Put me in the camp that thinks Hall was an overpayment for Larsson. If this was the 1995-2005 NHL then, yeah, Larsson is a fair return for Hall. But in the post-2005 NHL you need defensemen that are well-rounded in your top four, that means they need to be a legitimate offensive threat to keep opposing forecheckers honest. In the modern NHL, a one-dimensional defenseman, be it offensive or defensive, is effectively a supporting player on an NHL blueline. Guys like Burns and Letang are what get you to the Cup finals, IMO.
That being said, Larsson is a type of player the OIlers desperately needed, so from a a position of desperation it makes all sorts of sense to overpay for him.
|