"In 2017, I had other offers to continue playing in Europe, but I think my wife and I just kind of knew it was time to step away from the game," Hall said. "It was coming to the point where it wasn't just any one thing that you factor into retiring from the sport...the family, the kids."
When Hall and his family decided it was time to return to the United States, they agreed on Tampa.
"I think we loved Tampa," Hall said. "We always knew we wanted to retire from the League and live in Tampa after I finished playing. That's where my wife and I met and it's where my son was born, so we had so many great memories. We also felt more a part of this community than anywhere else I've ever played since I was there the longest and made connections."
When returning to Tampa, Hall knew he wanted to use his finance degree from Michigan State after his love of the industry never went away.
"It was something that I always was fascinated by from a young age," Hall said. "I just always remember having a lot of long talks with my dad when he explained investing and how you can make your money work for you. I just remember thinking people in this world work hard enough; if you can make your money work for you and spend time with your family or on things that you enjoy, I just think that's a really great way to help people and where my idea of pursuing that degree came from."
Throughout playing for seven different NHL teams (Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers), Hall knew he wanted to take a look at financial firms after making connections with various people.
"I made a lot of great connections in different industries and I interviewed presidents, CEOs and vice presidents of well-managed firms all over the country," Hall said. "I didn't want to get a job just because I knew somebody who could get me a job. I wanted to earn it. I wanted to go through and make sure that wherever I chose, it was for specific reasons that I thought fit me and fit the type of people that I wanted to work with."
Today, Hall is a financial advisor and financial planning specialist at Morgan Stanley. He specializes in helping medical professionals, business owners, executives, etc. plan for retirement. He also has developed a passion for helping other professional athletes plan for a transition after their career ends.
"I've always enjoyed this industry," Hall said. "I think that this is what I want to do for the long term. Everything here, the culture, the resources, everything that I have available… it's just been fantastic so far. This is where my commitment is."
