January 16, 2025 | 10:24am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

HALL PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE TRADE

Taylor Hall, forward

Taylor Hall’s season hasn’t gone how he imagined and with the Chicago Blackhawks sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings, his future with the club appears bleak.

Hall, 33, is in the final year of a four-year, $24 million contract and owns a 10-team no-trade list as part of his deal.

With the trade deadline in the offing, Hall understands that he is a prime candidate to be moved in the coming weeks.

“It is what it is. It’s a business; we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t have a ton of clarity on the situation at this point in time. There’s a lot of moving parts going on.”

Hall reinforced his desire to stay in Chicago beyond this season, but it seems more likely the team will explore trading him by the March 7 deadline instead of signing him to an extension.

“I came into this year wanting to continue being a Blackhawk for years to come,” Hall said. “I don’t know if that’s going to be the case anymore, but I’ll leave that door open, for sure. I understand it’s a business and the team’s going to do what’s best for them.”

Hall currently ranks No.17 on the TFP Trade Watch List.

The Blackhawks have two salary retention slots remaining this season and could eat upwards of half of Hall’s $6 million salary cap hit for the rest of the campaign, which would help facilitate a trade that is more likely to see a second-round or third-round draft pick as a primary piece in a return.

Multiple teams are looking for secondary scoring and Hall could benefit from playing in a more competitive environment while chasing a Stanley Cup.

In 43 games with the Hawks so far this season, Hall has registered eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points.