Un-coachable.
That's not usually a term you want to hear associated with one of the most talented players on your team. But that's apparently exactly how Taylor Hall is currently viewed in the Edmonton Oilers organization, according to TSN Insider Darren Dreger.
Dreger, while appearing on TSN Radio in Toronto and as transcribed by Yahoo! Sports, spoke about the Oilers, who fired coach Dallas Eakins earlier today, their plan moving forward and new coach/still GM Craig MacTavish's need to change the culture in a locker room that is strained and frustrated thanks in large part to the personality of a one, Mr. Taylor Hall.
"It's not one player. It's the collection of players that make up the sagging work ethic and lack of culture. But if you had to put a face on it, or a name to it, that name would be Taylor Hall.
"Taylor Hall, at least from a culture standpoint, in the room not on the ice, hasn't been what they hoped he would be. So when [GM Craig] MacTavish looks into his crystal ball and sees what's coming his way through trades, he's gotta be looking at the trade deadline and then beyond that looking at the draft floor."
Hall is a top-line left-winger who plays the game with passion and reckless abandon. But he also seems wholly uninterested in operating within a particular system or doing anything other than what he thinks is best.
"I think it speaks from a willingness to adapt. I'm choosing my words carefully in saying that. I'm not in the room, so we gather information from the sources that we have, and my sense is that Taylor Hall has a pretty specific vision on how he sees he needs to play and maybe how he thinks the team should play, and he really isn't open to change, and that's a problem."
Hall may have suffered as much from Eakins' failings as anyone, but if MacTavish gets into the locker room and has his fears confirmed, it looks like Hall may find himself playing in a new hockey home ahead of the March trade deadline.
"MacTavish will have to see first hand that what I said is true. If you're moving out a franchise player like Taylor Hall, you have to be damn certain if that's the right move for the organization."
If the Oilers and MacTavish decide they've seen enough of the Taylor Hall Show, they should quickly begin receiving offers for the talented, enigmatic youngster.
