The deal

New Jersey Devils get: Left wing Taylor Hall

Edmonton Oilers get: Defenseman Adam Larsson

Devils: A+

Devils general manager Ray Shero was able to take advantage of the fact that the Oilers are absolutely loaded with skilled forwards and someone had to go. They got the better, more dynamic player in this deal in trading for Hall, a player who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2010.

The Devils need help offensively and he immediately provides it as a player who is capable of being a point-per-game producer when healthy.

“Hall? He just scores 70 or 80 points every year,” said one Eastern Conference scout after the trade. “He works. He plays the game hard. I haven’t heard anything bad on him, even if he’s not a Jonathan Toews-like leader. I’m a little shocked by the trade.”

An NHL coach really liked this deal from the Devils' point of view as well.

“That’s a big-time win for Jersey,” he said.

Hall played all 82 games last season, but one veteran scout who knows him well thinks his style of play lends itself to injury and has durability concerns for Hall moving forward.

“He’s a highly competitive guy. He has great speed. He has a creative nose for the net,” said the scout. “Downside is he’s a bit reckless, which lends yourself to questions about durability. You have to be careful where you walk sometimes. Sometimes the ice is thin. That’s one of his strengths but one of his vulnerabilities.”

Oilers: C

A detached general manager looks at his players like an investment portfolio. It’s not smart to have too much invested in one industry, and the Oilers were heavily invested in skilled forwards. They needed to diversify.

The theory of trading Hall for a defenseman and keeping the skilled young centers was the right solution. The question is whether the Oilers got the right defenseman in return.

Ultimately, Larsson is just not strong enough of a return to justify dealing a player as dynamic as Hall.

That said, in talking to many people about Larsson after the trade, he’s going to be a player the Oilers management and coaching staff really like.

“He played against the best players and still responded tremendously,” said one scout. “He doesn’t get a lot of points, but nobody does without power-play time. As a person, you won’t find any better. He’s signed to a long-term contract that is team-friendly. There’s more there than just the two players involved.”

He suggested this deal was comparing apples and oranges, which in some ways it is. Defensemen who are mobile and can move the puck effectively are getting more valuable every year.

“You don’t have a good offense without good defense,” explained the scout, which just about sums things up in Edmonton the past several years.

In Larsson, the Oilers get a defenseman who is a right-handed shot, which was clearly a priority for GM Peter Chiarelli, who has now traded the top two picks in the 2010 draft (he dealt Tyler Seguin as the Bruins GM).

“He’s a unicorn, because he’s right-handed and he can play,” said one Eastern Conference head coach.

Another Eastern Conference scout didn’t necessarily like the trade from an Oilers' point of view, but he did stress that he likes Larsson as a player.

“He does everything, really,” said the scout. “He’s not going to wow you, but he does everything pretty well. ... He’s a solid all-around player. He’s really smart on the ice. He’s not overly fast, but he’s a good skater. He gets around well. He does everything pretty well.”

He and Andy Greene consistently faced the toughest competition last season for the Devils, and it’s fair to say he’s a legitimate second-pairing defenseman who can grow into a top-pair guy.

He’s a good defenseman. The problem is that he was traded for Taylor Hall, and fans in Edmonton are going to want a No. 1, franchise defenseman -- which he isn’t.

“There’s so much pressure on him now,” said the scout. “That’s what happened to Justin Schultz.”

Larsson got a taste of a long playoff run in 2012. He’s played in 274 career regular-season games. He’s got a nice base to build into a defenseman who will play a long time for the Oilers.

You’d want to see more for Hall, and Edmonton probably felt pressure to get a deal done now. Especially if they’re signing Milan Lucic in a few days.

It’s not enough of a return, but Larsson is still a player who will be an important piece in Edmonton moving forward.

“Based upon statistics and output to date, perhaps it’s [lopsided in New Jersey’s favor],” said an Eastern Conference executive. “But Larsson is young, big and now semi-experienced. There’s so much more room for growth there and room for upside. Could they have got that elsewhere and more? Maybe.”