Taylor Hall, the Blackhawks‘ most likely player to be dealt ahead of the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline, knows what is probably coming.
“I came into this year wanting to continue being a Blackhawk for years to come,” Hall said Wednesday. “I don’t know if that’s going to be the case anymore. But I’ll leave that door open, for sure. [I] understand that it’s a business and the team is going to do what’s best for them.”
Hall, a pending unrestricted free agent at season’s end, said he would theoretically be open to discussing a contract extension, since he likes the city of Chicago and his Hawks teammates. But he has “a feeling that’s not really in the cards.”
“Everyone in a contract year knows there’s a lot of different ways things can go,” he added. “I’m ready for anything. I have a great wife who is always ready for a good adventure. If that’s here or if that’s somewhere else, we’ll figure it out.”
Coming off ACL surgery that caused him to miss all but 10 games last season, Hall has not been as productive this season as he hoped to be. Last summer, he set a target of 30 goals, but he has just eight — along with 14 assists — in 43 games so far.
On the other hand, the 33-year-old former Hart Trophy winner remains a high-profile and well-liked player with 719 career points attached to his name.
His skating skill makes him effective at transporting the puck up the ice, even if his playmaking once inside the offensive zone isn’t as dynamic as it once was. He leads the Hawks — and ranks ninth in the NHL — in offensive-zone entries per minute this season, per All Three Zones.
He will be a relatively desirable forward for general managers of playoff teams looking to add to their rosters, although the idea of getting a second-round draft pick in return might be overly ambitious. A third-round pick is probably more reasonable.
Like most Hawks, Hall hasn’t personally enjoyed this loss-laden season much.
“You look back even to our exhibition games, we got thumped in a lot of games,” he said. “It just set our year off on a tough foot. That’s no one’s fault in particular. It’s just the way it happened. It really put us behind the 8-ball.
“For a veteran guy like myself, when that happens at the start of the year, you can see things are going to shake out a bit differently or maybe not how you want throughout the season. I try to have the best attitude I can. I’m always going to be a good pro.”
There was some tension between him and former coach Luke Richardson, especially after Richardson healthy-scratched Hall with no warning in November in Vancouver. And lately, interim coach Anders Sorensen has been deploying Hall, who has just one point in his last five games, on the fourth line.
“He’s a player that should be producing five-on-five or even on the power play, so we want to get him back to that level,” Sorensen said Wednesday. “Right now, it’s where we’re at, too: ‘Hey, you have to show more.'”
But Sorensen praised Hall for his handling of the trade rumors that are beginning to swirl.
“I haven’t seen a change in his demeanor,” Sorensen added. “He comes to work; he works out; he’s asking questions; we’re talking about things. I don’t see any inkling of him looking elsewhere. He’s been a pro about it.”
Maroon less certain
Other than Hall, fellow pending UFA forwards Ryan Donato and Pat Maroon are other possible pieces of trade-deadline bait for the Hawks to dangle.
Maroon’s odds of getting traded are lower than Hall’s, though. For one thing, Maroon’s wife is pregnant with a due date in late April, which would complicate a move to a playoff-bound team.
“We haven’t really put thought into it,” Maroon said Monday. “Right now, I’m with the Blackhawks, and my focus is right here on trying to get some wins and build something before the deadline.”