Veteran forward Taylor Hall has joined his seventh team last week, as he was included in the blockbuster three-team trade between the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes; he was traded from Chicago to Carolina, and it's a move that he approves of.
Hall explained that he's happy to be in a new location with a structure that is more suited to his game along with increased playing time, via TSN.
“My playing time in Chicago, for whatever reason, was not what I would have liked it to be,” Hall said. “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.”
“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.
Hall, the former first overall pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL Draft, knows that while some first overall picks play their entire careers with the club that drafted them, that's not the case with his career.
“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 and the Hurricanes host his former Blackhawks teammates at Lenovo Center on Thursday night.
Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall is a former Hart Trophy winner

The former first overall pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL Draft, Hall spend the first several years of his career with the team before being traded to the New Jersey Devils; he won the Hart Trophy in 2018 as the NHL's Most Valuable Player.
He's also played for the Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, and Blackhawks.