You can't blame Taylor Hall for sometimes wondering whether he's the problem, even though he knows he's not.
Hall recognizes the irony ahead of his first-ever game against the Edmonton Oilers, and it is rich. His old team, which never made the postseason in Hall's six seasons, is in playoff position. His new team, the New Jersey Devils, is all but dead in the Metropolitan Division, sits six points back of a wild-card spot, and owns the Eastern Conference's worst goal differential (minus-25).
It's the story of Hall's career.
The hockey spotlight will be on Hall on Saturday night, when the Devils host the Oilers in Newark for the first time since a shocking June 29 trade sent the 25-year-old to New Jersey and Adam Larsson to Edmonton.
"Definitely going to be a strange feeling playing the orange and blue," Hall said Friday after New Jersey dropped a 4-2 decision to Toronto, writes NHL.com's Dan Rosen.
Hall was honest after he was dealt, saying it was hard for him to accept he was traded, and he was critical of the Oilers and the light he was cast in. But he approached the changes he was forced to make in his life as a new beginning. Only problem is, his time in New Jersey feels - hockey-wise - a lot like it was in Edmonton.
"I wanted to prove (Edmonton) wrong in more of a team sense than anything, more of, 'How much can I do to help my team?' I'm obviously disappointed in that factor," Hall said of the Devils' struggles. "We're one game below .500. We're not in a playoff spot and Edmonton is. I don't think that falls all on my shoulders, but certainly I think I have another level to get to and I think I will."
Injuries have limited Hall this season, causing him to miss 10 games. He has nine goals and 16 assists - tops on the Devils - in 30 games.
Drafted first overall in 2010, Hall scored 132 goals and had 328 points in 381 games with the Oilers.
"It's going to be a super strange atmosphere for me, but the quicker I put that aside and just focus on playing hockey and focus on my contribution to the team, I think that's the best way to go," he said.
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