The Islanders could have traded Travis Hamonic for Taylor Hall in 2016. Four years later, Taylor Hall can sign with the Islanders on the open market.

While the fit seems perfect, will the Islanders be interested? Let’s go over the possibility.

Salary Cap Issues

In order to sign Taylor Hall, the Islanders would need to make a series of transactions to clear salary cap space.

Nick Leddy is the most likely trade candidate. The 29-year-old defenseman had a strong postseason with the Islanders and will be available in a buyer’s market. While COVID-19 has created a precarious situation for many teams, one general manager should be willing to part with a mid-round pick for Leddy’s services.

Leo Komarov, Thomas Hickey and Andrew Ladd could also be shipped out, while goaltender Semyon Varlamov is a sleeper option for Lou Lamoriello to move this offseason. However, these are all unlikely scenarios.

Does Taylor Hall to the Islanders Make Sense?

Before even determining if they should clear salary cap space for a big free agent acquisition, the Islanders must determine if the fit is right.

Four years ago, Garth Snow could have traded Hamonic for Hall, but declined to do so because of a variety of off-the-ice reasons.

Already said this earlier this summer, but after all the stuff Hamonic went through, if GS had traded him, team might have staged a coup.

— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) June 29, 2016

If they could travel back in time, the Islanders probably would have taken the deal, especially considering they eventually traded Hamonic to the Calgary Flames. However, the past is the past, and now the Islanders must decide if they should have interest in 2020.

On paper, of course they should have interest. The Islanders need a scoring winger and Hall is just that, as he has tallied 563 points in 627 career games with the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes, good for 0.9 points per game.

Hall would be a perfect match with Mathew Barzal on the top line and would immediately turn a stagnant offense into a dangerous one. His elite skating, deadly shot and steady defensive play make him a nearly perfect individual player when healthy, someone that could turn the Islanders into a true Stanley Cup contender.

So, should the Islanders sign Taylor Hall?

The Verdict

In a perfect world, Taylor Hall would be a great addition to the Islanders. In the real world, it just does not make sense.

Hall is an injury prone player, playing in only 33 games two seasons ago with the Devils. Not only that, but he has not had any legitimate success in his career, failing to advance past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his decade-long National Hockey League career.

Additionally, he has been known as a locker room issue in the past and his play style sometimes puts individual success over team success.

Therefore, the Islanders will not be pursuing Taylor Hall this offseason.

If you want to see more likely free agent targets, click here!

David Lazar