From 2016-17 to 2019-20, the New Jersey Devils had Taylor Hall on their team. He was their most dynamic forward for the duration of his tenure there, parts of four seasons. In those 211 games, Hall had 76 goals and 132 assists for 208 points. Only Jack Hughes has a higher career points per game mark in a Devils uniform. In 2017-18, his career year earned him the Hart Trophy as the league MVP. Along the way, the 2010 first overall pick helped along another wave of top picks like Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. To this day, both of them speak highly of having Hall there early in their careers. After being traded away from New Jersey when it was clear he wanted to leave, he became somewhat of a journeyman. He had stops with the Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, and Chicago Blackhawks before landing with his current team: the Carolina Hurricanes. With injuries and getting into his 30s, there have been ups and downs for Hall since leaving the Devils. Carolina, however, proved to be the perfect team for what he brings at this stage of his career. Carolina acquired Hall from Chicago in the same trade that landed them Mikko Rantanen (for a brief time). It took a while, but he fit in well. On Sunday night, Hall and the Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights to clinch their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Hall wasn't just a depth player on this team during the playoffs, either. He was one of their top offensive drivers throughout the entire playoffs. The Conn Smythe went to Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal, but Hall was in the mix as he had 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in 19 games played. One of those goals is going to go down as a Stanley Cup-winning goal, as it was the first in their 3-0 Game Six victory. Hall's big performance was in large part because of how dominant his line was at five-on-five. Alongside Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake, Hall turned back the clock and dominated. Throughout the entire playoffs, this was the best line on any team. It lasted for four rounds, and it played a big role in Carolina winning the Stanley Cup. Although Hall's departure from New Jersey wasn't exactly positive, he will always be the first Hart Trophy winner in the history of the franchise. As it stands now, he is the only Devil to receive the honor. There is a lot that can be learned from this Hurricanes team. There has been a lot of playoff heartbreak, seeing the formula come up short year after year. Without panicking or making any drastic moves, they continued to work on getting better. Now, they are finally at the top of the hockey mountain. For the New Jersey Devils as an organization, there are a lot of lessons that can be learned from this. Lots of other teams will also go to school on this victory for Carolina. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f69a36dc-fd18-42f3-93ad-81dda13751bb.jpeg] Visit The Hockey News New Jersey Devils [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils]team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
