Quoting: papishark
I disagree for a couple reasons. I thought Hall was a great player but since that Hart he had only declined. Hertl has a good chance of being very similar if not higher than Halls trade year PPG of 0.8 (which is far more important than 5 year ago numbers), and Hertls advanced stats including Wins above replacement and RAPM have him as the better player both at that time and now. What your failing to take into account is that Hall is a one trick pony, and Hertl is a dominant possession driving two way top centre. Yes injuries have held his point totals back but his impacts on the overall game are very high.
I think you might be forgetting about the circumstances leading up to the Hall trade.
1. Hall had a hart season.
2. Hall got injured the next season, played 33 games at an above point per game, hart trophy rate. Injuries happen
3. He played 30 games prior to the trade. Right around a point per game, better than hertl has ever been in his career.
If hertl had won the hart, you would have an argument. But he didn’t. If Hertl had ever had a season where he was even top 30 in the league in scoring, you might have a point. Kudos to the one season where he cracked the top 50 though. Good for him.