First Overall Pick Becomes Top Trade Acquisition for Contending Team This Season

The Chicago Blackhawks aren't expected to do much this season despite the acquisition of several top stars this off-season as they remain a team with very limited young talent beyond superstar Connor Bedard. One player that the team did acquire to help the former No. 1 overall pick was fellow No. 1 pick Taylor Hall, who played in just 10 games a season ago after a devastating injury cost him the majority of the year.

Now, it appears the 32-year-old is back to full health, as he has played in all six of the team's games this season, and although he has just one goal and one assist in that time, it's to be expected given his recovery from injury. Now, with his health seemingly improving more and more by the week on the ice, it appears he is becoming a genuine trade candidate for the Chicago Blackhawks, who took him on simply as a cap dump from Boston a season ago. If he continues to improve, he may be the perfect fit for a contending team on the second or third line.

Due to several injuries over the years (Hall has played in 65 or more games just twice since 2019), Hall may never be the player that he once was but given his experience and his level of production when healthy, he will draw plenty of interest ahead of the trade deadline. Since being drafted first overall by Edmonton in 2010, Hall has registered 267 goals and 432 assists in 838 games and there's no telling how much those numbers could have improved if he had stayed healthy.

The 2024-25 NHL Season is still quite fresh, so there are not yet any candidates revealed that could target the former Hart Trophy winner, but if he can be even half of what he was in his prime, he makes sense as a fit on many teams throughout the league. Ultimately though, after bouncing between Buffalo, Boston, New Jersey, and Chicago over the past five years, it's good to see Hall healthy and back on the ice this season with the Blackhawks.

While he will no doubt be thinking about anything else but staying on the ice and proving he can still go at the NHL level, this is an intriguing situation for other teams and fans to keep an eye on as they chase the biggest prize in hockey for their moment of glory.