Taylor Hall Jersey Card

The most coveted forward in this off-season's free agency, Taylor Hall, will go through the process again next year, as he's agreed to a one-year deal worth $8M with the Buffalo Sabres.

You may recall him saying he was looking to win and that a large paycheque was not the top thing on his shopping list, that he was looking for stability...

While this move makes his previous comments seem a tad hypocritical, bear in mind that most contending teams are tight against the cap this year with a flat cap looming over GMs' heads for the next couple of seasons - and few of them were looking to make trades to make room to add salary, save perhaps for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who already have arguably three better forwards on their roster and instead need to find a way to keep pucks out of their own net at this point.

So instead, Hall is betting on himself, hoping he gets to line up with Jack Eichel, that neither of them gets injured, and that they can pad each other's statistics enough for Hall to force himself to an even greater payday next summer. If all the stars align, the Sabres can win it all in 2020-21, but that's going to take a near-miracle. Hall's semi-realistic hope is to crack the 100-point mark with Eichel to parlay his way onto a stacked team like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche or Vancouver Canucks.

I, for one, expect the market to remain essentially the same next time around, however, with GMs going for safe, reasonable bets.

Here is Hall wearing the New Jersey Devils' red (home) uniform, on card #24 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Premier set, which I got in a trade last summer for a card of his wearing the Edmonton Oilers' blue uniform:

It features a matching game-used piece of "memorabilia" (as per the back, the front specifies it's a jersey). The actual card has the foil at the bottom in pure silver, the scan rendered it beige.

Taylor Hall Jersey Card

The speculation can end: the New Jersey Devils traded Taylor Hall (with Blake Speers) to the Arizona Coyotes for a guaranteed first-rounder, a third-rounder that could become a second- or even another first-rounder (conditions apply) and a trio of B-level prospects Nick Merkley, Nate Schnarr and Kevin Bahl. The Devils are retaining 50 percent of Hall's salary

The return is underwhelming, but the Devils see it as addition by subtraction: they got rid of a massive distraction, a player looking for a big payday that they've been courting and trying to please for three seasons who didn't want to re-sign, and all it cost them is firing a mediocre coach (John Hynes). They'll get to tank for a good first-round spot after winning two of the last three lotteries, and stockpile prospects of their own.

Don't get me wrong, Hall is an excellent first-line winger, an All-Star, but his head and next contract are overblown by the Hart Trophy that bears his name instead of the more-deserving Nathan MacKinnon two years ago. He doesn't make his linemates better and only once played in a state of grace worthy of a first-overall draft selection (2010, Edmonton Oilers) - and that year, his 93 points were 41 better than the runner-up on his team, 18-year-old rookie Nico Hischier. He didn't help anyone on his team despite being near the 100-point mark; Connor McDavid turns career nobodies into 20-goal scorers and brings Leon Draisaitl - a very talented player, one of the ten best forwards in the world - in the conversation as one of the three best players of this era. Hall's 14% shot rating in 2017-18 was also 50% higher than his career average and it was likely pure luck that it was in that year that he didn't miss 20 games to injury - two chance events happening at once.

And yet, Coyotes GM John Chayka - whom I wouldn't rate among the 10 best of his profession - made a perfect trade in acquiring his services. If he uses Hall correctly, as a rental, he'll be telling his team - currently sitting in first place in the wide-open Pacific Division - that he sees their effort and will help them go as far as they can without hurting the core and the current team spirit and simply adding an All-Star to the mix, perhaps the one player who can wake Phil Kessel up from his half-season slumber. He's thanking his veterans for their patience in those lean years where they kept failing to make the playoffs; he's showing his young guns he'll always try to give them a chance to win if they help themselves first.

He's also letting Hall look like a good team player by giving him the chance to join a club that will now be looking to contend, so he can earn a big payday elsewhere come July 1st.

With good goaltending, a decent defence and a balanced-if-unimpressive forwards corps, the Coyotes already had a shot at reaching the postseason in their division, the way Rick Tocchet has coached this year. Now they can make a dent in them, and perhaps win a round or two and build on that experience for the future.

The Yotes play in the same division as the Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights - three teams I follow and love to watch. Plus, they should have moved years ago. But it's hard not to root for this move to work.

Then again, it's Hall, so he could very well get injured for the remainder of the season soon and Arizona could miss the playoffs and end up wining the lottery.

Here's Hall wearing the Oilers' orange (then-third) uniform, on card #FF-TH from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Ice set and Frozen Fabrics sub-set:

It features a blue game-worn jersey swatch that is probably from Edmonton's home jersey.

Taylor Hall Dual Jersey Card

Taylor Hall has only played in 70 or more games once in 4 NHL seasons (75, last year) before this one, and with his current MCL sprain looking like it could sideline him from 2 to 4 weeks, he could miss up to 13 games already.

He has 10 points including 6 goals in 11 games so far this year, a scoring pace consistent with his usual statistics. If this guy were playing in the East, he would get some Hart consideration every year, despite the injuries.

I was among those skeptical about the Edmonton Oilers picking him first overall in 2010, not because of a lack of talent, but because he has a lanky and skinny frame for a guy who loves to crash the net. Had I been a scout in his draft year, I would have maybe gone for Erik Gudbranson (3rd), Mikael Granlund (9th), Vladimir Tarasenko (16th) or Cam Fowler (12th) at the time, but Hall has proven to be a worthwhile leader and bright spot on an underachieving team.

He is a franchise player, along with Jordan Eberle.

He also makes cards like this one look great:

It's from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SPX set (#WM-TH of the Winning Materials sub-set), and features two colour swatches (one orange and one blue), probably from the uniform depicted on the front of the card, the Oilers' classic blue (home) garbs.

Taylor Hall Jersey Card

Taylor Hall is a tremendous hockey talent; he wasn't chosen first overall in 2010 (ahead of Tyler Seguin) without reason. He's also a kid of a generation who has to learn to mature under intense scrutiny and at times over-bearing cameras and attention - in his case, from the general public as well as the media.

Because of that, every time he slams a water bottle and sprays his coach - or every time he knees another player - the story will make the news for a longer period than when he's breaking one of Wayne Gretzky's records.

He's well on his way to becoming a true NHL superstar, with two point-per-game seasons in four years, two top-10 finishes in points and assists, a top-5 finish in powerplay goals and three career hat tricks.

It's hard to believe he's barely 22 years old. He has finally grown into his 6'1'' frame by topping the 200-pound mark, which should help him down the line.

Internationally, he has won four medals with Team Canada thus far: silver at the World Juniors (2010), and gold at the U-17 Worlds (representing Team Ontario), as well as the U-18 Worlds and Ivan Hlinka Memorial U-18, all held in 2008.

He and Jordan Eberle are key to making the Edmonton Oilers contenders again. Both have proven to be leaders in lower levels, with Hall leading his Windsor Spitfires to two Memorial Cups, with two tournament MVP titles to go with them.

I couldn't complain when I pulled this card from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition set (card #AF-TH of the Authentic Fabrics sub-set), showing him with the Oilers' classic blue (home) uniform, with a big orange swatch: