Edmonton Oilers: Taylor Hall Admits He 'Holds Resentment'
The Edmonton Oilers shook the hockey world June 29, on a day that was one of the biggest trade afternoons the league has ever had. They traded top forward Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for stay-at-home right-handed defenseman Adam Larsson.
In an interview with Chris Ryan and Andrew Gross, who write for NJ.com and Fire & Ice respectively, Hall admitted that he still feels pain from the trade at the beginning of the summer.
“Just the way everything went down, I still hold a bit of resentment towards them,” Hall said.
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What should be noted is the original quote from Ryan and Gross, which said that Hall holds “bitter” resentment, which is a little bit stronger than “a bit.” Before seeing that the quote was incorrect, I assumed that Hall’s passion was taking over, but found it difficult to see him speaking about the Oilers this way.
Sure, after years of frustration, Hall voiced at his 2016 exit interview that it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel and that he is tired of losing. Overall, it was a negative interview and didn’t exactly put Hall in a positive light.
However, the former first-overall pick is a passionate player who was dedicated to Edmonton and led the team through thick and thin. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which is a blessing and a curse, but truly cared, and that is something difficult to find nowadays.
Hall said he has no problem playing in New Jersey, but in the end, he still holds a grudge for what happened.
“It was a whirlwind,” Hall said. “But I think it’s going to be a day I look back on, and I think it’s going to be a really good thing for me.”
In the end, I find it difficult to truly sympathize with Hall. The trade was “intellect over emotion,” as Kurt Leavins put it, and something had to change. Getting rid of Hall takes away a lot of depth, but it dramatically changes the look and overall culture of the team.
A voice that isn’t always positive or overall motivating has been removed and replaced by the optimistic, encouraging voice of Milan Lucic. Things are looking up, players are improving and there is less pessimism in the locker room moving forward.
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