Chicago Blackhawks’ Taylor Hall out for season with knee injury

Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Well, that didn’t go to plan.

The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that Taylor Hall is set to undergo right knee surgery and will be out for the remainder of the 2023-24 NHL season.

Hall was acquired from the Boston Bruins ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft in a way to help surround Connor Bedard with extra scoring help. Hall, a fellow first-overall pick, would also act as a mentor in a way very few NHLers can.

Instead, it’s been a difficult campaign for the 32-year-old. He missed a game early in the season with an upper-body injury before missing another three due to a shoulder injury. Add in a separate lower-body injury last week and now this, and you can see how difficult it’s been for the winger.

Hall finishes his first campaign with the Blackhawks with two goals and four points in 10 games. He had a 16-goal, 36-point campaign in Boston last year, a season that saw him miss 21 games due to injury.

Drafted first overall in 2010, Hall won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP after his 93-point campaign in 2017-18. He has surpassed the 50-point mark six times in his career, and has typically been a decent playoff performer. In 827 games over 14 seasons between Edmonton, New Jersey, Buffalo, Arizona, Boston and Chicago, Hall has 264 goals and 695 career points.

In a corresponding move, the Blackhawks have recalled forwards Joey Anderson and Cole Guttman from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. Andreas Athanasiou has also been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 9.

The Blackhawks currently sit last in the Central Division with a 5-12-0 record. The team has lost its last five games, but are still riding the high of having Bedard going all-in on the Calder Trophy. And he could get some extra help next year, with the Hawks boasting the second-best odds of landing the first overall pick in 2024.

Chicago lost 7-3 to Columbus on Wednesday night, but will return home with a chance to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second time this year on Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM ET.