After The Cup, Hall’s 1,000th Game Comes With New Perspective

RALEIGH, N.C. - Humility, often paired with self-deprecation, is frequent inside the Carolina Hurricanes’ locker room.

The two characteristics are usually even more prevalent when things are going well.

A two-goal performance? "I should've had a third."

Three regulation losses in 19 games to open the season? “We can be better.”

Yeah, sure, things are good, but the expectation is for them to be great.

Taylor Hall is no exception.

The forward, in his 17th season, is set to play his 1,000th NHL game Thursday as the Hurricanes return to the Global Series in Helsinki, Finland.

For many, it's a major milestone. Hall will become just the 423rd player in league history to reach it, and only the 25th first-overall pick to do so since the draft began in 1963.

In typical fashion, he's not making a big deal of it.

“If you go first overall, I feel like you’ve got to play a lot of games,” Hall said with a wry smile.

"Got to..."

Taken with the first choice by the Edmonton Oilers in 2010, Hall also quipped that playing his first game in the league at 18 was also a beneficial factor in him reaching 1,000 games at the age of 34.

But again, being 18 and in the league far from assures 1,000 appearances.

Establishing himself as a premier player early on during his time in his birth province of Alberta, Hall's story is not exactly one of smooth sailing. From the shocking "one-for-one" trade that sent him to New Jersey in the summer of 2016, to winning the Hart Trophy two years later, only to be moved again within the following two seasons, there have been lessons he's had to learn over the years.

“I’ve kind of been through some ups and downs. I’ve been on different teams. Feeling sorry for yourself or feeling sorry for your predicament or your situation is never good," Hall reflected.

Whether it was injuries, playing on some struggling teams, or free agency not going the way he thought it might, Hall pointed to there being a positive on the other side, every time.

The most recent, and hopefully last, 180-degree turn in his career may have been the biggest example of that yet — going from being sat by a basement-dwelling Chicago team to a Cup contender in Carolina, who he helped push over the top.

Brought aboard as a secondary piece in a landscape-altering three-team trade that also included Martin Necas and Mikko Rantanen on a cold Friday night in January of 2024, his inclusion proved to be a stroke of genius by Carolina's front office.

"Hallsy's been a great addition. I wasn't really sure what we were getting," Rod Brind'Amour reflected on the trade. "He came with such a great attitude. He just wanted to win."

Hall's willingness to do whatever was asked of him was evident from the get-go, accepting a fourth-line role to start his time with the team. Something that might come begrudgingly to some players who had previously been league MVPs; instead, he put his head down and got to work.

"Since he's been here, he's been all-in. He's all in with everything we do here," Jordan Staal praised. "Whatever is asked of him, he does it. He's an exceptional player, and he's made us that much better."

It was a new role in a new system, with another new team, yet success followed.

Hall's first full season with the team culminated in obtaining the prize he'd chased his whole career — a Stanley Cup.

An integral piece in the quest, producing 19 points in 19 playoff games, he was one-third of the best line in hockey that postseason, working with Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven.

The championship makes this milestone all the sweeter.

"I think it’s really exciting for me to (reach 1,000 games) here, a place where we won the Stanley Cup," Hall said. "There’s some really good memories here. I’ve had a son born here, and just a lot of really good things happen in this area. So, to hit 1,000 games with this team is very cool.”

Continuing with the humility and self-deprecation, Hall said he "had enough time glorifying himself" celebrating the Cup over the summer, but he does have appreciation for the occasion.

"It’s a very cool thing. I’m excited to celebrate with my teammates in Finland, but there’s something bigger at hand, and all of the really cool stuff we did last year trumps all of it,” he reasoned.

With a ceremony planned for pre-game on Saturday, Nov. 21, before the Canes take on the franchise that drafted him first overall at Lenovo Center, Hall knows having family and friends in the building will be another humbling reminder of the journey he's been on.

"To be cliché, you just have to try and enjoy every day," Hall closed with. "There are so many good things that can happen playing hockey at any level. When you get to play it at this level, on a team like this, you don’t take it for granted. One day, you’re not going to have this. You’re not going to have this atmosphere. You’re not going to have the competition of the game. So, that’s what I relish the most.”