Taylor Hall wouldn’t have made this trade, either.

And like the swarms of angry Edmonton Oilers fans setting fire to social media in the wake of a curious and controversial deal, Hall still can’t figure out why it happened.

Nothing against the New Jersey Devils, he’s excited about going to a team with Stanley Cup tradition of its own in the shadow of New York City, but the 24-year-old winger is a little upset that after giving six years of loyal service to the Oilers, GM Pete Chiarelli was so quick to cut him loose.

The first overall pick from 2010 thought he was a cornerstone of the rebuild and wanted an opportunity to see it through. That’s not going to happen now.

“I was a little bit shocked,” said Hall, who wasn’t alone in that reaction when news broke that he’d been traded straight up for New Jersey defenceman Adam Larsson, who had 18 points last year.

“You hear rumblings, but when it happens you’re a little bit shocked. But I’m excited for the challenge and excited to join a team that wants me there.”

Saying he’s excited to be going to a team that “wants me” is not an accidental choice of words. Hall is somewhat bitter that after committing six years to a colossally bad rebuild, playing hard no matter what and keeping quiet when there were plenty of opportunities to complain about this mess, he’s being shipped out now, as they prepare to perhaps finally turn a corner.

“It’s disappointing. I was there for six seasons, you develop a relationship with the team and the city and the fans. I’m disappointed that I’m not going to be able to see that through.

“I certainly do feel a bit slighted by the whole thing.”

Hall had a conversation with Chiarelli before the trade became public and while he didn’t want to go into much detail, it sounds like it was a little on the icy side.

“I think I just voiced my disappointment in what had happened,” said Hall. “I’m a proud person and I do take this as an indictment on me as a hockey player — I don’t think there’s any other way to treat it.

“I have a pretty deep connection to the city of Edmonton and I felt like I did everything I could there. It’s pretty hard not to feel slighted, it’s pretty hard not to feel a little bit disappointed with how everything shook out.

“But that’s hockey. At the end of the day it’s a business and everyone’s gotta do what they’ve gotta do.”

Leaving Edmonton is going to be painful. Hall planted some deep roots during his time here and developed some very strong friendships in the dressing room. Saying goodbye on those fronts is even more difficult than the hockey side of this.

“It’s tough,” he said. “You meet a group of players and you envision something happening and it’s disappointing when you’re not able to see that though. I wish those guys the best, especially Connor (McDavid). He’s going to be a great player for Edmonton and a great person.

“That’s one of the hardest things about hockey, leaving behind a group of guys like the we had in Edmonton. I was just attached to the team. I was invested in the team. To be traded away is disappointing.”

Hall said he isn’t going to spend much time mourning this, though. There are too many opportunities ahead of him in the Eastern Conference.

“I feel like I’ve been a good soldier for six years and I prepared the best I could,” he said. “I did as much as I could on the ice and at the end of the day they felt they wanted to go a different direction, which is fine. There’s a new opportunity in front of me and a new team that I’m excited to try and make better.”

Hall does have some holes in his game, but the Devils are an organization that builds complete players and if they can do that with their newest acquisition, they will have themselves a very powerful weapon.

“I still think I have a lot of room to improve,” he said. “Speaking to the coaching staff and GM in New Jersey, they’re committed to helping me do that. At the end of the day I still feel like I have a pretty high ceiling and that I have a lot to prove.”

Like the Oilers just made a very big mistake.

“I think it’s safe to say I’m a very motivated player now,” he said. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make the Devils proud that they made this deal.”

rtychkowski@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @Sun_Tychkowski



