Devils' Hall: Oilers' hot start tough to ignore
While his New Jersey Devils currently see themselves in a playoff spot, Taylor Hall can't help but notice just how impressive his former club has been early on.
The Edmonton Oilers have been red-hot out of the gate this season, amassing a league-high 12 points. The team's latest victory came Wednesday against the former Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, taking the game by a score of 4-1. And even though he now calls the Prudential Center home, Hall is well aware of Edmonton's early-season success.
"They won last night. It’s kind of a weird feeling," Hall said, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. "I'd be lying if I said it's not hard to see them get off to such a hot start. But I'm happy for the guys there, for sure."
Nearly four months since the trade that saw the 24-year-old swapped for defenseman Adam Larsson, Hall admits he is still getting used to life as a Devil.
"It's still weird wearing the red and black," Hall said. "Seeing the logo, I get taken (aback). Playing games now, I'd say it's pretty much getting normal now."
It was a whirlwind summer for Hall, who has not shied away admitting he never wanted to be traded.
Hall, however, also can't ignore the fact that the emergence of Connor McDavid as a truly game-changing player may have influenced the Oilers' decision to deal him away.
"It's tough,” Hall said. "I put a lot into my time there. I didn't want to get traded. But they had to do what they had to do. I don't think I felt like a scapegoat. I just felt like I was shortchanged in the fact that I had been there for so long and now that they had Connor they were finally making that step and I'm the one that gets let go?"
All this aside, Hall has jumped out to a blistering start of his own with five goals and six points through six games. He's beginning to turn a new leaf, which he insists will have little to do with trying to stick it to his former club.
"As the summer went on, I started realizing it's not about proving Edmonton wrong. It's about proving your teammates and the organization here in New Jersey right," Hall said. "We're over .500. We're a team that is going to fight for a playoff spot. That's going to be a lot of fun.
"I'm just hungry to be in a playoff race, to have games at the end of the season that mean a lot."