A Look at the Career of Taylor Hall

A couple of days before the draft ended, Kyle Davidson made their biggest move that didn't involve this years first round. The Blackhawks officially announced the terms of a trade with the Bruins last Monday afternoon.

The two players acquired were Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall, with the latter being the main piece of what is certainly a cap dump for a team trying to get over the hump after this year's disappointment. So now that Hall is going to be a Blackhawk, let's take a brief look at his career so far and see what the Hawks are getting.

Taylor Hall was drafted #1 overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL Draft. Following his selection as the top pick of the draft that year, he would go on to have a pretty solid tenure with the Oilers. Hall amassed 328 total points within his first six seasons in the NHL. He was even selected as an assistant captain of the Oilers and wore the "A" for four of his years in Edmonton.

Per EliteHockeyProspects, Taylor Hall Oilers stats 2010-2016: 381 GP / 132 G / 196 A / 328 P

A huge trade took place in 2016 between the Oilers and the Devils. Taylor Hall was traded for Adam Larsson in a 1 for 1 swap. The Oilers felt that their need for a top 4 defenseman outweighed the impact they believed Hall provided their team. Something of note is that the Oilers did not make the playoffs once during Hall's time there.

Hall went on to spend the next four years in New Jersey, wearing the "A" for three of them. While playing for the Devils, Hall had the best season of his career. During the 2017-2018 season, he scored 93 points and won the Hart trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. In the same year, Hall made the playoffs for the first time but lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Hall scored a respectable 6 points in five games during the playoffs that year. While Hall was still performing at nearly a point per game level, he only played 30 games in the following season due to injury.

Per EliteHockeyProspects, Taylor Hall Devils stats 2016-2020: 211 GP / 76 G / 132 A / 208 P

Hall would be traded to the Arizona Coyotes during the 2019-2020 season. He would go on to finish the rest of that season and put up 27 points with Arizona. The Coyotes qualified for the 2020 playoffs with the expanded playoff format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Arizona upset the Nashville Predators in the playoffs and went on to lose to Colorado in five games in the following round. During these playoffs, Hall recorded 6 points in nine games.

Per EliteHockeyProspects, Taylor Hall Coyotes stats 2019-2020: 35 GP / 10 G / 17 A / 27 P

After the 2019-2020 season Hall would become a free agent. He opted to go to Buffalo, a team that had not qualified for the playoffs since the 2010-2011 season. He suffered another injury plagued season and scored 19 points in Buffalo. After playing only 37 games he was traded to the Boston Bruins.

Per EliteHockeyProspects, Taylor Hall Sabres stats 2020-2021: 37 GP / 2 G / 17 A / 19 P

Hall has been part of the Boston Bruins since signing a four-year extension worth 6 million per year in 2021. Hall was committing to a team with plenty of star power and could be a solid producer for a team that was trying to compete for the Stanley Cup. Since being traded to Boston, Hall put up 17 points in 25 playoff games, a number that the Bruins most likely wish was a bit higher.

Per EliteHockeyProspects, Taylor Hall Bruins stats 2020-2021: 158 GP / 44 G / 67 A / 111 P

The Bruins felt that he was not a key contributor to their team at his current cap hit and needed to free up some space to sign some of their other players. Now, with Taylor Hall on his sixth NHL team, he enters a rebuilding Blackhawks squad picking first overall in the draft. Taylor hall always seems to be around the first overall draft picks, being with Edmonton, New Jersey, and Buffalo when each team picked 1st overall.

For the Blackhawks, they are getting a top line winger that can play with Connor Bedard and help his development. They also acquired him at very little cost, only having to trade away two defensive prospects that did not appear to be in the team's long-term plan. At 6 million, his cap hit is one of the largest for the Hawks, but they still need to sign players to reach the cap floor and have plenty of money to spare. He is only signed for two more years, so it is not a contract that will not greatly impact the future going forward. Now that Hall is a Blackhawk, the recently completed draft will help shape what this team may look like for the next era.

Per NHL.com, Taylor Hall's Career stats in the NHL from 2010-2023: 822 GP / 264 G / 429 A / 693 P