Chicago Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall has not joined the team on their road trip to Columbus, as he’s currently dealing with an undisclosed injury.
It’s unclear as to what caused the injury to Hall, 32, as he played the entirety of Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, including the final 2:13 of the game. It’s likely that he either suffered the injury during the game and played through it, or is dealing with a previous injury flaring up again. He’s already missed six games this season due to shoulder and lower-body injuries.
When he has been healthy, Hall hasn’t quite had the success Chicago may have been looking for to start this season, as he has just two goals and two assists for four points in 10 games.
Hall’s been one of the better playmakers in the league in the past few seasons, with his 0.82 5v5 primary assists per 60 minutes since 2021 is tied for 41st in the league among forwards with 2500 minutes played.
Hall was originally the first overall pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2010 NHL Draft, and has played for the Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and the Blackhawks in his 14-season NHL career.
Hall is in the third season of a four-year contract with a $6 million cap hit, one he signed in the 2021 offseason with the Bruins and played the first two seasons of it in Boston before they dealt him and Nick Foligno to Chicago as part of a cap dump.
With Hall out of the lineup, Boris Katchouk will sub-in to the lineup for the Blackhawks. Ryan Donato is currently projected to slot onto Hall’s spot on the second line alongside Tyler Johnson and Taylor Raddysh, a combo that has a 100% 5v5 expected goal share in 48 seconds of ice time together.
The Blackhawks will look to end their four-game losing streak against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. EST. Chicago is currently in last place in the Central Division with a 5-11-0 record, and are currently nine points out of a playoff spot.
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