Thoughts from the media on the Taylor Hall – Adam Larsson trade …
Travis Yost: A team executive: “They should’ve called us — we easily put together a better package than Adam Larsson for Taylor Hall.”
– David Staples: “Seriously. An NHL executive didn’t know Taylor Hall was on the block? Fire him right now.”
Jim Matheson: “What are these fans smoking on Adam Larsson. He was on the Devils first D pair with Andy Greene. He’s Travis Hamonic without the edge.”
Jim Matheson: “If Ken Danyeko, who knows D-men, says Adam Larsson is a top pairing NHL D-man, that’s good enough for me. Says he’s equal of Hamonic”
Tom Gulitti: “Anyway, I’m not saying Devils didn’t win the trade, but from Edmonton’s perspective, there weren’t a lot of top pair righty Ds available.”
Ryan Rishaug: “This was a gutsy trade by Chiarelli that has potential to backfire, but I agree with the logic. Oil desperate for b-line fix, had to pay.
Ryan Rishaug: “Larsson by all accounts took a major step this season and is trending up. Chiarelli banking he’ll be a solid top pairing guy.”
Ryan Rishaug: “This was clearly an over payment, but a measured one. Chiarelli is taking a risk, but the bigger risk was doing nothing. We’ve seen that b4”
Marc Dumont: “Sorry, no eternal optimism from me today. This is just flat out bad. There’s no justifying it either. Don’t bother trying. Terrible trade.”
Kevin McGran: “Oilers have plenty of guys who can score, and can do it cheaper than Hall. they didn’t have a 22-plus minute, reliable Dman. Till now.”
David Staples: “Only 17% of Oilers fan say Taylor Hall trade was a good one. Early online poll results”
Mike Morreale: “Devils gain an off player they desperately need, but EDM also gets a D in Larsson who really turned the corner last yr as a top-2.”
Pierre LeBrun: “FYI that there was NO salary retained in Subban-Weber blockbuster. Straight up contract for contract.”
Jimmy Murphy: “Can confirm PK Subban just notified he was traded. Wow! Not happy!”
Jonathan Willis: “Montreal just acquired the age 31-40 seasons of Weber in exchange for the age 27-31 seasons from Subban.”
Jonathan Willis: “Adam Larsson played *tough* minutes for all of last year with Mark Fayne’s old partner, Andy Greene. 45% Corsi, if you were wondering.”
Jimmy Murphy: “On face right now, Hall for Larsson looks like a bad deal for Oilers. Before judging, I’ll inquire with multiple NHL execs and scouts.
Craig Morgan: “Believe Larsson was 1 of D Coyotes at least considered. Surprised Oilers did this straight up, but fills big need.”
Pat Leonard: “So really, though, what else did the #Devils give the #Oilers in that trade for Hall?”
Down Goes Brown: “This is one of those fantasy trades where everyone emails the commish, there’s a unanimous veto, and both GMs get thrown out of the league.”
Mark Spector on Sportsnet: Spector notes:
“One exec I spoke with Wednesday likened this to the way a cap-challenged team like Chicago has been forced to trade away players like Brandon Saad and Nick Leddy for cents on the dollar as part of the overall process of staying on top. Of course, Edmonton is trying just to reach the top, but the concept is the same.”