Time has helped but Taylor Hall says he still misses being a member of the Edmonton Oilers.
“I played a lot of games, and I thought played hard,” Hall told reporters Wednesday. “That was more the hard part.”
Hall was at Rogers Place on Wednesday for the first time since being traded to the New Jersey Devils in the off season.
“It’s different than it would be at Rexall Place,” he said. “It’s a beautiful building but I don’t have any relationship to it.”
Hall said he expects fans will be generous to him when he takes the ice before Thursday’s game.
“I think I’ll get good applause coming back here. That’s the kind of fan base and fans that are here.”
Taylor Hall practices with his New Jersey teammates at Rogers Place Wednesday. (CBC)
Hall said he knew returning to Edmonton would be emotional.Seeing the city for the first time since the trade wasn’t easy.
“I’m getting over it, as the day goes on,” he said.
Since the trade, the Oilers have become a stronger team and remain in the fight for a playoff spot, somewhere they haven’t been in January for almost 10 years.
Hall said he enjoyed playing in Edmonton, which always had talented top six forwards.
What’s different now is the team is winning more games than it was when Hall was here. Some fans and analysts say the trade may be part of the reason why.
“The disappointing thing for me is, I wasn’t able to be part of the team there that I had been a part of for so long,” he said. “Those are the hard things.”
Facing the Oilers in front of a crowd that cheered him on for five years will be somewhat easier, because the two teams met recently in Newark.
“I’m glad I got the first game out of the way in New Jersey,” Hall said. “That was really weird, even though it was in my home rink, just playing those guys that I played with so long.”