Doesn’t make sense tbh. Chayka says they have no intentions of flipping him. They played a decent game against a tough Caps team and managed to win. And given how tight the Pacific is, they can still win the division.

They’d have to lose all 4 of their games heading into the deadline for Chayka to panic and flip him. It seems like they’ve been allowing more goals than usual their past few games and that’s due to Raanta having a string of bad starts and missing Kuemper. They should be able to turn it around.


As for the trade, it’s alright. Hall’s value probably won’t be as high as it was when Chayka first traded for him but it just doesn’t make sense. Kris Russell isn’t that good, he’s overpaid at a $4 mil cap and has term. Arizona already has a good d core that works under Tocchet’s system. I don’t know how long Demers is out for but adding Russell to play third pair at that cap hit seems unnecessary. Lyubushkin’s done a good job on their third pair, if they need d depth there are better cheaper options elsewhere.
That’s a really good first rounder, I just don’t see them striking a deal with Edmonton since acquiring Russell doesn’t seem like something AZ would do. If Hall does get dealt I think it’ll be to a legit contender for a low 1st + prospect + roster player.

pretty sure hall to edmonton won't work for several reasons that have nothing to do with on the ice