Hall was never at its best in those matches, where he was most needed, says the Swede. – Oscar Klefbom (source)
Well well well. This article is going to be a Hall-ogists worst nightmare. One of Taylor Hall’s own former teammates speaking out against him… Today is going to be fun on Twitter…
This article written by Ola Winther from HockeySverige.se was posted earlier today. The post is an interview between Winther and current Oiler Oscar Klefbom. It’s in Swedish so you’ll need to get it translated. I’m going to offer some google translated quotes in this post and comment on them.
“Taylor has been our best player in recent years, but it’s also hard to tell what he has contributed. He never played his best games against the tougher teams, which we really needed it. However, he was fantastic when we met the little inferior teams.”
Wow. Isn’t that a telling quote and from a highly regarded teammate no less. Personally, I have felt the same but it is something that should be investigated and I’m sure someone online is already working on finding out how Hall did versus the “little inferior teams”.
I harken back to the most recent World Championships where Hall put up most of his points versus the worst teams in Canada’s division and then disappeared for the rest of the tourney apart from a blowout against Sweden where he had 2 points.
This is what Klefbom had to say about the Oilers adding Adam Larsson:
“Adam makes us a better team. I think the team has improved. We already have so many promising forwards and we did not really have a peak reverse is rightare. I also think Adam gets a real breakthrough this year and hopefully I get the chance to play with him and forming chemistry.”
Klefbom speaks with incredible optimism here and for a guy that has gone through the troubles he has as an individual and a teammate of Hall’s, I dig it. I like how he talks about the team as a whole which is what folks like Lowetide have been getting at when they’ve talked about balance.
No doubt about it, Lowe, MacTavish, Tambellini, and Eakins f*cked this team over something royal when they decided that they needed to draft skilled forwards with their 1st overalls. Now we’re THIS close to seeing all of them gone but McDavid.
The Swedish defender on Lucic:
“We have received important players like Adam and Milan Lucic. Lucic is otherwise exactly the kind of player we need – a player who can create space for others.”
Oscar speaks the truth here and funny that he didn’t talk about attitude, swagger or intimidation when referring to Lucic as others in the organization have done so since the Oilers added “Looch”. He kept it dry and honest.
The interview does go on to talk about how Klefbom dealt with his injuries and the rehabilitation involved. Klefbom talks about Larsson getting an apartment in the same building as him, who he’s been training with this summer, and how he felt about last year overall.
Check it out here.
Here’s some Twitter reaction to the post:
Let's see Adam Larsson and evaluate him individually. How the team performs will have nothing to do with my evaluation of his play
— loc (@loc8ingoil) July 31, 2016
https://twitter.com/kikkerlaika/status/759759833113436160
Klefbom isn't wrong. Hall disappeared against top teams and on a number of nights. Still sad to see him go
— Ron Mycholuk (@MycholukR) July 31, 2016
What do you think about Oscar Klefbom’s comments? Are the rumours about Hall just rumours? Let me know in the comments below! Have a good one!!
I think much of this is still on Mac T’s hands. He created an atmosphere where the golden children were not accountable and they knew it. This is why many games I have watched I have seen both Eberle and Hall coasting back after they lose the puck. And don’t think this doesn’t piss the rest of the team off. Mac T gave the keys to the team to these kids who at the time did not deserve it. P.C has come in and is bring a much more professional approach to building a team.
I also remember hearing Eberle say in an interview this is the first year some of us might get traded, which means either they were told or were as good as told that don’t worry you wont be dealt for someone else.
Look, Hall is a great winger who cared a lot about winning, how much he cared about his team mates , who knows. He is a threat when ever he is on the ice and he had to endure some brutal games where other teams were toying with the Oilers. Hopefully he does well this season and puts up some big points, N.J needs a player , fans come to watch. The Oilers have moved on, They now have a young potential stud d man that they desperately needed.I also think this is a big season for Eberle, he doesn’t hit, or back check very well , so he better be putting up some big points. 70 points should be the minimum for him.
Hall was lazy and had no back check, he was a turnover machine and not a team player. I saw him as a liability on the ice on most plays as he had no desire to come back into the Oilers end and actually defend. I’m glad he is in NJ where he will play against weaker competition on a weekly basis.
OK is not wrong about this and Hall is not the only one that this assessment can be made about. A certain #14 comes to mind….just sayin’.
Nevertheless, I cut these young guys a considerable amount of slack since they were thrust into an utterly hopeless situation with little to no veteran help and were expected to deliver miracles. What kind of epic fools throws out 18 yr old kids and expects them to carry a team?
Year in and year out, the front office Keystone Kops made the same dumb mistakes and expected the kids to carry the weight with no help. Put them in a different environment and see how much different things would have been.
This is just another of the voluminous examples of the Lowe-Tambellini-Mac T ineptitude that has crippled this team. It’s management’s responsibility to create the environment and to give their personnel the tools to be successful. History will doubtless show that this sorry trio will have been among the most incompetent team builders in league history.
Poor article and (mostly) idiotic comments as expected.
Klefbom way out of his league making these statements and as usual, leave it to the lemmings to jump onto the band wagon (see comments).
Effort against the best teams understandably often will not translate into superior results, especially when such a significant gap in standings exists; this is a team game – won and lost on the efforts of a team rather than the individual.
Klefbom needs to learn to respect the team and respect the fans – unfortunately he will learn the hard way now.
I both agree and disagree with you.
If this is a team game then why the outrage of the Hall for Larsson trade? If Hall is only one piece of the team, then surely balancing out the roster is the best way to a winning record… That being said, when the team’s best players disappear from the score sheet, they tend not to do as well in the standings. Given Hall was the team’s best player in that time when McDavid was out, some blame is to be laid at his feet for not producing at the level of an apparent “elite” LWer. Questions have to be laid at Hall’s feet and Klefbom is only the latest to speak out against him. Ference, Belanger, Eakins, McLellan, and Chiarelli have all directly or indirectly called Hall out.
I could go on and on with the Hall stuff but I won’t. There are things that should be kept to one’s self, opinions about former teammates being one of them. At least until you’ve retired and then you can write a book about your career when it doesn’t matter so much.
Just to elaborate on BLH’s point…..
Sure blame lies on the best players when team is losing. At best when winning, they go hand in hand. But then there is also the game off the ice. I’m not talking about in the bar for after game beers but in the room, on the bench, between whistles. I didn’t find klefboms statements that demeaning towards Hall. But players have a way of getting to the point without getting to the point when speaking with media. Not so much what they say but what they don’t say and as outside’rs I totally agree that comments by players do not need to be dissected. They are trying to be professionals and we are taking that away from them…….but lol……a good/or bad example is Scrivens interview on fan 590 July 2nd I believe. Quick summary, when question about, went like this:
Subban trade?- good player, good guy and was a good teammate to Scrivens knowledge time spent there.
Is yak misunderstood?- criminally misunderstood. Hard worker great guy, truly wants to win.
Hall trade?- this is when Scrivens acknowledged balancing out roster and understood Chia’s move and only added “Taylor Hall is a great player……on the ice!”
Anyways, that’s being professional, pointing out the good. They are trained that way cause when you point out the bad(Klefbom) sometimes, it gets blown out of proportion( but not like Perrons remarks, now that was juicy). Old management has every bit of blame as players do. Hall is a product of that and I believe Hall has character flaws as a LEADER. Are there more on the team? Probly but sometimes it only takes removing one before the rest spoil.
Scrivens strikes again!!
http://wp.me/p6j9Gh-1v4
Swedish Poster has offered his translation in the comments section at Lowetide.
I found the differences between the garbled google translation interesting.
That said… did Kelf actually say anything we didn’t already know?
My personal thought is people make too much out of this because we’re a losing team. These kinds of checkout aisle tabloid quotes are only being directed at us because we’re losing so much.
We need that winning balm to sooth our burning itch. Only then will we have topics clear of base gossip to occupy our mind.
Quite true. I need some of that balm! Maybe we rename it to Klefbalm when he provides the team with the soothing feeling of good defense on a nightly basis.