I doubt that's what was the deal breaker, Seguin was benched for more than 2 rounds, he came in and played like a veteran and stole a match by himself. I hate the Bruins but the guy's the real deal, had he played a regular shift and with top linemates he woulda had 50-60 points.
Don't take my post as hating on Seguin. On draft day I wanted Hall but I was fine with walking away with Seguin. I also spent a lot of time last spring defending Seguin to Hall fans that wanted to bash him.
With that said, the difference between Hall and Seguin was not just linemates and ice time this season. You can't just assume Seguin would have tripled his production had he been on a team's top line. He was a healthy scratch 8 times last season and missed the first two rounds. Even the most "veteran favoring" coach doesn't scratch a player capable of putting up 60 points.
Seguin played 9 more games and he still had 20 less points. That's a lot. Even if you include the 13 playoff games, he still finished the season with 13 less points than Hall put up in 22 more games. Two great games doesn't make all things equal. If it does, then I see Seguin's 3 goals in 2 games and raises him a hat trick. How does that make any sense? It's not like Hall didn't have some dominant stretches. He was the Oilers best player almost every night...even when Hemsky was in the line up.
It's not like Hall was in the most ideal situation either. Just look at who his line mates were. Eberle is a talented young player but he's still just a 2nd liner that will produce at a 50 point pace. Plus, Horcoff was his centerman. He should be playing on a 3rd line somewhere. So Hall was playing with 2nd and 3rd line talent while the opposition treated them like they were a legit 1st line because they were still the Oilers biggest threat...and the majority of his points came 5 on 5 since the Oilers coaching staff had a terrible system in place.
I also saw someone mention that Seguin going to be even better once he filled out. It should be noted that what got a lot of talk at the draft was how Seguin was so muscular while Hall looked like a twig...but Hall was heavier. He's going to be a beast once he fills out.
Again, don't take this post as an attempt to bash Seguin. It's an attempt to boost Hall. I tried to base my argument around what Hall did and not what Seguin didn't do.
