What Would It Cost Montreal Canadiens To Acquire Taylor Hall?

The Edmonton Oilers are once again in the cellar of the NHL standings, and have fired head coach Dallas Eakins. Eakins will be replaced by Craig MacTavish, no, wait, Todd Nelson. Both? MacTavish and then Nelson?

Either way, the Oilers head coach situation was not the biggest news coming out of Edmonton yesterday. TSN Hockey Insider reported that the Oilers will continue to overhaul the organization, and will place Taylor Hall on the trading block.

Trading Hall seems like a ridiculous idea, but so does replacing an outgoing head coach with the old coach who is now the general manager but will only be the coach for a short time.

Dec 12, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall (4) looks for a deflection in front of Anaheim Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) during the second period at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

So if any team is silly enough to trade away a franchise player like Hall, it would certainly be the Edmonton Oilers.

Which got me thinking, if the Oilers are going to move Hall, what kind of offer would it take from Marc Bergevin to land the elite winger in Montreal?

When trying to identify key pieces the Oilers could use in return, you try to find holes in their lineup that need to be filled. There are plenty of them. Edmonton desperately needs a second line center, several NHL level defensemen are needed and a number one goaltender as well.

Come to think of it, if you take Hall out of their lineup, they could use a solid winger as well. Basically, they need everything.

So what would they want from the Habs? Well, let’s just begin by saying the Oilers make some interesting decisions, but they aren’t about to give away Taylor Hall. No, they don’t want David Desharnais or Alexei Emelin.

Dec 6, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91) at the net against Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) in the second period at American Airlines Center. Dallas won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

When trying to decipher what type of package it would take to get Hall, I look at the package the Boston Bruins got in exchange for Tyler Seguin. Seguin and Rich Peverley were sent to the Dallas Stars for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Joe Morrow and Matt Fraser.

Eriksson was a 28 year old winger coming off a 29 point performance in 48 games during the lockout shortened 2013 season. He had scored over 70 points in each of the past three full seasons.

Reilly Smith was a 22 year old who had split the previous season between the Dallas and Texas Stars. In 37 NHL games he had just nine points, but he scored 35 points in 45 AHL games that season.

Nov 18, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Craig Adams (27) falls after battling for the puck with Montreal Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (28) during the first period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Morrow was a highly regarded defensive prospect who was a first round pick in the 2011 draft. He was just 20 years old at the time and had completed his first AHL season with 19 points in 65 games.

Matt Fraser was 23 years old at the time and had just scored 33 goals in 62 AHL games with the Texas Stars.

Quite a return for the Boston Bruins. What upped the ante from Dallas a little bit was the fact that Boston also included Rich Peverley in the deal. Peverley was a very solid two way player who had 18 points in 47 games on a very deep Bruins squad.

Hall is an elite level forward who is one of the best left winger in the NHL. Since going first overall in 2010, the year Seguin went number two, Hall has scored 100 goals and 243 points in 271 games.

Dec 1, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Montreal Canadiens center Lars Eller (81) takes a shot against Colorado Avalanche defenseman Zach Redmond (22) in the first period at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past three seasons, Hall has scored 148 points in 145 games with the Oilers. That makes Hall the 10th highest point scorer in the NHL over the past three seasons. He is still just 23 years old and has a lot of great hockey in his future.

So what would a package for Hall look like? Well, start with a capable NHL center who can handle a second line role. Add in a young defenseman who can step in and play right away and has the potential to develop into a top pairing guy. Also on top of that, add in a highly rated prospect at any position and you might get the Oilers interest.

If the Montreal Canadiens were to make a serious offer, it would have to include Lars Eller, Nathan Beaulieu and Zach Fucale. I’m not sure that would even be enough. Add in another highly rated forward prospect like Charles Hudon, Nikita Scherbak or Michael McCarron and the Canadiens could land Taylor Hall.

What do you think? Is Eller, Beaulieu, Fucale and McCarron too much to give up for Hall? What would your proposal look like?