An almost Seth Jones trade in 2015 would've changed Taylor Hall's future with the Bruins
Seth Jones is one of the biggest names defensemen in the NHL but doesn't necessarily receive the recognition he deserves.
Jones was drafted by the Nashville Predators back in 2013 when he slipped to 4th overall.
The Predators definitely could not pass up the chance to draft him, but sadly, defense was the last thing the club needed at that time.
At the time, the Predators already had Shea Weber in his prime, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Matthias Ekholm, they were loaded on the back end.
Jones played two full seasons for the Predators, and midway through his 3rd season, the Predators were looking to move him for a young first-line center.
Multiple teams were bidding for Jones, and in the end, we know he was moved to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Ryan Johansen, who was coming off a 71-point season.
What we did not know was that the Edmonton Oilers were also heavily involved in the trade talks for Seth Jones.
At this time, the Oilers had just drafted Connor McDavid, they had Leon Draisaitl, and they still had Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Nail Yakupov (before his bust label).
So can you guess who they were offering up? 22-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
While Nugent-Hopkins has become a very good NHL player, he has never lived up to the first overall hype. He produced at almost a point per game in his rookie season, but he never really evolved from that.
So with all the young talent the Oilers had, they offered up Nuge to the Predators in exchange for Jones, but the Predators chose to instead go with Ryan Johansen.
Something to think about, if the Oilers made this trade, they probably would have never traded away Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. There's also a good chance that Hall would've stayed with the Oilers until now with how they've turned into a Stanley Cup contender.
But you never know with the ''what ifs''!
CREDIT: House of Hockey
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