Ghosts Of Oilers Past: Taylor Hall

One character trait of his that’s been noted was his body language. Not that there was a whole lot to be happy about in the 6 Oilers seasons he played, but he didn’t look like someone you could lean on when the going got tough. That’s concerning to see in a player who, at this time, was the face of the organization. One can also argue that this trait stemmed from the ineptitude of management and being a basement dweller on a yearly basis. Remember my Ghosts Of Oilers Past: Dallas Eakins article from last month? I didn’t include this upcoming memory in there because I felt it was better suited to be mentioned here. It was in the middle of a humiliating 8-1 loss at home on a Saturday night, Hockey Night In Canada, against the rival Calgary Flames. Hall skated to the bench, sat down and threw his water bottle onto the floor in front of him in frustration. Some of that water got on Eakins’ suit and the two of them had an argument over it caught on camera. It got turned into a Twitter GIF using a water hose scene from the sitcom That ’70s Show, putting the heads of Hall and Eakins over the characters. Honestly, I didn’t have as much of an opinion on this as other Oilers fans when it happened. I just took it as a player being mad about losing really badly, and the result of the emotional outlet just looked worse. Perhaps it’s funnier in a Canadian market, but we see players shouting and smashing their sticks all the time when other games are being played. A more telling moment for me during Hall’s tenure was after a blowout loss in late 2014, also at home, against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Oilers roster got booed into the hallway of old Rexall Place as they were making their way off the ice and into the locker room. In Windsor, he only knew how to win. In Edmonton, he only knew how to lose. While hockey is a team sport, being the one most associated with all that losing, because your best player will naturally get the most attention, laid heavy.

Then on April 18th 2015, his future as an Oiler was drastically altered forever. Edmonton won the right to draft McDavid, the next generational talent, first overall, their fourth #1 pick in six years. Hall was no longer the guy to build around. But he stuck around for another season, with Connor having him and former enforcer Luke Gazdic as roommates in the 2015/2016 season. Hall had a good first half of that season while McDavid was healing through his infamous collarbone injury. But that production slowed down after the new phenom came back. The team would suffer another bottom three finish in the standings, and add another top 5 draft pick. Though having a new key injury every month certainly didn’t help, being led by first year Oilers coach and long time veteran Todd McLellan on Team Canada was still never the same as being led on the Oilers. Not being “the guy” anymore makes you a bigger option to trade, and Hall was traded. On June 29th 2016, the New Jersey Devils became his new home. The return was defenseman Adam Larsson, a one for one trade that turned into a joke within the fanbase. That day was made more chaotic with two other major moves happening a half an hour later. The Montreal Canadiens traded P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber. Two star right handed point producing defensemen switching sides? You don’t see deals like that everyday. Moments later, Steven Stamkos, two days away from being an unrestricted free agent, signed an 8 year extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

When Hall was shipped out, one Oilers journalist brought up that in the four seasons after his first two, Alex Ovechkin and Jamie Benn were the only other left wingers to’ve put up more points. That was certainly elite company back then. But due to positional need, his own position, and no team success whatsoever, nobody outside of Edmonton would value that statistic enough to bring a bigger return in a trade. A right handed defenseman who could succeed in top 4 minutes was badly needed on the Oilers. While Larsson wasn’t for the point totals and “not a sexy defenseman”, as former Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli put it, you can’t deny that he was perfectly solid in what he did. Before he left via expansion draft in 2021, before Oscar Klefbom retired early due to injury, that was a pairing which Oilers fans wish they could still watch every game. Hall treated the 2016/2017 season as if he’d been writing songs for Adele or Taylor Swift. He and Edmonton went through a bad breakup, and it was hard for him to move on. He was still the First Overall pick whisperer while watching the team he started his career with break a 10 year Playoff drought in the newly opened Rogers Place without him.

An Oilers rebuild centered around him was always destined to fail, because there was nothing substantial around him. No foundation, no roster depth, limited prospect depth, bad prospect development, yearly coaching changes and the list just keeps getting bigger. I still appreciate that he never wanted out of Edmonton, despite playing through that many bad seasons consecutively. But when he called the trade an indictment on him as a player, even he understood ultimately that a culture change was necessary. The responsibilities and the future of the team now belonged to someone else.

In 2017/2018, not only did he have his best statistical season, with 93 points through 76 games, it took him his eighth NHL season to finally taste postseason hockey. While his first Playoff appearance ended in a five game first round loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning, he won the Hart trophy as league MVP. The Oilers failed to make the Playoffs that season, taking steps back after looking promising the year before. Fans would then argue about how the team “traded a league MVP and lost the trade”. As someone who was a Hall fan and didn’t want him moved, this feeling is still a tad dishonest. Had he never left Edmonton, just comparing how he looks now to either the current roster or the one from 2017, I’d rank him 5th or 6th or 7th in terms of on ice importance. Hart trophy votes aren’t normally given to that type of player, assuming they don’t lead a team through countless injuries. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve MVP honors when he got them, of course he did. You just have to acknowledge that changes in circumstance play a big role in what you wouldn’t see previously. Oilers fans never witnessed an MVP season from Hall. That’s not his fault, it’s just the way it was. Also don’t forget how good Keith Kinkaid was in net for New Jersey that season, a luxury Hall didn’t have in Edmonton.

Despite the Hart season, the Devils didn’t end up being a long term home for him. He’s jumped from team to team throughout the past half of a decade, with two of them also benefiting from his Draft Lottery magic. He started making the Playoffs more often, but sadly for him, was also on the losing side of a historic upset with the Boston Bruins in 2023, while performing good statistically in round one. His regular seasons in this time frame have been decent, not spectacular.

None of what I’ve written thus far matters to him anymore, because he finally became a Stanley Cup champion this past season. 19 points through 19 Playoff games as the greybeard veteran on a line with Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake, also scoring the Cup winning goal in Game 6. Were it not for his captain Jordan Staal scoring 6 goals in the Final, some wondered if he’d been getting Conn Smythe trophy consideration. Though I’m sure he’s managed to live with winning just one different trophy instead.

Before and after the Oilers traded Taylor Hall, I always lamented hearing or seeing fans label him a “cancer in the room.” I don’t know, maybe I’m that person, I’ve just never felt comfortable using the terminology of a life threatening decease while talking about sports. With that said, fans are still happy to’ve seen him finally earn himself a ring. He went through a lot, and that gives anyone a greater appreciation for just how hard going all the way really is. He’s 11 NHL games away from his 1000th and 13 NHL points from his 800th. He should have both wrapped up in 2026/2027. It’s not a Hall of Fame career, but considering how it started, it has been a good career that, when he inevitably retires, will have ended on a high note. During the on ice Cup celebrations, he spoke with Gene Principe and said “If there’s anyone who deserves to win the Stanley Cup, it’s him”. We hope so, Hallsy. We sure hope so.