Taylor Hall benched before important game

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Finnegan Frost
November 16, 2024 (11:32 PM)

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Former Edmonton Oilers superstar Taylor Hall finds himself in the Blackhawks dog-house, getting benched for the first time this season.

The Chicago Blackhawks are having an extremely disappointing start to the 2024-25 campaign. Although the team is in the middle of a franchise rebuild, the team can't seem to generate any offensive firepower.

Currently sitting at a 6-10-1 record, the Chicago Blackhawks have managed just 5 goals in the past 5 games, and fans are ready to press the proverbial panic button on the season.

According to Liam McCormick of Oilers Daily, Hall is coming back from an ACL injury that he had surgery on last season, and it's notoriously a difficult injury to come back from. Still, Hall believes that he should be in the lineup, and isn't happy with the decision tonight.

Hawks coach Luke Richardson said that this scratch is about getting Taylor Hall back to «game speed», which is extremely concerning to hear. Now 33 years old, age isn't on Hall's side to recover from this injury.
-Oilers Daily

For most of the season, Taylor Hall has been on the Blackhawks first line alongside superstar Connor Bedard, yet Connor Bedard has only managed 3 goals in 17 regular season games.

Now, the Chicago Blackhawks are in a desperate situation, and fans are urging GM Kyle Davidson to trade Hall while he still retains some value.

Just 6 years removed from an MVP trophy with the New Jersey Devils, it must be a tough pill to swallow for Hall to be healthy scratched by the lowly Blackhawks - but the game results do say that he's simply not good enough right now.

Hopefully, this message by head coach Luke Richardson will spark Taylor Hall into an offensive groove.