I wouldn't be surprised at all if Sweeney isn't done. His seat is getting hot. And, even though Cam has to be a little more forward thinking, his ass has to be getting a little warm, too. Between that, and I think the desire to make one last push with the Bergeron crew, I could see them making a push for some more help on the blue line now.
As for the Hall trade - the upside is just too much to NOT pull the trigger on this.
Less than 25% of second round picks even make the NHL, and less than 15% become "impact players" (whatever that means). With that said, I think his Hart season is a clear aberration. Moreover, my biggest concern is that his dip in shooting coincides almost directly to when he had arthroscopic knee surgery in 2018. I know shooting % isn't the end all be all, but in the 9 seasons prior to his surgery, he never averaged less than 8.4% for a season. Seven of his nine seasons were between 9.1% - 14%. His average for those 9 seasons was 10.8%. Nothing spectacular, but for a high volume player, a very solid number. Even excluding his Hart season, his career shooting was still 10.24%.
Since the surgery, his shooting % is 5.6%.
That number is impacted by a lot of things. Three different teams in those two seasons, none of which were contenders or brimming with talent. But the bigger concern for me is how New Jersey handled the situation. The season after his Hart he was only 27, and in 33 games prior to injury, Hall's counting numbers put him on pace for another All-star appearance. He signed a cheap one season contract (2.4m) to return on a prove it deal...and NJD dumps him to Phoenix after 30 games.
Kid put up a Hart season, followed it up with another excellent season before getting hurt...and then is dumped. And not for a haul, by the way. For 3 prospects - two that have bottom six type ceilings, and a big/plodding defenseman - and a conditional 1st. That conditional first? Turned into a 3rd (turned into a 2nd if he resigned or Coyotes won a round, first if both happened). Oh yeah, and NJD retained half his contract for the benefit of dumping him. Is that the kind of trade you make for a 28 year old going into his prime that you think has a shot at returning to all-star or Hart caliber?
So, NJD moved on a year after a phenomenal season. Phoenix moved on after trading assets for him for a rental. and now Buffalo is moving on halfway into his contract. All of his numbers have cratered since his injury. That all scares me. A lot.
But, again...we only gave up a second. The risk/reward that, as he gets further from surgery he gets closer to his original play, is too much to pass up. High ceiling, low floor type trade. But...well, the team had to do something. At this point, I'm just crossing my fingers that we bought low on a gem.