Taylor Hall’s actual black eye, courtesy of Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil, doesn’t hurt so much.
“(Feels) good. It’s fine,” said Hall, whose right eyelid looked more red than black and had seven stitches in it. “Just a shiner. It’s been a while since I had a black eye. ”
It’s the black eye from the Chicago Blackhawks that stings a little more.
This has been a season in which the 15th-year forward was healthy-scratched under now-fired coach Luke Richarson, relegated to the fourth line under interim coach Anders Sorensen and now finds himself the subject of trade rumors.
Not what Hall expected 1½ half years after the Hawks acquired him, along with Nick Foligno, from the Boston Bruins.
“Yeah, it is what it is,” Hall said. “It’s a business, and I guess we’ll see what happens. I don’t have a ton of clarity on the situation at this point in time, and there’s a lot of moving parts going on I think with our team and just our identity and what they’re trying to do here.
“So I’m just trying to play as good a hockey as I can, and wherever they play me, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Hall and Foligno were just the start of the Hawks’ effort to add veteran building blocks to the rebuild. Veterans such as Teuvo Teräväinen, Tyler Bertuzzi and Alec Martinez, added to that foundation, were supposed to help the team break through.
But at 14-28-2, firmly entrenched at the bottom of the league, it’s clear the rebuild isn’t over yet.
And with that realization, the Hawks’ personnel decisions must shift accordingly.
“I came into this year wanting to continue being a Blackhawk for years to come,” Hall said. “I don’t know if that’s going to be the case anymore, but I’ll leave that door open for sure … and the team is going to do what’s best for them. And I guess we’ll just see what happens.”
Hall’s contract expires after this season, and he has a $6 million cap hit. He’ll be unrestricted free agent. He’s 33, spent all but 10 games last season on the shelf with knee and shoulder injuries, and his ice time (15 minutes, 8 seconds) is the lowest of his career.
Conversely, he has produced eight goals and 14 assists, and his 22 points are tied with Bertuzzi for fourth-most on the Hawks. But it is the Hawks, so that only says so much.
The Hawks got off to an 8-16-2 start under Richardson before general manager Kyle Davidson pulled the plug.
“You look back even to our exhibition games, we got thumped in a lot of games,” Hall said. “It just set our year off on a tough foot.
“That’s no one’s fault in particular; it’s just the way it happened. It really put us behind the eight ball. For a veteran guy like myself, when that happens at the start of the year, you can see things are going to shake out a bit differently or maybe not how you want throughout the season.”
There have been slights along the way, however.
Hall’s healthy scratch for the Nov. 11 game against the Canucks in Vancouver came with no forewarning from Richardson, who said Hall needed a game to reset.
Under Sorensen, Hall has played the last couple of games on the fourth line with Pat Maroon and Ryan Donato, which Hall doesn’t see as a downgrade.
“Our lines are pretty spread out all the way through, and Donato has had a good year,” he said. “Patty knows how to make really good hockey plays. So I don’t feel like I’m on the fourth line, per se.”
However he sees it, the move has meant less ice time.
In his last three games, Hall has played less than 14 minutes and as little as 11:31 against the Detroit Red Wings, his second fewest of the season.
“He’s a player that should be producing five-on-five or even on the power play, so we want to get him back to that level,” Sorensen said. “Him and Donato have been really good together in the past. Even now, last game, they had some opportunities, they made some plays, they had some chances. They didn’t capitalize on them unfortunately.
“Right now, it’s where we’re at, too, and hey, you have to show more.”
Under Sorensen, Hall has shown more than he did with Richardson as coach.
- Richardson (25 games): 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points, minus-11 rating
- Sorensen (18 games): 3 goals, 9 assists, 12 points, minus-6 rating
“We’ve had some good chances and some good looks in the two games that we’ve played,” Hall said of his line. “We scored a goal (Donato’s against the Edmonton Oilers), and this is just the situation I’m in right now.”
Sorensen credits Hall for keeping a positive attitude as the calendar ticks toward the March 7 trade deadline.
“He’s handled it, he’s a pro,” Sorensen said. “I haven’t seen a change in his demeanor. He comes to work, he works out, he’s asking questions, we’re talking about things. I don’t see any inkling of him looking elsewhere.”
Hall said he had to “make a pact with myself that I try and not project into the future, because I don’t know what’s going to happen and neither does anyone really in this room. I’m trying to stay as positive and take a day at a time.”
He said that in this business, you have to be optimistic but ready for anything.
“That’s part of being a professional hockey player, and when you’re making as much money as we do, no one’s going to feel sorry for you, and nor should they,” he said.
He’ll enjoy the dads trip, when the players’ fathers join them on the road for Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators. Hall leans on his father, Steve, a former Canadian Football League player, for advice.
“My dad was an athlete … and he was traded and he knows a little bit about it,” Hall said. “My dad is a big influence and a big sounding board for all that kind of stuff.
“I think he would just want me to play as well as I can every game, because that’s all I can do. … None of us veteran guys are going to sit here and make it about us, because it’s not. It’s still about the team and how well we can play tomorrow.”
Regardless of whether Hall remains a Hawk for the rest of the season, neither he nor teammates will get a chance for some payback against Pospisil for some time — the 5-2 loss Monday was their series finale against Calgary.
Remember, Pospisil had borderline hits against Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar during the Hawks’ 6-4 loss in Calgary, the hit on Nazar prompting a beating from Donato.
“I mean, it wasn’t a great hit,” Hall said of Pospisil’s hit, which resulted in a five-minute major for boarding and a 10-minute game misconduct. “I don’t like the position that I put myself in, but sometimes when your back’s facing the play, it’s actually a safer spot to be in, because guys know not to hit you.
“I don’t think he should have hit me. But he’s a young guy trying to make his mark in the league, and I understand that it’s a fast game at times.”
However, players have long memories with such things.
“I don’t know if he’ll be playing the next time we see him or what, but for sure he’ll be a name that’s circled on the game sheet,” Hall said.
On the bright side, at least his black eye has provided some source of amusement.
“Went out for dinner last night with my wife and it was a nice restaurant, (and) I got a couple weird looks,” Hall said. “Same when I went to grab a coffee yesterday afternoon. The barista that usually gets my coffee, she looked a little concerned but didn’t want to ask.
“It’s funny when you see people like that.”
