I'm into Vatrano as a possible option. After a big goal scoring year last year, he's having a low goal scoring year so far this season. But he still get's sog's at a good rate, and he plays a physical game. Only making $3.65.
When you look at our blue line for the 2017-18 season, I have no idea how we made the playoffs, even with Hall's MVP year.
I defended the trade at the time and think that was probably just the market at the time. There were a lot of mediocre or question mark defensemen going for overpayment. Even Larsson for Hall, which may have started that type of market for a couple of years there. Not that Larsson is mediocre or was a question mark, he was just worth less than Hall.
It's a red flag when a team like the Sharks, that was desperately trying to keep its window open, gives up on a kid that fast. I remember there was a lot of annoyance at that one here.
George Laraque famously reported he heard Hall had an alcohol problem in Edmonton and may have even said that’s what got him shopped out of town.
I thought his immature days stemmed more from his time in Edmonton, though I know it took him pretty much the whole first year to shake off being traded.
Right now he looks more Bobby Farnham than Randy McKay, or even 30-goal Clarkson
It’s disheartening to hear that kind of stuff on Hall during his time here, though what a hill to die on during a playoff series.
Me personally, I never cared about how he reacted to the booing and the infamous cupping of the ear celebration after scoring a goal at home. I actually found it funny more than anything given how disappointing that team had been that season and that being such a primary focus. I’ve never been an advocate for booing your own team, so that probably played a factor too.
I’ll always remember 17-18 fondly, it was one of the most dominant seasons I’ve ever witnessed from a player. Unfortunately, his knees have dealt with so much that his game has certainly taken a hit as a result. We really lucked out organizationally that we didn’t lock him down to a long term deal. Imagine if we had committed to the double digit AAV that was being kicked around?
Imagine saying one of those guys would be a Devil in the future and it wasn't Hall lmao. Wonder if Nico/MacDermid had a laugh about this situation too lol. Thank god,Mac didn't just randomly go after Nico like some NHLers do when they're pressed about a bad hit lolHis skating stride is also something people never realized would lead to knee injuries, the long dashing strides where his knees were pretty low to the ice could lead to some devastating injuries. The collision in 2017 v LA was pretty obvious in this regard.
HOLY SHIT at this being MacDermid
