Blackhawks Trade Rumors: 4 Potential Taylor Hall Destinations

As a former Hart Trophy winner, 15-year veteran Taylor Hall seemed to be blindsided by the Chicago Blackhawks' decision to make him a healthy scratch last weekend. "I was surprised. It was unexpected, from the standpoint of I just didn't know I was even close to being in that spot, really," Hall said this week.

The two sides say they're on the same page now, and he was back in the lineup for Chicago's 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Nevertheless, after a disappointing start to the season both for Hall and the Hawks in general, the possibility of a potential trade is now weighing over the proceedings.

If the Hawks were to go down that road, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News has offered up these four landing spots that might work for the impending UFA:

Boston Bruins

Certainly, this is another team in upheaval mode, after they fired their head coach Jim Montgomery earlier this week. The Bruins are 30th in the NHL in goals-per-game, and despite Hall's own slow start to the season (2 goals in 18 games), he was a solid offensive contributor for the Bruins for two years just a couple of seasons back. They could look at bringing the 33-year-old back.

Hall's $6M cap hit, however, could make a deal difficult for Boston.

New York Islanders

Another team that needs help up front, the Isles rank only a few spots ahead of the Bruins in goals-per-game, and have been looking for help. They're currently without top offensive options Mat Barzal and Anthony Duclair, out for a couple of more weeks. The Islanders do have the cap space to fit Hall in.

Seattle Kraken

The young team is middle of the pack on offense, but it's been a problem area going back to last season. Adding a proven veteran with Hall's experience would be a nice pick-up for the Kraken, though some cap retention by the Blackhawks would probably be needed.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues are also right near the bottom of the league in goals, and while Robert Thomas just returned on Tuesday, they'll need more help. Their top scorer's return from LTIR puts them in a salary cap crunch though, so again, Chicago would have to retain plenty of Hall's cap hit to make this work.