Taylor Hall was almost traded from Edmonton to Ottawa 1 for 1 in exchange for
Cody Ceci.
Senators' ownership nixed the reported deal.
Here are some scenarios that would have played out differently if that trade had happened:
— Ottawa likely wins over Pittsburgh in 2017 (and has a good chance at cup)
— Taylor Hall probably doesn't win Hart in 2018 and instead, Nathan Mackinnon gets it
— New Jersey likely has a stronger draft pick in 2018 (could have gotten
Quinn Hughes)
— Ottawa likely doesn't go all-in on Duchene when they have another speedy scorer in Hall - they would keep their 2019 1st round pick (ended up being
Bowen Byram)
— Edmonton is just way worse without Adam Larsson - maybe jump up in future drafts (improved chance at Dahlin in 2018)
— Arizona never trades for Taylor Hall, they keep the pick that they traded for him (Ended up being
Dawson Mercer)
— Hall likely never goes to Boston (Bruins have way worse odds of setting the points/wins record)
Peter Chiarelli could have made one of the worst moves in Oilers history but Eugene Melnyk saved the day.