Islanders: How Much Would It Cost To Land Taylor Hall?

The New Jersey Devils are open to the idea of moving Taylor Hall. What would it take for the New York Islanders to land him?

A lot. If the New York Islanders were going to try to add Taylor Hall to the mix it would cost this team a lot in order to make it happen. The New Jersey Devils are open for business after an awful 9-12-4 start to their season.

Taylor Hall, who is on the final year of a seven-year $42 million contract is the most likely to get dealt. It seems unlikely that he is going to re-sign with the Devils and he will yield the biggest return for New Jersey.

In 25 games this year he has 21 points (4 goals, 17 assists). He only played 33 games last year but he was a 37 point player over that time. If you want to combine his 2017-2018 numbers, his Hart winning year, Hall has 151 points in 134 games.

It’s no secret, Taylor Hall is an elite player and is going to get paid handsomely at the end of the year. He would also be a really solid rental for any contender this year.

What Would It Cost?

Looking at the trade deadline last year, there’s one trade that sticks out the most that you could draw a comparison to. The Vegas Golden Knights gave up prospect Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg, and a second-round pick in order to land Mark Stone.

At the time, Stone had 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists) with the Ottawa Senators. He was having a career year at age 26. Despite Stone being a year younger and having a more productive season, it would likely cost the Islanders more to land Hall.

These teams play in the same division, so you have to take that into consideration. Also, Hall is a former Hart Trophy winner and someone who hit 90+ points in a season. While using the Stone trade as a jumping-off point, some adjustments are going to have to be made.

In order for the Islanders to make this trade work, they are going to have to clear some cap room. Scott Mayfield, who is a solid second pairing defenseman, is making $1.45 million for the next three seasons after this year. When you add the $925,000 that Oliver Wahlstrom makes it brings the Islanders cap space up to approximately $7.9 million.

The first-round pick is pretty obvious, a second-rounder likely won’t be enough to get it done and the Isles can afford to send away a first-rounder with the prospect pool that they have. The Devils will probably want Noah Dobson but if you can convince them on a top forward prospect and an NHL ready d-man on an extremely team-friendly deal I think they are at minimum intrigued by it.

Lineup

Hall – Barzal – Eberle

Lee – Nelson – Bailey

Beauvillier – Brassard – Komarov

Martin – Cizikas – Clutterbuck

Pelech – Pulock

Leddy – Boychuk

Toews – Dobson

Greiss/Varlamov

Final Thoughts

That lineup is much more formidable with the addition of Hall. He’s a top-six difference maker that the Islanders can really use. Yes, this team is off to a great start but there’s no denying that this move would put them into the contender conversation.

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If the Islanders are really looking to go “all in” this is the move to do it.