Ever since Zach Parise decided to go to the Minnesota Wild and a Ilya Kovalchuk abruptly retired from the NHL, the most exciting player to wear a New Jersey Devils uniform was Taylor Hall. I think we all remember the day Bob McKenzie tweeted out the now famous, “the trade is one for one,” bringing the former first overall pick to New Jersey. Even if he didn’t re-sign with the team, the almost four years Hall spent in the black and red was the best of his career.
Why not pose the question, did Taylor Hall hurt the Devils more than he helped them? Ronald Reagan had a famous campaign slogan, “are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Well, are the Devils a better team than when they were when McKenzie sent out that fateful tweet?
The State of the New Jersey Devils, Circa 2016
Realistically, the New Jersey Devils should have begun their rebuild during the 2013-2014 season. That was following the brutal one and two punch of losing Parise and Kovalchuk back-to-back off seasons. Instead, then general manager Lou Lamoriello tried to keep the team competitive. That was mostly through the acquisition of aging free agents. To Lamoriello’s credit, the Devils defied expectations in 2013-2014 by barely missing the playoffs.
The 2014-2015 season was much different and saw the Devils drop to below .500 while becoming sellers at the deadline. Lamoriello was replaced as general manager by Ray Shero, who had held the same position while winning a Stanley cup championship with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lamoriello left the team entirely to eventually become general manager with the Toronto Maple Leafs, officially ending the Lou Lamoriello tenure in New Jersey.
Shero made some moves to bring excitement to the fan base. Most notably he traded for Kyle Palmieri from the Anaheim Ducks during his first draft with the Devils. The arrival of Palmieri would be an exciting boost, but nothing compared to Hall being unceremoniously dealt by the Edmonton Oilers the next offseason.
It Was Too Good Of a Trade
Getting Hall for the low price of Adam Larsson was a gift given to the rebuilding Devils on a silver platter. It was one that should have realistically speed up the rebuild by a number of years. After all, the Devils got the highly skilled forward most teams dream of having.
Instead of being the gift on a silver platter, Hall became the league’s highest paid band aid. What do I mean by that? His stellar and phenomenal play also covered up massive deficiencies in New Jersey’s game. Shero made a few moves to help plug the holes, by for the most part the Devils became Taylor Hall’s one man show.
It’s often been assumed the Devils only made the 2018 playoffs because of Taylor Hall’s Hart Trophy winning, MVP season. Hall put up 93 points that season. The next highest point total was Nico Hischier, who had 52 points in his rookie season. They were the only two players that season with over 44 points.
The Devils also made the playoffs because of backup goaltender Keith Kinkaid playing amazing hockey, but well over performing what he was capable of. Shero did make some moves to add scoring depth and improve the defense, adding Marcus Johansson and Will Butcher respectively. Neither of those proved to be long term solutions as neither are with the team as the 2021-2022 season is about to begin.
Still, the Devils were in the playoffs for the first time six years! They had their first league MVP in franchise history! Next year when the team lost Hall to a length injury that saw him only play in 33 games. Without their Hart Trophy winner the team saw just how bad they were without Hall. He was good enough to cover up all the holes in a still deeply flawed team.
Throughout Hall’s four year Devils tenure, it was never a foregone conclusion that he would re-sign with the Devils. Still, the team made almost every move with the goal of appeasing him. Shero even admitted he called Taylor Hall for his personal opinion before completing the Subban trade. The Devils had no depth and no structure, just one man holding it all together.
What is Hall’s Legacy?
The 2018 season was supposed to be a turn to form and the beginning of the next great era in Devils hockey. The 2018-2020 season saw the team regress mightily and end up with another first overall selection used on Jack Hughes. The team tried to do some retooling that offseason, adding the likes of P.K. Subban and Nikita Gusev, but it wasn’t enough. Shero, as well as head coach John Hynes, would both be fired and Taylor Hall sent via trade to the Arizona Coyotes.
Hall was traded, along with Blake Speers, for a first round pick, a third round pick, Nick Merkley, Nate Scharr and Kevin Bahl. The third round pick was later flipped to get defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler from the Washington Capitals. Nate Scharr still find himself with the Binghamton Devils (well, now Utica comets, but still under contract). Nick Merkley was traded to the San Jose Sharks this offseason for Christián Jaroš.
Most notably, that first round pick was used on Dawson Mercer. Mercer has since become the organizations second -ighest regarded prospect, after Alexander Holtz. Mercer had a monster year in 2020-2021, but has yet to turn pro.
So, as of now, let’s say Taylor Hall directly turned into Dawson Mercer and Kevin Bahl. Both are two higher-touted prospects in the organization’s top-10, but we haven’t seen them in the NHL yet (aside from a few games of Kevin Bahl). Until then we can’t tell if they will live up to the performance and success Taylor Hall had.
Hall gave us some great memories, and we’ll always remember him. Still, you can’t help but think how things would have panned out differently if we didn’t have him. How would defensive depth be addressed? What about defense? How would we build a team, and not just Taylor Hall and friends? Having a superstar in nice, but it only lasts so long while building a team.