Taylor Hall's run of bad luck

Pro Hockey Talk had a nice post up about Taylor Hall's run of bad luck, and I can agree. As much as I loved Taylor Hall; he was maybe my favorite player to ever watch since the inception of this blog - not the best pound for pound - but my personal favorite, every time he would take several steps forward there would seemingly be something that set him back waiting around the corner.

There were scathing takes in Edmonton in his final days there such as this one:

Hall has proven he’s not captain material, Pinder said. “The biggest awkward part of it in Edmonton is that Connor McDavid should be the captain of that hockey club, but Taylor Hall still struts around like he’s king of the jungle. It’s over. If he was a great leader, he’s have a ‘C’ on his chest and this team wouldn’t be in the basement every year… There seems to be an acceptance of poor result and that is not what you see with some leaders. They don’t allow that to happen. They get mad. They call teammates onto the carpet. And that’s not what Hall does. And he’s the guy that has the biggest value. Trade him for a bloody defenceman that knows how to play defence.”

I really hope to see the Devils get Hall to the playoffs. He strikes me as a guy who could have a remarkable run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I am really sad that it didn't work out in Edmonton, and the trade for the blue liner the Oilers got remains one of the most hated I've ever seen go down in sports.

Hall is a likable guy who is still just 25 and forever in front of him. I hope to see him continue to put up big numbers and definitely miss watching him play for the Oilers.