Should Bruins Make Call On Former Forward Reportedly On Trade Block?

Former Bruins forwards Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato are both feeling the effects of playing on a Chicago Blackhawks team that plunged into a full-fledged rebuild.

Hall has had an especially trying year in Chicago. He was a healthy scratch under coach Luke Richardson, before being bumped to the fourth line under interim coach Anders Sorensen following Richardson’s firing in December. And now Hall finds himself in trade rumors.

“I came into this year wanting to continue being a Blackhawk for years to come,” Hall said Wednesday, per Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope. “I don’t know if that’s going to be the case anymore. But I’ll leave that door open, for sure. (I) understand that it’s a business, and the team is going to do what’s best for them.”

Coming off surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that caused him to miss all but 10 games in 2023-24, Hall has not been as productive this season as he has throughout his career. He has just eight goals and 14 assists in 43 games for Chicago.

With the Bruins struggling to find consistent offense, Don Sweeney could contact a familiar trade partner to discuss a trade to bring the left wing back to Boston.

Hall was a useful player for the Bruins. He could be deployed on multiple lines and provided power-play minutes. He never quite regained the form that won him a Hart Trophy in New Jersey, but he was certainly valuable, especially in 2021-22, when he scored 20 goals and had 41 assists in 81 games. During his Bruins tenure, he recorded 44 goals and 111 points in 158 games. Hall would fit very nicely in the Bruins’ middle six as he did in the past. 

Boston acquired the former No. 1 overall pick (along with Curtis Lazar) from the Buffalo Sabres at the 2021 trade deadline in exchange for Anders Bjork and a second-round pick. The Bruins traded Hall and the rights to Foligno, an unrestricted free agent, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defensemen Alec Regula and Ian Mitchell following Boston’s historic 65-win season in 2022-23.

Depending on how long Hampus Lindholm remains on long-term injured reserve, the Bruins could add Hall if Chicago retained salary on his $6-million cap hit without giving up much in return, but  Sweeney’s comments after the historic franchise fired Jim Montgomery in mid-November indicated he’d be willing to rearrange the NHL roster if he saw an opportunity to improve.

If Boston finds Hall’s salary too steep, they could inquire about Donato, who carries a $2 million cap hit. The Boston native played 46 games for the Bruins before being traded, along with a conditional fifth-round pick to the Minnesota Wild in 2019. He tallied 11 goals and seven assists while wearing the Spoked-B in that span. Donato has 90 goals and 99 assists across 446 games with the Bruins, Wild, Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken.