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Hall thought Chiarelli being named Oilers' GM was a typo, wary of being traded

Jerome Miron / USA Today

Taylor Hall literally couldn't believe his eyes.

Sitting at his parents house in Kingston, Ontario on Friday, Hall saw the news break that his Edmonton Oilers had named Peter Chiarelli as both the club's new president of hockey operations and general manager. While Hall was expecting the former, he was taken aback by the latter.

"I saw the (TV) ticker and thought it was a typo," Hall told Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. "I thought Peter was coming in to oversee stuff." 

"MacT is a really good person," Hall added in regards to now-former GM Craig MacTavish. "It’s weird. I'm not sure what Craig’s role will be now, but it’s tough. That’s the way hockey goes."

Under the recently deposed regime, Hall and the rest of the young core - made up of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov - were assured that they would not be on the trading block this offseason. After this most recent shakeup, however, change could be afoot. This, despite Hall's desire to see the perpetual rebuild to the end.

Hall told Matheson:

I don't know what his plan is, but he's not afraid to make trades. He's traded young players before. I don't want to be traded. It's been a tough five years for sure, but getting Connor McDavid ... I think what everyone says is true. He's only 18 years old, but I don't think it's going to be that long a transition (period) for him. 

I was excited when we got the pick (in the draft lottery). I don't want to leave. I think we've got a team that can do some damage.

There's also some uncertainty in regards to the coaching staff, and Hall could very well be set to play for bench boss number five since joining the Oilers five years ago.

For now, Hall is preparing to represent Canada at the World Championship, with a busy summer in Edmonton awaiting him upon his return.

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