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Oscar Klefbom says Taylor Hall struggled against NHL's tougher teams
Edmonton Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom indicated former teammate Taylor Hall struggled against the NHL’s top teams and compiled his points against the league’s lesser competition.
The comments were made to HockeySverige.se. Hall, an All-Star, was traded to the New Jersey Devils this offseason for defenseman Adam Larsson.
Author Ola Winther translated the quote over Twitter as “Hall never played his best games against the tough teams.”
He also noted that Klefbom said that Hall had been the team’s top player over the last five seasons and he “was great against the weaker teams and that he didn’t play his best against the tougher ones.”
You can read a translated version of the story here.
According to the Edmonton Journal, Klefbom later clarified that all players on the Oilers, including himself, struggled against the NHL’s top teams and this was an area they needed to improve in order to take the next step.
The Journal also noted that Hall did drop off against playoff teams, but not by much.
In 45 games against playoff-bound teams this year Hall had 34 points, 0.76 points per game. In 37 games against non-playoff teams, he had 30 points, 0.81 points per game.
So Hall had a slight drop-off in scoring production against better teams.
Of course, these are better teams so one would expect it’s a bit harder to score against them, which fits with Klefbom’s notion that everyone on the Oilers played weaker hockey against the better teams.
The Journal pointed out that both Connor McDavid and the 23-year-old Klefbom had bigger drop-offs against top teams.
The last two years of Hall’s time in Edmonton were marred by trade rumors and a report that he hadn’t turned into the leader the Oilers wanted him to be when they picked him No. 1 overall in 2010.
After the trade to New Jersey, Hall opened up about his disappointment with the deal.
“You get attached with a team, and when that’s taken from you, it’s disappointing,” Hall said after the trade. “I feel like I’ve been a good solider for six years. I did as much as I felt I could on the ice.”
Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli didn’t disparage Hall after the trade and said it was a tough deal for him to make in order to try to improve the team.
“He felt that he was part of the solution,” said Chiarelli, “But this is the price that you have to pay. It’s unfortunate, for a player of Taylor’s caliber, but this is the price you have to pay.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
