What if
For Montrealers June 29th, 2016 will be fondly remembered or utterly reviled by other fans as the day they traded PK. As another habs season sputters down to an embarrasing end, maybe we should look at the trade from another perspective. What Montrealers probably forgot but Oilers fans surely remember was June 29th was the same day they traded Taylor Hall. In fact Subban and Hall were traded minutes apart. I want to try and look at this from another angle and wonder what if they had...traded PK for Taylor.
I have to admit that other players would probably have been included in this scenario. For example, I could see Klefbom or Nurse added in the trade as the habs would need a defenceman after the loss of Subban. The Oilers may have asked for a draft choice or maybe a defensive minded defenceman like Emelin. Since their trades, Subban and Hall had a mediocre 2016-2017 regular season because of injury. Hall missed ten games and it took him awhile to get going on a team with few stars. Subban was injured as well and on a comparative basis was as good as but not better than his other defensive mates Josi, Ellis, and Ekholm. However, since the end of the regular season, both these superstars have skyrocketed in performance and there does not appear to be any looking back. Subban had a great playoffs that almost culminated in a Stanley Cup. This year he is leading the first place Predators both in points and charisma. Subban has had 27 goals and 73 assists in a little less than two seasons including the playoffs. Taylor Hall is having an oustanding year as well leading his team in points and the Devils seem to be in the driver’s seat in making the playoffs. This may be Hall’s first playoff. Overall, Hall has 47 goals and 74 assists in a little less than two seasons with the Devils.
So if the two Canadian teams had gotten togther and made the hypothetical trade where would they be now. My guess is that the Oilers would have had a similar run like they did last year. If Subban had become an Oiler it would have been unlikely that Chiarelli would have had the money to sign Lucic. With the defence solidified, the Oilers would probably have made other choices re the Eberle trade and the Draisatl signing. They would also probably still be making a run for another stanley cup as they had two electric game changing players in McDavid and Subban. On the habs side, having Taylor Hall in the line-up along with a Klefbom or Nurse, may have led Bergevin to trading Galchenyuk or Pacioretty and getting a number one center. Would Markov have been let go without Weber? It would have been an interesting powerplay with Hall and Radulov. Maybe Radulov would have re-signed here knowing he would be lighting it up with Taylor Hall. Would Sergachev have been traded for Drouin? Imagine a young habs defence that included Sergachev, Mete, Juulsen, and Nurse or Klefbom? The chant might have been PK who? One thing for sure Bergevin and Chiarelli would probably have had greater job security.
Which reminds me of another what if trade. On December 6, 1995 Patrick Roy was traded by the habs to the Colorado Avalanche. What many forget is that two short months later on February 7th, 1996, Teemu Selanne was traded by the Jets to the Ducks. What if Roy had been traded for Selanne. The Jets also had a young Khabibulin and the habs had included Mike Keane in the trade to the Avalanche. He could easily have been added in the hypothetical trade. Imagine the habs having Selanne and a young Koivu on the same team. Khabibulin also turned out to be a very stable goalie much better than what the habs got in Jocelyn Thibault. Would Roy ever win another stanley cup on a Jets team that had money issues. The habs traded Roy to a team on the cusp of a Stanley Cup whose only weakness was goaltending. Oh well what if...
I have to admit that other players would probably have been included in this scenario. For example, I could see Klefbom or Nurse added in the trade as the habs would need a defenceman after the loss of Subban. The Oilers may have asked for a draft choice or maybe a defensive minded defenceman like Emelin. Since their trades, Subban and Hall had a mediocre 2016-2017 regular season because of injury. Hall missed ten games and it took him awhile to get going on a team with few stars. Subban was injured as well and on a comparative basis was as good as but not better than his other defensive mates Josi, Ellis, and Ekholm. However, since the end of the regular season, both these superstars have skyrocketed in performance and there does not appear to be any looking back. Subban had a great playoffs that almost culminated in a Stanley Cup. This year he is leading the first place Predators both in points and charisma. Subban has had 27 goals and 73 assists in a little less than two seasons including the playoffs. Taylor Hall is having an oustanding year as well leading his team in points and the Devils seem to be in the driver’s seat in making the playoffs. This may be Hall’s first playoff. Overall, Hall has 47 goals and 74 assists in a little less than two seasons with the Devils.
So if the two Canadian teams had gotten togther and made the hypothetical trade where would they be now. My guess is that the Oilers would have had a similar run like they did last year. If Subban had become an Oiler it would have been unlikely that Chiarelli would have had the money to sign Lucic. With the defence solidified, the Oilers would probably have made other choices re the Eberle trade and the Draisatl signing. They would also probably still be making a run for another stanley cup as they had two electric game changing players in McDavid and Subban. On the habs side, having Taylor Hall in the line-up along with a Klefbom or Nurse, may have led Bergevin to trading Galchenyuk or Pacioretty and getting a number one center. Would Markov have been let go without Weber? It would have been an interesting powerplay with Hall and Radulov. Maybe Radulov would have re-signed here knowing he would be lighting it up with Taylor Hall. Would Sergachev have been traded for Drouin? Imagine a young habs defence that included Sergachev, Mete, Juulsen, and Nurse or Klefbom? The chant might have been PK who? One thing for sure Bergevin and Chiarelli would probably have had greater job security.
Which reminds me of another what if trade. On December 6, 1995 Patrick Roy was traded by the habs to the Colorado Avalanche. What many forget is that two short months later on February 7th, 1996, Teemu Selanne was traded by the Jets to the Ducks. What if Roy had been traded for Selanne. The Jets also had a young Khabibulin and the habs had included Mike Keane in the trade to the Avalanche. He could easily have been added in the hypothetical trade. Imagine the habs having Selanne and a young Koivu on the same team. Khabibulin also turned out to be a very stable goalie much better than what the habs got in Jocelyn Thibault. Would Roy ever win another stanley cup on a Jets team that had money issues. The habs traded Roy to a team on the cusp of a Stanley Cup whose only weakness was goaltending. Oh well what if...
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