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The Chicago Blackhawks announced Thursday that veteran winger Taylor Hall will undergo surgery on his right knee and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Hall left the Blackhawks’ Nov. 9 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning early due to a knee injury, and after missing the following two games, he returned to play on Nov. 18 and 19.
The Blackhawks held Hall out of Wednesday’s 7-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets before deciding to shut him down for the season.
Hall was in the midst of his first season in Chicago following an offseason trade from the Boston Bruins.
Chicago acquired Hall in hopes that he could help in rookie No. 1 overall draft pick Connor Bedard’s transition to the NHL.
Bedard has been as good as advertised during his debut campaign, recording 10 goals and six assists for 16 points in 17 games, although Hall’s production was modest.
In 10 games, Hall registered two goals and two assists for four points to go along with a minus-3 rating.
Like Bedard, Hall entered the NHL with a ton of hype surrounding him, as he was the No. 1 overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL draft.
The 32-year-old forward has been a productive player throughout his career, but he has bounced around quite a bit, playing for the New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Bruins and Blackhawks since his initial six-year stint in Edmonton.
In addition to being a five-time All-Star, Hall won the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP in 2018 when he racked up 39 goals and 54 assists for 93 points.
Overall, Hall has played in 832 career regular-season games, producing 266 goals and 431 assists for 697 points.
With Hall on the shelf, the leadership void will have to be filled by other Blackhawks veterans such as Corey Perry, Nick Foligno, Tyler Johnson and Seth Jones.
Meanwhile, Bedard will continue to be the clear go-to player for a rebuilding Blackhawks team that is in last place in the Western Conference’s Central Division with just 10 points.
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