Winger’s recent comment should ignite the Blackhawks fanbase

The Chicago Blackhawks are doing the right thing during the third full season of this rebuild, or at least, I’m calling it the third full season. For me, Year 1 was when they moved veteran Patrick Kane, their way of officially tearing down the one-time championship lineup. 

For Year 2, it was the slow process of forging a new identity and drafting Connor Bedard was a major help. But we now know Year 2 was, at best, a bumpy ride, and Year 3 will see some highs but also some lows that will leave fans feeling just plain mad.

Year 3 could also move the team into a deeper transition if veterans in contract years decide to go elsewhere in hopes of aligning themselves with a contender to win one, or one last, Stanley Cup. But others want to stick around and see this rebuild through. 

One of those players seems to be former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff noted in a recent article of Hall’s positive comments about the organization, but the following comment jumped out: “I think I can be a good piece for us as we keep growing. If there was interest on their side, I’d definitely love to be around the team and help build this.”

Taylor Hall could be with the Chicago Blackhawks for a while

Taylor Hall has been a bit of a journeyman in the NHL, playing for six organizations in what has been 15 seasons since his age-19 campaign with the Edmonton Oilers. Through those 15 years, Hall may have added the Hart Trophy to his resume, but the Stanley Cup has eluded him. 

While the Blackhawks are still searching for their identity as a team, and some may have thought Hall was just filling in the gaps in what is his age-33 season until another youngster would take over, they can be rest assured that it looks like he’ll do everything in his power to stay in the Windy City, barring some kind of unforeseen falling out. 

Through seven games, Hall has looked like a mid-tier player, posting two goals and three points, playing roughly 15 minutes per game. He won’t be the player he was in his earlier years, but should Hall re-sign, look for him to be a valuable depth scorer and two-way player, something we’ve also seen earlier this year with five blocks and four takeaways. 

If Hall stuck around on smaller bridge deals and doesn’t take much cap space, chances are, he’ll be a strong asset for the Blackhawks in their quest to return to the playoffs in 2025-26. And yes, I said 2025-26 since it’s still too farfetched to claim they will return this season.