The former first overall pick hopes to bring what he can to his new team.
Taylor Hall has come a long way from his Hart Trophy win as the most valuable player in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils in 2017-2018.
He’s come even further since he was selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 draft, immediately burdened with the Sisyphean task of attempting to lift what was at the time a deeply lost franchise out of the wilderness.
When he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes from the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night, he joined the seventh different franchise of his career, and his fifth in the last seven seasons.
Speaking at his locker after the Canes suffered a 3-2 overtime loss in Elmont against the Islanders, he spoke as a player simultaneously wearied from the chaos of being traded and grateful for another opportunity to contribute to a winning team.
“It’s a whirlwind no matter how many times you’ve done it,” Hall said. “I’d been kind of expecting a trade for a few days, so I was able to mentally prepare… It never gets easy leaving family and meeting a new group of guys. It’s something that you don’t really get used to, but this seems like an awesome group, and the standards here are high. That’s really exciting for me.”
Hall’s journey began as a top line star for the Oilers, ultimately having the opportunity to be Connor McDavid’s primary running mate when Edmonton selected the generational phenom in 2015.
But that partnership lasted only a year, as Hall was infamously swapped for Adam Larsson in a one-for-one deal with the Devils, where he spent parts of four seasons and got his first taste of the playoffs.
A trade to Arizona led to a free agent contract in Buffalo during the pandemic off-season, and a rough stint there saw Hall land in Boston, where he spent parts of three more seasons, including the 2022 campaign where the Bruins fell to the Hurricanes in the first round.
Hall was later sent to Chicago to provide veteran leadership for another first overall pick in Connor Bedard.
“I love Bedsy,” Hall said. “He’s such a good kid… I really enjoyed the mentor aspect of that relationship, but as we became friends, I didn’t really look at myself as a mentor. He was a buddy of mine, and I enjoyed our time together.”
The overall situation in Chicago in terms of opportunity and team success was not the one Hall had hoped for, to the point where he was willing to waive his partial no-trade clause to facilitate the move, as according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Hurricanes were one of the 10 teams on his protected list.
But the opportunity to jump back into the mix on a contending team at this stage in his career, after having been on playoff contenders and bottom feeders alike, was too good to pass up.
“You never start your career thinking that you’re going to play for seven teams,” Hall reflected. “Especially if you go as high in the draft as I did, but it’s just kind of the way it’s gone. I do think about it, and it’s not the way that I expected… but there’s a very select few players that get to play with one, two teams. You know, look at as good a player as Mikko.”
The perspective that Hall has gained from this journey, though, has granted him the capacity to appreciate the experiences he’s picked up along the way.
“I really think that it’s helped me build emotional intelligence,” he said. “I’ve met so many staff, and so many players, and so many coaches, and so many flight attendants every place that I’ve gone, and I really think that’s helped me become a better guy.”
That doesn’t mean he’s not ready to settle down somewhere, though.
“But at the same time, I’d love for this to be the last [stop],” he added. “I’m tired of moving around… I’m here now, and I’m excited about it.”
While the acquisition of Rantanen was obviously the headline grabber due to his standing as a top 10 forward in the league, Hall has the opportunity to provide a massive impact to this year’s Hurricanes team as well.
The former Oiler and Devil brings a unique blend of speed and skill that can provide some much needed offensive punch to Carolina’s middle six forwards and second power play unit.
That was exactly what he displayed on Saturday night, as he fired off a pair of passes on the power play to Jack Roslovic and Jackson Blake that set up dangerous chances, and then got bumped up to the second line to play with Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the third period.
The trio was Carolina’s most dangerous unit by far in the period, as they absolutely dominated a lengthy offensive zone shift that sled to several high-danger chances, and on their next go-round, a brilliant play by Hall in the neutral zone led to Svechnikov ripping a wrister squarely off the post.
“The lines were changing, and I think Rod was just trying to find some balance or some momentum,” Hall said. “Those are two really good players. Big guys, strong guys, strong on pucks. [Svechnikov], I’ve played against him for a long time, and same with [Kotkaniemi]. They see the game well.”
At first glance, Hall’s strengths may not necessarily translate to the identity and style that the Hurricanes have utilized to become a perennial playoff contender over the past six years, but that maturity Hall has built up through the years has him ready to do what it takes to make the partnership a fruitful one.
“You still have that strong desire as your career goes on,” he said. “You never know how many years you have left… I look forward to building my own game into what the team needs… This is a really established group… It’s my job to bring whatever I can. Speed, and whatever skill that I can. There’s a way that they play here that’s been successful, so I’m going to keep getting used to it.”
In Brind’Amour’s assessment, the Hurricanes coach was pleased with what Hall brought in his first showing, which was what led to the bump up to the Svechnikov line and the increased opportunity as the game went along.
“[Hall] in the third, when we gave him a little more opportunity, all of a sudden he was wa more noticeable,” Brind’Amour said. “I said, ‘We’ve got to get him more ice time,’ and the way the game was flowing, it just didn’t happen. We found a way in the third, and he was good.”