Canucks: Should they consider trading for Taylor Hall?

The Vancouver Canucks could use some help on the wing. Should they consider going after New Jersey Devils’ sniper Taylor Hall?

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning has assembled a core that has the team in playoff contention, but there are some weaknesses that need to be addressed.

The Lotto Line — Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller — have combined for 87 points on the young season. Obviously, Benning and head coach Travis Green have nothing to worry about on line one.

However, No. 2 centre Bo Horvat has been forced to work through a revolving door of wingers in 2019-20. Tanner Pearson has been picking it up after a rough start, and he’s up to eight goals and 18 points on the season.

But adding another big-time scoring winger to the top six would certainly enhance Vancouver’s playoff push. And as it turns out, a former Hart Trophy winner could find himself on the trade block in short time.

That would be New Jersey Devils’ forward Taylor Hall, who is in the final year of his current contract. The 28-year-old has four goals and 22 points in 27 games thus far, and if the Devils can’t agree to an extension, general manager Ray Shero will have no choice but to trade him at the deadline.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie sounded off on what the asking price would be for Hall. Unsurprisingly, the cost for the 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner will be a king’s ransom:

"What is going to be the asking price? That’s what a lot of teams want to know. Some teams are already speculating that it’s going to be the old conventional wisdom that if you’re going to have a high-end rental like Taylor Hall, then it’s going to cost you a first-round pick. An A+ prospect. A young player and maybe a conditional first-round pick if you happen to sign Taylor Hall to a long-term contract."

The Canucks, of course, surrendered a first-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the trade for Miller. If Vancouver misses the playoffs this season, however, the pick defers to 2021. Given those circumstances, Benning can’t promise a first for Hall — unless he wants to dangle the 2022 first-rounder (unlikely, and New Jersey wouldn’t want to wait that long).

Vancouver’s young core players (Pettersson, Boeser, Horvat and Quinn Hughes) are untouchables. But if Benning wanted to make a play for Hall, he could try to offer one of his three goalies plus one or two top prospects.

There’s no way Vancouver will manage to keep all three of Jacob Markstrom, Thatcher Demko and Michael DiPietro as the Seattle expansion draft looms. New Jersey needs help in goal, and maybe Shero would be intrigued by one of those three.

But what about in terms of prospects? I can’t envision Benning wanting to part with 2019 first-rounder Vasili Podkolzin. But maybe two of Jett Woo, Kole Lind, Olli Juolevi and Nils Hoglander would be enough for New Jersey?

Conclusion

Even if the Canucks have enough pieces to intrigue the Devils, I don’t think it’s worth making a play for Hall. They’re in a difficult salary cap situation, and Hall is going to easily cost around $8 million a season on an extension.

And the Canucks still aren’t ready to compete for a Stanley Cup, so it doesn’t make sense to mortgage a huge part of the future for a guy who may be nothing more than a two-month rental.

Furthermore, Hall isn’t exactly a superstar player, and he’s only played 82 games once in his career. The up-and-down production, the injury history and his age (28) would scare me away if I were Benning. Add it all up, and the Canucks are probably better off staying away from a Taylor Hall trade.