Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall

LW | 6' 1" | 206 lb | Age: 29 | Boston Bruins

Born: November 14, 1991
Birthplace: Calgary, AB, CAN
Shoots: Left
Draft: 2010 EDM, 1st rd, 1st pk (1st overall)

Hall is one the few players who can say he's broken scoring records once held by Wayne Gretzky.

The first to fall was Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers record for the fastest hat trick from the start of a game (12:38 in 1985-86). Hall broke that mark when he scored a natural hat trick in the first 7:53 of a 4-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks on March 30, 2013. He broke a second one for the fastest back-to-back goals in Oilers history by one second. Hall scored twice in eight seconds during the second period of a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Oct. 17, 2013.

The rest of Gretzky's Oilers records became a little safer, at least from Hall, on June 29, 2016, when the Oilers traded him to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson. That deal brought to New Jersey one of the best young forwards in the NHL, a player who ranked in the top three on his team in scoring in five of his first six seasons and finished among the League's top 10 scorers twice in his first four seasons.

Hall had a breakout season with the Devils in 2017-18, finishing with NHL career highs in goals (39), assists (54) and points (93). He helped New Jersey qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2012 and won the Hart Trophy voted as most valuable player.

Hall was named Devils alternate captain prior to 2018-19, but he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in February and missed the rest of the regular season. After playing 35 games for the Devils in 2019-20, Hall was traded to the Arizona Coyotes for three prospects and two draft picks on Dec. 16.

A native of Calgary, Hall is the son of Steve Hall, an Australian-born father who was drafted by Edmonton in the Canadian Football League and played for Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa. Steve represented Canada internationally as a member of its national bobsled team, and got Taylor started on his hockey career by building a rink in his backyard.

The first team to benefit from the scoring and playmaking skills Hall honed on that backyard rink was Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League, which won Memorial Cup championships in 2009 and 2010 with Hall, who earned MVP honors in each of those tournaments.

Hall made the jump to the NHL for the 2010-11 season after he was chosen by Edmonton with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. He was credited with his first point, an assist, in his second game. Hall scored his first goal against Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 28, 2010 and went on to finish ninth in balloting for the Calder Trophy. He also finished second to Michael Grabner in the Fastest Skater event at the SuperSkills Competition in 2011 during All-Star Weekend and was named an alternate captain for the Oilers at age 21 before the 2012-13 season.

Hall's second NHL season ended after 61 games when the Oilers announced he would have shoulder surgery. He signed a seven-year contract with Edmonton on Aug. 21, 2012.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

Canadian Major Junior All-Rookie Team (2008)
Canadian Major Junior Rookie of the Year (2008)
OHL First All-Star Team (2009, 2010)
OHL Playoff MVP (2009)
NHL First All-Star Team (2018)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (2016, 2017)
Traded to New Jersey by Edmonton for Adam Larsson, June 29, 2016.
Traded to Arizona by New Jersey with Blake Speers for Nate Schnarr, Nicholas Merkley, Kevin Bahl, a conditional 1st-round pick in 2020 NHL Draft and conditional 3rd-round pick in 2021 NHL Draft, December 16, 2019.
Signed as a free agent by Buffalo, October 11, 2020.
Traded to Boston by Buffalo with Curtis Lazar for Anders Bjork and a 2nd-round pick in 2021 NHL Draft, April 12, 2021.