Taylor Hall reveals how he found out he was getting traded in monster deal!

When it was announced on Friday that forward Taylor Hall was getting pulled from the Chicago Blackhawks’ lineup ahead of that night’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, fans knew a trade was underway. Hall knew before that as he explained to Peter Baugh on Tuesday how he found out he was getting traded.

“Taylor Hall said he had a good sense he was going to be traded to Carolina a couple days before the deal went down. He was playing pregame soccer with Chicago when Pat Maroon — who was supposed to be a scratch — joined the game. That gave the players a cue a deal might be afoot.”

That has to be rough when you feel and see that something is being worked on with you at the center of it. A week before the transaction, when asked about the ongoing trade rumours, Hall had mentioned how he would be open to signing an extension in Chicago but has “a feeling that’s not really in the cards.”

Hall was a piece used by the Blackhawks, who played a facilitator role in a blockbuster three-team trade that saw the Hurricanes acquired Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche and prospect Nils Juntorp from the Chicago. Martin Necas and Jack Drury plus two draft picks went to Colorado while Chicago acquired a 2025 third-round pick in the deal, also agreeing to pay 50 per cent of Rantanen’s cap hit for the remainder of the season.

Hall is in the final season of a four-year, $24 million contract, featuring an average annual value of $6 million and could test free agency again this summer. At least, this time, unless this past Friday with the Hawks, he will be in control of his landing spot.