Hall on deal to Hurricanes: 'I was happy to be traded'
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Taylor Hall is excited to turn the page with the Carolina Hurricanes after failing to find a fit with the Chicago Blackhawks over the past season and a half.
The 33-year-old was traded to the Hurricanes last week with the Blackhawks also retaining 50 per cent of Mikko Rantanen's cap hit in exchange for a third-round draft pick that previously belonged to them. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson defended the seemingly small return earlier this week, but Hall is making it clear he welcomed a move out of Chicago.
“My playing time in Chicago, for whatever reason, was not what I would have liked it to be,” Hall told Scott Powers of The Athletic on Thursday. “So I was happy to be traded, and I was happy to come to a really good team that has a culture in place and a structure that I feel fits well with me.”
The 33-year-old winger was dealt to the Blackhawks in 2023 as the Boston Bruins were looking to shed salary with Hall carrying a $6 million cap hit through this season.
The Calgary native posted two goals and four points while being limited to just 10 games last season and had nine goals and 24 points in 46 games with the team this season. He has one assist in two games since joining the Hurricanes.
Hall acknowledged to Powers that he was a not a fit for the rebuilding Blackhawks, who are prioritizing developing younger players.
Selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 draft, the Hurricanes are the seventh NHL team Hall has played for over his 15-year career.
“Not everyone’s career goes exactly how they want,” Hall said. “I can sit here and feel sorry for myself or beat myself up or whatever it may be, but I’m excited to be here. I’ve played almost 900 games and I have a chance at a Stanley Cup this year. That’s my mindset.
"I became a free agent during Covid, probably the worst-ever time to become a free agent. Right before that, I was traded to a team in Arizona where the future was very murky, and I got offered a contract I didn’t want to take. And then Covid free agency was what it was.
"I didn’t want to get traded from Boston. I got traded to a rebuilding team (Chicago) that their timeline just didn’t fit, and now here we are. There’s a lot that goes into it.
"A lot of guys don’t play their careers with the same team. I know I went No. 1 and a lot of guys stick with that team when they go No. 1. But I’m proud of my career and I think there’s a lot more ahead of me.”
Hall has 275 goals and 722 points in 880 career games. He is on track to reach the playoffs for just the sixth time in his career this season with Carolina.