Taylor Hall and Corey Perry are two of the most talented wingers in hockey, and will provide for some entertaining hockey in 2013-14; squaring off as division rivals.
Hall and his Edmonton Oilers have been slowly trying to make their way up the standings after picking first overall in three straight drafts (2010, 2011, 2012). In 2013, they showed great signs of improvement and followed it up with a very good offseason.
Perry’s Anaheim Ducks were expected to be bottom-dwellers in 2013, but instead charged towards the second-best record in the Western Conference before being upset by the Detroit Red Wings in the first round.
Anaheim traded away star forward Bobby Ryan to Ottawa, but got some young talent in return. The Ducks are incredibly deep and boast youngsters with all sorts of potential, but Perry still leads the way along with captain Ryan Getzlaf.
When it comes to young talent and upside, however, no team may have more than Edmonton.
Hall is clearly the team’s offensive leader, but years of futility have given the Oilers a plethora of early draft picks who are ready to mature and turn the team into a contender.
Perry played on one of the best lines in hockey with Getzlaf and Ryan, and it will be interesting to see how he will be affected by the departure of Ryan.
While Perry has likely reached his peak, Hall may not have. Not only is he young and still improving, but so are his fellow Oiler teammates.
Both players should be considered top 15 - maybe even top ten forwards. Perry is just a few years removed from a Hart Trophy, and Hall is establishing himself among the NHL’s elite.
If given the choice between the two, neither has a distinctly clear advantage. As mentioned before, Perry may have reached his peak, but he is still an extremely reliable fantasy player and will score all sorts of goals.
Hall is talented and will continue to improve this year.
Basically, it comes down to what you want out of a player. Hall will get more goals and assists (most likely), but Perry will get more hits, take more shots, and have a higher plus-minus since he plays for a better team.
Overall, Perry is an extremely consistent and reliable pick, but without Bobby Ryan by his side this year and the Oilers maturing, Taylor Hall likely has the more upside of the two.