Speculation: Are the Devils making a big mistake holding onto Hall?

[Kamiccolo]

The past few years have shown us something; stars are no longer scared to leave in UFA if they think there is a better fit for them. With this in mind, what we have from Hall is not very convincing he is considering staying.

"Hall wants Devils to upgrade roster heading into last year of contract"

Hall wants Devils to upgrade roster heading into last year of contract

""There is only so much patience you can have at this age," the 27-year-old said. "The League is getting younger and Father Time is undefeated. You only have so many years left, so for me to be done halfway with my career and to only have played five playoff games is disappointing."

Now, we saw this exact same thing happen with Parise a few years back, where they went out and tried to compete right away to keep him, even going deep that year (to the finals if I remember) and he still left. These comments are way more open than JT's or Panarin's were, showing he has no concern leaving if he doesn't see the fit.

Now look at some factors..

- Hall has the most value in the offseason. He will not return much by the TDL outside of a first round pick + prospect or so as any teams trading for him know he is due a massive raise in a few months time

- I feel like if they kept Hall, they would most likely hang onto him and try to make the playoffs. Now, I think the Devils can make the playoffs in a bounce back year, but I don't see them going very deep at all. Most likely scenario is watching him walk for nothing.

- Devils core is overwhelmingly young. You've got Hughes + Hischier as your core up front with Blackwood in net and some young defense on the team. Now IMO is not the time to go for it for them, now is the time to add a future piece to the defense by trading Hall.

So what do you guys think? I feel like this goes two ways for the Devils, Hall walks for nothing, or he gets massively overpaid to stay and becomes a terrible contract halfway through it. IMO, the Devils need to move him this offseason to have the most leverage going forward. As we saw the past few years, losing guy like Hall for nothing is a massive step back for the franchise. I'd rather that step back happened while my best young players were still new to the NHL than while they enter their statistical primes.

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[TFHockey]

I think on Spittin' Chicklets he stated he was going to free agency, correct?

 

[LarKing]

If adding Hughes and Subban isn’t improving the team I don’t know what is.

 

[super6646]

Come home hall... come... home damn it!

 

[Gardner McKay]

No.

They want to win. While I don't think they have the horses to actually win a cup, with Hischier and Hughes still on ELC's, now might be as good of a time as any to try to vault back into contender status.

I think the bigger mistake would be trading him. Unlike fans, GM's don't want to be in a continuous rebuild. There has to be a time you go for it. Again, I don't personally think they can do it but with Subban, Hall, Hischier and Hughes as your key pieces, why the hell not?

 

[smitty10]

The Devils have done as he asked. They've made a bunch of upgrades to their team to make themselves better.

- They've added PK Subban, Wayne Simmonds and drafted Jack Hughes 1st overall.

- Nico Hischier and MacKenzie Blackwood a year older and presumably even better.

- The hope is that Pavel Zacha starts to round out into a top 9 forward.

This is an up-and-coming team that's added some good veterans. Why would they give up a chance at the playoffs for their young stars? This team has some high end potential and talent.

 

[Toby Flenderson]

I don’t think it’s a mistake.

He lead them to the playoffs 2 seasons ago basically all by himself. If he stays healthy, the addition of Subban and Hughes should allow them to easily make the playoffs. To be honest, I like their current roster a lot.

I think if Hughes has an amazing rookie season (70+ points), Hall will be more likely to stay than leave. What other team has a young superstar like that and can afford Hall at 11 mill? Only Colorado fit that bill, but the time to acquire him was this off season so I don’t think he goes there.

 

[smitty10]

I think on Spittin' Chicklets he stated he was going to free agency, correct?

I thought it was more dependent on how the team did this season.

 

[Advanced stats]

I'd bet money that Hall is leaving. Not much has indicated that he's staying and NJ is going to be a middling team again this year.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

I feel they half-ass'd it this off season. Go big or go home, their roster is still full of holes that could be addressed with the cap space they have right now (especially with goal-tending), but could also use another dman and at least one of Dzingle/Ferland. I can still see Hall resigning and they can make the playoffs, but miss'd out on some opportunities.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Oh hell no. It's not an attractive trade market out there, I don't think. Keep him and see. The Devils already have top picks and prospects coming. What more do they really need? A little time? Taking a step forward in the meantime would be great.

They can revisit the equation in February depending on where they are in the standings and how the relationship has evolved. But keeping him meanwhile is absolutely the right call.

 

[These Are The Days]

Absolutely not. Why the NJD would just let a player of his caliber go is beyond me. As for Hallsy he just got dealt a shit hand being sent from one bad team to another bad team.

You make him an offer he can't refuse and do all you can to bring him back.

 

[TGWL]

No, they're not making a mistake, yet. The season hasn't started yet, you can't trade away Hall for the best return when you still have a shot at negotiating a contract.

1)Keeping Hall gives NJ's the best shot at making the playoffs. No reason to remove their best weapon before the season starts if they feel they have a shot at signing him.
2) If NJD come out strong and find themselves in a good position by Jan, perhaps Hall signs prior to the trade deadline.
3) They would have had to trade hall prior to the draft. Teams invested in the draft and free agency. There's no point in doing it right now.

 

[Dekes For Days]

I think it's probably a mistake. I don't think they're ready to compete, even with the moves they've made, and I don't think Hall is staying, even if they're good. That said, there isn't a lot of cap available this off-season, and they may actually get a similar return (and have a clearer picture of their competitiveness and what Hall is likely to do) if they wait until the deadline. And with how weak the Metro projects to be this season, anything is possible.

Let's just hope the NJ fanbase can stay classier than some if he does leave.

 

[Jerzey Devil]

It’s definitely a gamble. Hopefully it pays off. I’m guessing at this point he’ll see where the team is by the trade deadline and if he hadn’t extended then he’ll be traded.

With or without Hall the Devils are still a young up and coming team with a lot of good pieces to build around.

 

[Ryuji Yamazaki]

They'll just trade him at the deadline when they're way out of the playoff picture.

 

[Devils820]

I feel they half-ass'd it this off season. Go big or go home, their roster is still full of holes that could be addressed with the cap space they have right now (especially with goal-tending), but could also use another dman and at least one of Dzingle/Ferland. I can still see Hall resigning and they can make the playoffs, but miss'd out on some opportunities.

How did they half ass it?

They added a top pair D for almost nothing, drafted a 2C, added a top 9 winger in Simmonds.

Other than the Rangers, who had a better offseason than the Devils?

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I feel they half-ass'd it this off season. Go big or go home, their roster is still full of holes that could be addressed with the cap space they have right now (especially with goal-tending), but could also use another dman and at least one of Dzingle/Ferland. I can still see Hall resigning and they can make the playoffs, but miss'd out on some opportunities.

Except they probably do also have to think about preserving some cap space down the road if they want to at least be able to try re-signing Hall to an elite contract and their other top guys coming off ELC? I know they'll have a lot opening up anyway after Simmonds, Vatanaen, Greene expire. I agree it's a valid debate for sure. Dzingels and Ferlands are not going to push a team over any summit though. They are illusions and ultimately filler. Maybe they get you a slightly lower draft pick if anything. They aren't going to win you a playoff round.

Now if they were bold enough to use the cap space on an offersheet for a real difference-making player --- that would have been something.

 

[Gatorbait19]

I think it’s a mistake for them to keep Hall, but their moves this summer (specifically Subban) shows they think otherwise. They’re a borderline playoff team right now, but they have a real opportunity to build a powerhouse for the next 5-10 years.

They have a really good young core with Hughes and Hischier. The best move is to take the hit now, suck this year and get as high a pick as possible. You pair that with the 1st + good prospect they’d get from Hall and you’re looking at something special.

 

[I Like Eich]

It's a gamble and he'll probably leave, but I wouldn't trade him before the season starts unless someone presents an unbelievable offer (which would likely require Hall signing an extension with that team)

NJD are better off starting the year with him, see where they are at the trade deadline. They should be at minimum still competing for a playoff spot... but if things don't work out as planned this year and they're not, they can sell him at the deadline for a late 1st and a prospect.

 

[joe dirte]

If he's not signed by the trade deadline and they don't trade him, and he jumps ship, just like Tavares, they have nobody to blame but themselves.

If they feel they have a better roster, and they're improving, the first round picks and prospects they could get in return would do wonders for the team going forward. Are they going to be able to contend in 3 years time, when Hall is 30, and starts to decline? I don't know about that.

 

[ricky0034]

why are you posting a quote from before they traded for Subban and won the draft lottery?

those are some pretty f***ing big changes....

 

[joe dirte]

It's a gamble and he'll probably leave, but I wouldn't trade him before the season starts unless someone presents an unbelievable offer (which would likely require Hall signing an extension with that team)

NJD are better off starting the year with him, see where they are at the trade deadline. They should be at minimum still competing for a playoff spot... but if things don't work out as planned this year and they're not, they can sell him at the deadline for a late 1st and a prospect.

they can easily get more than that.

 

[Love]

Yes they are. They should trade Hall and even trade Subban either at the TDL or next years draft. Build around Hughes, Hischier, Ty Smith, Blackwood, etc. Guys in that age range is where they should be building. Hall and Subban will be over the hill by the time their young core hits its prime.

 

[These Are The Days]

Come home hall... come... home damn it!

The Oil are gonna have a load of cap space and basically just Nurse and Kassian to sign next year. They could be in luck