As for the Devils, they are going to play Hall for the first time since the Devils traded him to the Arizona Coyotes for Kevin Bahl, Nick Merkley, Nate Scharr, and two picks, one of which turned into Dawson Mercer. It is a bittersweet feeling because even though things ended badly for him in New Jersey, he brought us out of our seats with his play many times. He was their best player by far for a few years and is the only player to ever win the Hart Trophy in the history of the Devils.

The Devils need to play the same way they did in the first two periods of their most recent game against the Flyers. If they do, they should be able to compete at a high level in this game. Buffalo has some good players but the Devils should be able to make this a winnable game. Travis Zajac is now on the COVID-19 list so he isn’t making the trip so his 1000th game will have to wait.

If there was one group that could propel them to victory, it is their new top line. Andreas Johnsson, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt we so sweet in their only game together. Bratt is finally back in the lineup and it is clear that he is going to make an impact this season. We know how awesome Hughes has been so these two as a duo have a chance to be magical. If the Devils play the way we know they can, they should be able to take down Hall and the Sabres.