Taylor Hall Exactly What the Toronto Maple Leafs Need

According to the latest rumours, the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in signing UFA Taylor Hall.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made an absolutely terrible decision to pursue Nick Foligno instead of Taylor Hall at the trade deadline, but it appears they are willing to correct that mistake.

The Bruins traded Anders Bjork (a strong defensive forward who is only 24) and a second rounder for Hall which, like the first rounder the Leafs gave up for Foligno, seems high in retrospect after you don’t succeed in the playoffs.

But unlike Foligno, Hall performed pretty well for Boston, scoring 14 points in 16 games.  They probably would have liked more playoff production from him, though they were probably very happy about his overall play – 55% possession and 64% expected goals.  (naturalstattrick.com).

Toronto Maple Leafs and Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall has gone from winning a Hart Trophy to being one of the most underrated players in the NHL.  This is due to the fact that until he went to Boston he played on nothing but really, really crappy teams.

Still, a look at the advanced stats suggests that Hall is still an elite player.  For example, in 37 games with Buffalo, he shot under 2%.  When that happens, uninformed people will complain about your game – it’s inevitable, just look at Mitch Marner and his 0% shooting over the last 18 playoff games.  The fact is almost all NHL fans and analysts put too much stock in short term results.

No matter, because that should make him cheaper and easier to sign.  As cute as it is that some Leafs fans would probably consider going from Zach Hyman to Taylor Hall a downgrade, it would actually be a massive upgrade.

To say that Zach Hyman is a bit overrated is like hearing a Baby Boomer discuss the Who. To say that Hyman is better than Hall is like finding someone who thinks Lincoln Park is a real band, and not the MC Hammer of hard rock. It’s like hearing someone say they don’t “get” the Wire but absolutely love How I Met Your Mother. 

Adding Taylor Hall would give the Leafs a fifth elite forward and they could probably add him fairly cheap if they gave him some term.   Honestly, I’m not too sure how they’d work it out, but adding one of the fastest players in the NHL, one who posts consistently elite numbers – if not results –  would make the Leafs team insane.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are already cup contenders whose only real Eastern Conference competition is Tampa, and if they added Taylor Hall to what they already have they would probably have the best roster in the NHL.

Throw in the addition of Nick Robertson and a healthy John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs would be an offensive powerhouse the likes of which the cap-era NHL has never seen.