Devils' Taylor Hall to Coyotes Trade Revisited 5 Years Later

It's been 5 years since the New Jersey Devils traded Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes, but it's still having a significant impact on today's roster

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Taylor Hall's two-point game in a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers had me feeling some kind of nostalgic. No, this isn't an article about a Hall reunion, though that may happen eventually.

Instead, let's look back to the Devils trading Hall to the Arizona Coyotes, which will hit its fifth anniversary on Dec. 16 (time flies, doesn't it?). Even to this day, the Devils trading Hall to the Coyotes is still having a significant impact on their roster and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Devils Flipped Assets for Siegenthaler

For those who don't remember, because it has been a while, here's what the Devils received for Hall from the Coyotes:

• 2020 first-round pick

• a conditional 2021 third-round pick

• Kevin Bahl

• Nick Merkley

• Nate Schnarr

The conditions on the third-round pick were never met, so it remained a third. Let's start with that because it arguably became the best part of this trade. Ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, general manager Tom Fitzgerald used that third to acquire Jonas Siegenthaler from the Washington Capitals.

Siegenthaler did not play much after the trade during the COVID-shortened season in 2020-21, but it didn't take long for him to break out. Though the Devils weren't particularly good in 2021-22, he emerged as an elite shutdown defender.

Siegenthaler was one of the most valuable defensive defensemen in the NHL in 2021-22, with his even-strength defense worth an expected goals above replacement (xGAR) of 10.3 and a GAR of 9.8. Those both ranked first in the NHL among all defensemen.

The Devils may have stunk that season, but they had high expectations in 2022-23. They met those, winning 52 games and defeating the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs, and Siegenthaler was a significant part of that. He wasn't as good as the previous season, but he was still a legit top-four defender.

However, that regression was perhaps a sign of some decline in Siegenthaler's game. He struggled mightily a season ago, with his rush defense falling off a cliff. Moreover, he was incredibly turnover-prone on breakouts. It looked like he could be a trade candidate this past offseason, but the Devils stuck with him.

That decision has paid major dividends, as Siegenthaler looks close to as he did in 2021-22. It's still early in the season, but his even-strength defense has been worth a GAR of 5.6, second in the NHL among defensemen to his defense partner Johnathan Kovacevic.