The Edmonton Oilers, through years of being terrible, have accumulated a wealth of talented, high-ceiling young forwards. There has been speculation as to who they would keep, who they would trade to address another need, or who wouldn’t want to stay. The first domino has fallen, as they have extended Taylor Hall with a lucrative seven-year, $42 million contract.

Hall was the first overall pick in 2010, the first of three straight years picking first for Edmonton. And while Hall will forever be linked with Tyler Seguin and their battle for being picked first, this article and contract is more about comparing Hall to fellow 2010 draft pick Jeff Skinner, taken seventh by Carolina.

Skinner was the first member of the 2010 draft class to ink an extension beyond his entry level contract. It was risky because every extension for a 2010 draft class member this offseason would be based on Skinner’s deal, which is for six years with a $5.725 million cap hit. Hall’s cap hit will be $6 million even.

Hall had some leverage over Edmonton in these negotiations, in case they were trying to low ball him due to two injury-shortened seasons.

The first piece of leverage was his status as the first overall pick; he couldn’t possibly sign for less than the seventh pick.

Secondly, he brought with him more success and the intangibles to be a future captain. Hall was the star of back-to-back OHL and Memorial Cup Champions on the Windsor Spitfires. He averaged 0.727 goals per game in junior, plus a ridiculous line of 33-38-71 in 39 playoff games. Skinner too had success (50 goals in his draft year, plus 20 goals in 20 playoff games), but did not have the team success Hall did.

Skinner’s NHL career started better than Hall’s, no doubt. Skinner was an All-Star as a rookie, and won the Calder Trophy for his 31-32-63 year in all 82 games. Hall meanwhile had an injury-shortened season with 22 goals in 65 games, Hall was the better player last year, though, with 27-26-53 in 61 games vs. 20-24-44 for Skinner.

To date, Hall has averaged 0.389 goals and 0.754 points per game in his two seasons, while Skinner has 0.349 and 0.733 respectively; extremely similar production to date.

If size matters, Hall has the size (6’1”) more suited to take a beating in the NHL, and looks poised to become one of the premier power forwards with a dizzying combination of speed and recklessness. Skinner meanwhile, is generously listed at 5’11” and isn’t the fastest skater or more physical, but he has some of the best hands in the NHL. Both players look like good bets to score between 30-40 goals a year for the next decade at least.

So while Skinner has the higher total numbers to date, the hardware and the All-Star appearance, good on Hall and his agent for using the proper points in negotiations to show Edmonton that he deserved more, and for not being talked into taking a hometown discount either.

Edmonton, meanwhile, should be elated about locking up an important piece of their puzzle. The one worry is Hall’s health. He has already sustained a hand, head, and shoulder injury in the NHL, and his all-out style of play puts him at risk of future injuries. They might not be as thrilled with this contract if he is only going to play 60-65 games a year.

Grade for Hall: A

Grade for Edmonton: A-