The acquisition of Taylor Hall by the Arizona Coyotes was a definitive statement by general manager John Chayka as well as current majority owner Alex Meruelo. For context, before the current season started, Meruelo was quoted as saying, “I sure as s**t want to win.” This statement becoming so instantly iconic that the team sells the quote on a shirt in the team store.
Keep in mind that I’m mentioning this as evidence for my claim, not for paid promotion. Meruelo’s purchase of the team had seen a high amount of fan excitement as well as key moves to improve and maintain the team. Darcy Kuemper and Clayton Keller being extended and trading for Kessel and Hall as examples for both. With Hall being acquired to “…bet on ourselves…” (Per John Chayka), how has the trade affected Arizona thus far?
As of the writing of this article, Hall has played in four games in Arizona. Arizona’s record over those four games is 2-2-0, so at the very least, Hall’s presence hasn’t hurt the Coyotes. Hall has been playing on the first line with Christian Dvorak as well as Phil Kessel.
Off the bat, this was a good idea as Kessel has put up mediocre numbers this season. At the time of Hall’s acquisition, not even being in the top three on the team for goals, assists or points, it only took two games for Kessel to score his first goal with Hall on the team. Hall also assisted on that goal, putting Kessel’s goals per game at a .5 over those first two games. Of course that statistic is a bit of a stretch, but it is in fact true and I’m desperate to put a positive Kessel statistic out there.
Going back to Taylor Hall, he recorded an assist in both of his first two games in the red and black. Then in Detroit on December 22, Hall recorded his first goal as a member of the Arizona Coyotes.
Giving Hall a point in each of his first three games in Arizona, his streak would be broken the next night in Nashville however, but recording a point in three out of four games is the exact level of production most would expect from a guy like Taylor Hall. It’s safe to say that those numbers out of Phil Kessel is what’s expected, so it’s good to see one of the two major acquisitions putting up the numbers that are expected.
Taylor Hall has made a large impact on Arizona in such a small amount of time. Kessel has looked better playing with him, and he’s maintained a .5 points per game average. He’s kept up a similar pace throughout the season before Hall was acquired, but I find it easy to argue that he’s looked better on the ice with Hall on his left wing. Taylor has put up nearly a point per game, going a long way to keep the offence operating well.
Another smaller thing to note is that Clayton Keller has looked better since being bumped down to the second line. If Hall putting up almost a point per game is impressive, Keller’s numbers should knock you off your seat. Keller has recorded at least one point in every game since adding Hall.
Keller has put up three goals and three assists for six points over the last four games. I’ve pointed out that Keller has been doing all the little things to improve his game all year, but not being relied on to make the offense run has had an interesting effect. Keller is being pressured less and getting better matchups on the ice, logically leading to more offensive production.
It can then be concluded that with Hall producing well on the first line while taking on harder matchups, Keller’s filled a niche on the second line, seeing his play return to borderline first line production. This results in Arizona having a top six that can put up top three numbers. That’s a valuable asset that most cup contending teams possess, giving advantage to them over other quality teams.
Making Hall’s acquisition a ridiculously smart bet on Arizona as a potential cup contender. The only thing to do now is welcome back a few injured players and make a quality cup run this year.