Not from the aspect of building a contender back up through the NHL Draft, but essentially squandering the time they have with one of the best players in the game.
The Islanders only got to the playoffs once with John Tavares, before he packed up and went to Toronto. The Devils might only get one playoff appearance out of their time with Taylor Hall, who appears (according to NHL.com) to be in no rush to sign a contract extension.
Tavares never won the Hart Trophy as league MVP, but Hall did last season, the only time in the last seven years the Devils made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hall is set to become an unrestricted free agent after next season, wrapping up the final year of the seven-year, $42 million contract extension he signed with the Edmonton Oilers back in August of 2012.
The Devils straight fleeced the Edmonton Oilers in trading Hall straight-up for Adam Larson after 2016 playoffs. Hall went on to post a career-high in points (39 goals, 54 assists) his first year with New Jersey, en route to the Hart Trophy.
This season Hall appeared in only 33 games due to injury, and the Devils finished with the third-worst record in the league. They somehow won the NHL Draft Lottery last month, and have a king’s ransom at their disposal with the top overall pick. Center Jack Hughes or winger Kaapo Kakko are projected to be the first two picks off the board, and either should step in as a starter immediately between the Devils and the New York Rangers, who hold the second pick.
Hughes, 18, broke most scoring records last season for the US National Development Team, and is the truest pure scorer in this year’s class. Perhaps Hall’s reluctance to sign an extension is seeing that his replacement is a few short weeks away from being selected, should he walk after next year.
If Hall is planning on moving on after next season, this past might be a pretty good indicator to Devil management. The Devils had a knack this season for putting pucks in their own net, including three in one game against Anaheim. If you search for Steve Dangle on YouTube, you’ll find a weekly low-light series known as “Steve’s Dang-Its.” Dangle (a.k.a. Steve Dangle Glynn) is an author and contributor to Sportsnet (the second-ranked sports network in Canada behind TSN).
There was a period after the first of the year where Dangle was almost obliged to include a Devils’ own-goal in each week’s vlog, and even admitted as such in a few videos.
New Jersey is more than $18 million under the cap this year, and about $35.6 million as it stands right now for next year. (It is also borderline hilarious that they are paying Ilya Kovalchuk a quarter-million a year until 2025 after buying him out back in 2014.) Outside of Nico Hischier, Damon Severson, and the upcoming draft pick New Jersey does not really have much to offer Hall if they are trying to convince him to stay. The franchise has stripped the roster to the screws, and even the heads on those may not be fully functional. Somewhere in there John Hynes earned a contract extension back on 3 January, despite finishing no better than fifth in the Metro each of his four years in Newark.
Hall was born and raised in Calgary. Given how the Flames are currently constructed compared to the Leafs after last season once Tavares became available, I find the financial likelihood of a homecoming to not be in the cards this time around. However, if it was to happen perhaps Canada could get behind a Flames’ run to the Stanley Cup, instead of their annual emotional investment into Toronto’s failure.
-JC24