Hall - Larsson Blockbuster Trade First Setup for Expansion Draft?

The Edmonton Oilers traded prolific goalscorer Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for their defenseman Adam Larsson. A lot of Edmonton fans are upset with the trade. It looks like the Oilers drastically over payed to solidify their defense,

No doubt there are loads of factors involved in this particular trade being done. I expect one of them is Edmonton working to align their roster to make it easier to protect during next year's Expansion Draft.

With that June draft each team can protect either

• Seven forwards,  three defensemen and one goaltender, or
• Eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender

Edmonton is a club with a wealth of forwards, but is weaker on defensemen. If nothing else changes between now and June Edmonton would probably have had to expose a quality goal scorer in the draft. They still may have to depending on how next season plays out, but this way the Oilers get some value out of a piece they might have lost for nothing next year.

And to clarify, this doesn't mean to suggest that Hall would have been the odd forward out in our hypothetical draft list for the Expansion Draft. In fact, I expect Hall would not have been on that list. But now one the Oiler's embarrassment of riches is one less, meaning a somewhat easier decision making process for next year to better balance their roster.