Newly acquired (and, in the case of one, signed) Blackhawks forwards Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno spoke wi♈th the media on Saturday morning. If you like players having something t🤡o prove, it sounds like both are coming to Chicago with that in mind.
Back in mid-May when I wrote about the ꦅBlackhawks desperately needing to address🧸 their forward group, I noted that Taylor Raddysh was the only player under contract at that time who had scored double-digit goals at even-strength. The Blackhawks lost leaders and producers last year before the trade deadline, and needed to build a stronger group around Connor Bedard.
The additions of Hall and Foligno (and Corey Perry for that matter) should giv🍸e the Blackhawks a better overall forward group heading into the coming season.
A Chip on Taylor’s Shoulder
Hall, 31, said he was surprised when he was traded by the Boston Bruins. That isn’t always ideal. But the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft said he looks forward to proving he can still be a top-line player at his age.
The obvious reason for many people for Hall to be a great add for the Blackhawks is that “former No. 1 overall pick” title he owns. As a guy who dealt with high expectations when he arrived in Edmonton, he can be a nice mentor for Bedard this season.
But there’s more to buy about his arrival.
Hall scored 16 times in 61 games for the Bruins this past season and added five more goals in seven playoff games. He scored 20 times in 81 games the previous season. If he can become another 20-goal scorer for the Blackhawks, that would be a terrific addition to the offense. And it sounds like his goal isn’t just to be a 20-goal guy, either.
Foligno Leading
Foligno, 35, is one of the more respected leaders in the league. He appeared in only 60 games last season with Boston, and said he signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks with hopes of helping to build something here. And he’s excited for an expanded role from the one he had with the Bruins.
What makes this an especially fun story to follow is looking back to the 2007-08 season when a 19-year-old Foligno broke into the NHL with the Ottawa Senators. One of the defensemen on that team: a 38-year-old defenseman named Luke Richardson. Foligno’s first NHL season was the last full year of Richardson’s career.
“𒆙Luke was somebody that had command of the room rig𓄧ht away,” Foligno said.
And that’s a way some players have talked about Foligno as his career has progressed. Without Jonathan Toews in the picture any longer (sadly), the Blackhawks needed a player like Foligno to help reinforce the culture Richardson is preaching. He gets that; he’s done that in previous stops in his career.
