When the Arizona Coyotes beat the TradeCentre rush by nabbing Taylor Hall from New Jersey on Dec. 16, they were tied for third in the Western Conference in points.

The refrain from the Coyotes then was: “Why not us?”

The Coyotes have gone 9-11-3 in the two months since, the eighth-worst record in the NHL over that span.

The Yotes are on the outside of the playoff picture. All-Star netminder Darcy Kuemper, who has made only two starts since Hall joined the club, just had a setback in his attempt to return from injury.

Now the refrain on the Coyotes is: “What if?” What if…the Coyotes continue to stumble? What if…by the time Deadline Day arrives on Feb. 24, the Coyotes are four points out of a playoff spot? What then?

Will GM John Chayka consider flipping Hall?

There has been no indication that is a consideration right now. Arizona is right in the mix, tied in points with the Winnipeg Jets for the final wild-card spot.

But it’s a question that must be raised, given that Hall and agent Darren Ferris have remained steadfast in their position that they won’t be entering into contract negotiations during the season.

To allow for that possibility, Hall is the newest member of the TSN Trade Bait board, checking in at the bottom at No. 40.

Chayka acknowledged Hall wasn’t willing to re-sign right away on the day he traded a top-three protected first-round pick, a 2020 conditional third-round pick, as well as prospects Kevin Bahl, Nick Merkley and Nate Schnarr for Hall, and seemed comfortable with the risk.

The Coyotes were also in an entirely different position then.

“For us, we think it’s a great opportunity and certainly a bit of a gamble, but we’re betting on ourselves that he’ll understand what we’re about here and what we’re trying to do,” Chayka said then. “We want Taylor Hall to want to be in Arizona and the only way for him to be that way is to actually be in Arizona, in our opinion.”​

Hall, 28, has just about lived up to his end of the bargain. He has eight goals and 20 points in 23 games with the Coyotes.

The Coyotes have struggled, and it hasn’t all been because of Kuemper’s absence. They are actually middle of the road in goals against (15th) during Hall’s tenure, but they’ve struggled to score – just as they have all season long. They are 22nd in goals scored since Hall arrived and the power play ranks 24th. Hall is the team’s cumulative leading scorer and he isn’t inside the NHL’s Top 50 scorers. Nick Schmaltz is their next leading scorer with 39 points and he ranks 85th.

That all means the Coyotes will be a fascinating team to watch over the next 13 days.

Will Chayka attempt to shake up the roster? Will he double down and spend more assets to increase their playoff chances? Will he just roll the dice on what he already has assembled, hoping Hall has seen enough to want to re-sign? Or will he attempt to mitigate his risk by recouping assets in a season that has gone sideways?

Stay tuned.

Here is the latest TSN Hockey Trade Bait board, which always seeks to blend a player’s prominence with his likelihood of a trade:

1. Chris Kreider, NYR
2. Alec Martinez, LA
3. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ott
4. Sami Vatanen, NJ
5. Brenden Dillon, SJ
6. Ilya Kovalchuk, Mtl
7. Tyler Toffoli, LA
8. Anthony DeAngelo, NYR
9. Andreas Athanasiou, Det
10. Carolina's 1st Round Pick
11. Matt Dumba, Min
12. Pavel Buchnevich, NYR
13. Derek Grant, Ana
14. Dylan DeMelo, Ott
15. Joe Thornton, SJ
16. Mike Hoffman, Fla
17. Chris Tierney, Ott
18. Shayne Gostisbehere, Phi
19. Andreas Johnsson, Tor
20. Kasperi Kapanen, Tor
21. Barclay Goodrow, SJ
22. Ondrej Kase, Ana
23. Conor Sheary, Buf
24. Patrick Marleau, SJ
25. Robert Bortuzzo, StL
26. Ryan Donato, Min
27. Ron Hainsey, Ott
28. Zach Bogosian, Buf
29. Craig Smith, Nsh
30. Valtteri Filppula, Det
31. Marco Scandella, Mtl
32. Mikael Granlund, Nsh
33. Sam Bennett, Cgy
34. Wayne Simmonds, NJ
35. Kyle Turris, Nsh
36. Josh Manson, Ana
37. Josh Anderson, Clb
38. Jeff Petry, Mtl
39. Jesse Puljujarvi, Edm*
40. Taylor Hall, Ari