Adrian Dater
As part of my latest podcast, which probably won’t post until tonight or early tomorrow, I had former Avs forward and two-time Stanley Cup champion Dave Reid on for close to an hour. Because there’s a bit of a lag in posting the pod, I thought I’d give a sneak preview based on one of the questions I had for Dave, who remains an analyst for the NHL Network and, to me, is one of the smartest guys in hockey. The question was: Should the Avs sign Taylor Hall as an unrestricted free agent?
“Let me think about that: no,” Reid said.
Why not, I asked?
“Where are you gonna put him?” Reid said.
Put him on the second line at left wing, I said.
“OK, so Taylor Hall is gonna want to be a second-line left wing,” Reid said, with a touch of sarcasm. “You sign a guy for seven years, maybe 7 (million) a year, and by the way, you’re playing second-line left wing.”
OK, so Landeskog stays at left wing on the second line, like he was for much of the series with Dallas, and you put Taylor Hall on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Boom, done, I said.
“OK, you do that, you better play with two pucks,” Reid said. “Because Nathan MacKinnon wants the puck, and Taylor’s gonna want the puck. How many times have you seen Taylor Hall go end-to-end with the puck through the neutral zone? How many times have you seen Nathan MacKinnon go end-to-end with the puck through the neutral zone? They’re both similar players. They both want the puck to make things happen. They both command the puck early. You can’t have two guys like that on the same line. It doesn’t work.
“That’s why that line is so good. You’ve got Landeskog on the left, the grinder. You’ve got Rantanen on the other side. Rantanen doesn’t want to carry the puck through the neutral zone, so give it to Nate, let him do his thing and let the other two guys figure it out. But if you put Taylor Hall on that line, he’s out of his comfort zone. I think Taylor Hal is a great player. I just don’t see him adding to that lineup.”
That, and much, much more will be on the pod, including a deep discussion on the Avs’ goaltending situation and a breakdown of the Stars series.