Taylor Hall: Best LW in the NHL?

[Master Lok]

The Olmypic team isn't the best debate IMO. Kunitz made it over Hall because he plays well with Crosby. Sharp has experience on a winning team, Benn fit the system better (although he might still be better than Hall for now). I like Pickles on SJ too, but he got ice time over Subban because he fit the system better.

I'm not saying you're wrong to say those guys are better than Hall right now (although I disagree about Sharp), I just think this team wasn't just focused on picking the 'best' 23 guys for the roster.

Until Hall is able to compete defensively against other teams best - then I don't even have him in the conversation.

What?

No really - who cares if Hall scores 80 pts.... playing on a bottom five team where we've all seen that Oiler forwards don't care / know how to defend. Its why he wasn't chosen for Team Canada.

Benn, Sharp, Zetterberg are all better because they've proven it against the league's best, in games that matter. What has Hall proven?

 

[Joey Moss]

Until Hall is able to compete defensively against other teams best - then I don't even have him in the conversation.

What?

No really - who cares if Hall scores 80 pts.... playing on a bottom five team where we've all seen that Oiler forwards don't care / know how to defend. Its why he wasn't chosen for Team Canada.

Benn, Sharp, Zetterberg are all better because they've proven it against the league's best, in games that matter. What has Hall proven?

What has Benn proven?

 

[McAsuno]

What has Benn proven?

gold medal!!

 

[Musashi]

Until Hall is able to compete defensively against other teams best - then I don't even have him in the conversation.

What?

No really - who cares if Hall scores 80 pts.... playing on a bottom five team where we've all seen that Oiler forwards don't care / know how to defend. Its why he wasn't chosen for Team Canada.

Benn, Sharp, Zetterberg are all better because they've proven it against the league's best, in games that matter. What has Hall proven?

This is my line of thinking as well

No way would I ever replace Hall with any other winger in the league right now but when your argument mainly resides on point totals scored in games outside the playoff race and quality of teammates, I just can't buy how that is an effective argument for Hall being the best at his position right now

There's just better options out there who have more experience and versatility while being able to outplay top competition more consistently

 

[Ace101]

Right now it's Benn. Can put up around ppg numbers, solid two way game, 30 goal scorer, and he was voted onto the first all star team as the best lw in the NHL for last years season.

 

[Moose Coleman]

This is my line of thinking as well

No way would I ever replace Hall with any other winger in the league right now but when your argument mainly resides on point totals scored in games outside the playoff race and quality of teammates, I just can't buy how that is an effective argument for Hall being the best at his position right now

Do points scored in games outside the playoff race count for less? Or are they easier to come by? As for teammates, Sharp plays with Hossa, Toews, Keith and Seabrook. Not to disparage RNH, Eberle, Petry and Schultz, but the first group might just be a little better.

 

[McGlassbangers]

IMO Ovechkin is RW and Zetterberg is C.

My top-5 LW's:

1. Hall
2. Benn
3. Sharp
4. Parise
5. Marleau

 

[Musashi]

Do points scored in games outside the playoff race count for less? Or are they easier to come by? As for teammates, Sharp plays with Hossa, Toews, Keith and Seabrook. Not to disparage RNH, Eberle, Petry and Schultz, but the first group might just be a little better.

Not saying they do but I think there is a difference in games where a crucial 2 points or a playoff series are on the line compared to games that are being played out and have little impact on the season standings.

Just when it comes to selecting who is currently the best, why pick the guy who only has experience putting up points on a bottom feeder team when there are players who are putting up points and making big contributions to winning teams?

 

[SterlingArcher]

Offensively maybe the best of the group, but not overall the best. Improve his work on the defensive side and then it's his to lose. But till then can't argue too much against it.

 

[syz]

This is my line of thinking as well

No way would I ever replace Hall with any other winger in the league right now but when your argument mainly resides on point totals scored in games outside the playoff race and quality of teammates, I just can't buy how that is an effective argument for Hall being the best at his position right now

There's just better options out there who have more experience and versatility while being able to outplay top competition more consistently

Hall consistently outplays top competition more than any of the other names being thrown around here, with the exception of last season where his numbers nosedived under Eakins.

During the lockout season Hall and Benn both saw top line competition--Hall blew him out of the water. The year before that Benn excelled playing the 8th toughest minutes of Dallas forwards, while Hall did better playing against second line competition.

He improved every year and could legitimately have been argued to be the best LW in the league in the lockout year. Highlights the abject failure that was Eakins' rookie season.

 

[tiger_80]

Hall is without a doubt a top 5-10 LW in the NHL right now. But given the age, I think he could end up being the best of the bunch in the next year or two.

Will also be interesting to see how addition of a big puck possession centre like Draisatl affects other wingers--notably Eberle and Yakupov who have never had a chance to play with somebody that can control and dish the puck.

 

[Mr Positive]

I like Hall quite a bit more than Benn.

 

[Senor Catface]

Not saying they do but I think there is a difference in games where a crucial 2 points or a playoff series are on the line compared to games that are being played out and have little impact on the season standings.

The thing is, the majority of teams in the league, due to the point parity system, are in the neck of things until the very end. Every game until the late going was important, so why would those games not somehow apply. For those teams it was a crucial 2 points, so in theory you would have tighter checking, more intense games as teams try and pry every point away from an easy opponent.

It's not like Hall was playing against a bunch of Oilers. He was playing against teams in a conference where 12 out of 14 teams were in it until the last 2 weeks. Vancouver, who was in 12th in the conference, was only 8 points out. So, the only time Hall would have been playing against teams "out of the playoff race" was for like...2 weeks.

 

[4EDM14OIL93]

People saying top 5-10 are definitely selling Hall short. He is unquestionably top 2 IMO. No other LW in the league has the game breaking ability Hall does. He is the best offensive LW in the league, and his defensive "issues" get way overblown cause he is an Oiler. Guys like Sharp and Parise shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence.

 

[rboomercat90]

Ah guys, Ovechkin, just sayin'

Sincerely,
PHWA

Lol and screw you Mark Spector.

 

[oilinblood]

Hall needs to work on his balance, he could of had at least 10 more points last year if he didn't fall down in the neutral zone the 15+ times on good looking break outs.

Zetterburg isn't as scary to play against as he was 8 years ago, and Sharp has never really spoken elite to me before. Benn however is very strong on the puck and may have a better hockey IQ than Hall. Still don't understand the Parise fad..

Benn for me. Hopefully it will be Hall this season though

Word for word i agree.

Also, our pp sucked last year and Hall gets ten more points if we werent inept with the man advantage. Minimum ten points.

 

[TheBusDriver]

Hall is the best LW in the league. If I was creating a team and had to pick a LWer for my top line, its Hall easily.

 

[Moose Coleman]

Not saying they do but I think there is a difference in games where a crucial 2 points or a playoff series are on the line compared to games that are being played out and have little impact on the season standings.

And what's the difference exactly?

Just when it comes to selecting who is currently the best, why pick the guy who only has experience putting up points on a bottom feeder team when there are players who are putting up points and making big contributions to winning teams?

Because guys on winning teams are usually playing with other good player, so it's a difficult to know who is driving the bus. On the Oilers, Hall isn't driving the bus: he is the bus.

 

[CornKicker]

1 Sidney Crosby PIT 24 41 65
2 Ryan Getzlaf ANH 25 38 63
3 Corey Perry ANH 34 29 63
4 Taylor Hall EDM 19 42 61
5 Phil Kessel TOR 29 31 60
6 Tyler Seguin DAL 26 33 59
7 Jamie Benn DAL 27 29 56
8 Joe Thornton SJ 8 47 55
9 Gabriel Landeskog COL 20 34 54
10 Kyle Okposo NYI 21 32 53

top 4 in even strength points in the entire NHL, Jamie benn is on this list but so is his linemate. The closest oiler to Taylor hall is David Perron...who is 35th and rarely if ever played with hall.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

I dare you to ask this on the main boards lol. Probably top 10, but others will say Ovi and Sharp. Hall currently plays for the Oilers, a team currently viewed by others as "crappy", so convincing others that Hall is the best LW in the league ahead of others such as Benn and Sharp will be difficult even though Hall is the better player.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I dare you to ask this on the main boards lol. Probably top 10, but others will say Ovi and Sharp. Hall currently plays for the Oilers, a team currently viewed by others as "crappy", so convincing others that Hall is the best LW in the league ahead of others such as Benn and Sharp will be difficult even though Hall is the better player.

Of course it will. There are people on this board, as an example, who think Chris Kunitz made Team Canada on merit, so expand that to the entire league, it will be next to impossible to convince anyone.

 

[CupofOil]

I dare you to ask this on the main boards lol. Probably top 10, but others will say Ovi and Sharp. Hall currently plays for the Oilers, a team currently viewed by others as "crappy", so convincing others that Hall is the best LW in the league ahead of others such as Benn and Sharp will be difficult even though Hall is the better player.

Hall isn't better than Benn though. Benn is a better overall player and is more versatile. Hall could wind up being the better player but not currently.
Zetterberg is also a better player currently.

It was encouraging that Hall got better defensively as the year wore on but he still has a ways to go to be considered the best LW in the league. Racking up points in mostly meaningless games while struggling defensively doesn't scream top LWer to me.
I'm confident that he'll get there eventually, i just hope it's not with another team if he gets sick of the losing and wants out.

 

[Oilfan2]

Hall isn't better than Benn though. Benn is a better overall player and is more versatile. Hall could wind up being the better player but not currently.
Zetterberg is also a better player currently.

It was encouraging that Hall got better defensively as the year wore on but he still has a ways to go to be considered the best LW in the league. Racking up points in mostly meaningless games while struggling defensively doesn't scream top LWer to me.
I'm confident that he'll get there eventually, i just hope it's not with another team if he gets sick of the losing and wants out.

Meaningless to who? The other teams in the league trying to jockey for position or simply trying to make the playoffs? It's a silly comment. Hall wasn't playing against the Oilers.

If I was choosing an NHL team today, Hall would be my choice for 1st line LW...no question.

 

[Moose Coleman]

Hall isn't better than Benn though. Benn is a better overall player and is more versatile. Hall could wind up being the better player but not currently.
Zetterberg is also a better player currently.

It was encouraging that Hall got better defensively as the year wore on but he still has a ways to go to be considered the best LW in the league. Racking up points in mostly meaningless games while struggling defensively doesn't scream top LWer to me.
I'm confident that he'll get there eventually, i just hope it's not with another team if he gets sick of the losing and wants out.

Huh. And here I thought a team's place in the standing was largely a product of the, well, team.

 

[CupofOil]

Meaningless to who? The other teams in the league trying to jockey for position or simply trying to make the playoffs? It's a silly comment. Hall wasn't playing against the Oilers.

If I was choosing an NHL team today, Hall would be my choice for 1st line LW...no question.

It's easier to score points when the pressure is off halfway through the season or in last years case, by November. It's harder to score when there is pressure to win and the opponent is giving your team its full attention.

And yes, i would also take Hall as my #1 choice at LW to start a franchise because of his potential but as of today, he's not the best LW. I don't even think it's a debate to be honest.

Huh. And here I thought a team's place in the standing was largely a product of the, well, team.

Was it really necessary to add "and to no fault of his own that the team is losing"? Of course it's not his fault, but he won't get due respect until his team at the very least crawls out of the cellar. The other LWers have proven that they can excel in important games, Hall hasn't and again, not his fault but it's the reality of the situation.