It seems almost a forgone conclusion now that Taylor Hall will not be finishing out this season with the New Jersey Devils. The 28-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and, given the direction the Devils are headed in, the assets that could be received in a trade are much more attractive to them than the player himself. According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, New Jersey is asking teams to make a pitch.
"The Devils are encouraging teams to step forward with offers, not so much of a back and forth and there are a lot of teams sniffing around this process. But the feeling in the industry, Ron, is that the Colorado Avalanche are the favourites right now, pushing to get Taylor Hall perhaps as soon as the Christmas break."
Colorado, already on track to make a push for the Stanley Cup very soon, if not this year, could have yet another offensive weapon in their arsenal with the addition of Hall. However, it won't come cheap. A potential trade would look nothing like the one-for-one that sent Hall to New Jersey in the beginning.
"Some teams are thinking it might take as many as four pieces in order to get him from the Devils," said Johnston.
This would likely come in the form of a combination of a good draft pick, or picks, a prospect and a roster-ready player or players.
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