Taylor Hall is healthy and can have a strong season atop the Blackhawks lineup in 2024-25.

The Blackhawks acquired Taylor Hall from Boston in June 2023 to play alongside rookie Connor Bedard, but Hall’s first season didn’t go as planned. The speedy veteran played just 10 games and missed the rest of 2023-24 after right knee surgery.

Hall has healed, rehabbed hard and is ready to go this coming season. There is a good chance he gets to reclaim his spot on the top line beside Bedard and see if the two No. 1 draft picks — selected 13 years apart – have some special chemistry.

Hall is going to turn 33 years old in November and age catches up with players quickly. That’s probably not the case for Hall just yet, but we need a season in which he is healthy to really see the proof.

The Blackhawks chose a great veteran player to bring in to complement Bedard as Hall cost next to nothing to acquire, but more than that, has played with incredible talent throughout his career, including Connor McDavid, Jack Hughes and David Pastrnak. Hall won the Hart Trophy in New Jersey in 2017-18 skating on a line with 2017 top draft pick Nico Hischier.

Bedard is a similar age as a couple of those stars mentioned above that Hall has played with around the NHL. He has experience playing with top players as they’re developing in the NHL and getting better quickly. The 2024-25 season with Bedard shouldn’t be a much different approach. The goal remains the same – produce offensively with the young player and push for a playoff spot.

The Blackhawks don’t only need Hall contributing like he still can, the team needs him healthy. Good news is Hall can string together healthy seasons as he missed five or fewer games combined between the 2019-20 season and the 2021-22 season (three total seasons).

Hall will play in the top-6 and the most likely starting point for him is the top line. Coach Luke Richardson will juggle forwards over the course of the season and expect Hall to also spend some time on the second line as well. There are some solid players filling the top-6 for Chicago next season, so it also won’t hurt the veteran winger.

The expectation for Hall is not to produce over a point-per-game, which he’s done four times in his career and it is especially not Hart Trophy season Hall. What is a better point to reach for is something like his 2021-22 season in Boston. He scored 20 goals and recorded 61 points in 81 games. Hall will have an even bigger role than that as well.

The power play of the Blackhawks is going to be better than it was for the 10 games Hall played last season and he will produce points if he remains healthy. The veteran can still skate and feed Bedard the puck. Hall’s likely linemates, Bedard and Philipp Kurashev, will also be even more improved, increasing the likelihood of more production.

Hall has had a very respectable career and, in the final year of his contract, is ready to show the Blackhawks what he can still bring to the table. Everyone will be looking forward to a healthy Hall and what he can put together next season.